Although he was going to stay behind the cameras – he had studied Audiovisual Communication – he soon discovered that being in front was his thing, he made the leap towards dramatic art and cinema and theater gained two of the most expressive eyes (and eyebrows) of his group. of interpreters.
After several performances on stage, her presence in Spanish series grew, from her appearances in Hispania, Vis a Vis or Élite to being the complex, disturbing and intense protagonist of two of the most suspenseful series in recent years, The pier and Everybody Lies. Precisely, when she was filming the latter, someone who would end up being very special to her crossed paths with Irene Arcos.
His tone of voice softens even more, if possible, when he talks to me about Lolo, who he refers to almost all the time as “little dog.”
Romina: Who is Lolo?
Irene: He’s my dog. I’ve been with him for 10 months since I adopted him.
Romina: Is this your first dog?
Irene: No, I had a dog when I lived with my parents. It was my dream since I was little, along with my sister’s. My parents didn’t give in until we went to college, which is when we were older and could take care of a dog. When I left home I had a kitten, Reina, who lived 17 years. I have always imagined sharing my life with animals.
Romina: Why did you decide to adopt a dog and not another cat after Reina.
Irene: I spent many years with her and her loss affected me a lot, so much so that I did not feel qualified to adopt another cat. When I went to the house of my friends who have cats, when she saw them she gave me a touch in the heart because they reminded me of Reina.
Romina: How do you know Lolo?
Irene: A friend told me that there was a dog up for adoption, I saw his photo and I liked it, but I was just filming in Barcelona. Everyone lies and I couldn’t adopt him at that time.
Romina: What a fantastic series, my goodness. Every week I waited anxiously for the next chapter to be uploaded to find out who the murderer was, to find out if it was Macarena, your character (laughs).
Irene: It’s totally crazy. And for me it was also a beautiful experience to live in Barcelona for both seasons.
Romina: During the second season you discovered the existence of Lolo…
Irene: Yes. Two weeks later, I finished filming, I returned to Madrid and that photo continued to haunt my head. So I wrote to them just to write, because I imagined that the dog was already going to be adopted (you know that the ones that are adopted first are the smallest ones). Do you know that phrase, which is very motherly, that when something is for you, even if you take it off, and when something is not for you, even if you wear it? Well, the dog was still there and I decided to send the adoption request. They considered that I was a good candidate and that, together with a host of coincidences, made Lolo come into my life.
Romina: It’s a Yorkshire, right?
Irene: In his passport it says “Yorkshire”, but what he is, he is a pretty dog, because he is tall for that breed (laughs). One day, while walking it, someone told me it was a mix. When you have a dog, it seems that the world opens up and people are much more sociable and come to talk to you.
Romina: It reminds me a little of that race that looks like Ewoks, the Brussels Griffons.
Irene: Yes, it has an Ewok vibe, too (laughs).
Romina: Lolo is from Malaga, right? Do you know anything about his past?
Irene: They don’t tell you much. I only know that his previous relatives had left him in a shelter. Although Lolo arrived when he was three years old and of course, he had already had experiences and came with his little bags, his little backpacks, as happens to us humans. His problem is that he is terrified of dogs, but we are working on it. Therapy for dogs is a bit like that for humans, they are given mechanisms to fight against blockages, such as exposing themselves little by little to them.
Romina: Did it already come with the name “Lolo” or did you give it to it?
Irene: I didn’t want to change it. What’s more, when I saw him I thought: “what a Lolo face he has” (laughs).
Romina: You told me before that his previous “relatives” left him at the shelter. Is Lolo family to you? Like a son, perhaps?
Irene: Well, when I have gone to the vet I have never identified myself as its owner, or mistress or anything like that, it bothers me a lot. I am the responsible one or the companion; I consider him a life partner that is part of my responsibility. Son, I don’t call him either: since I haven’t been a mother, I can’t compare him with my own son and tell you if he feels the same. In the end, there is no need to put words that already exist. One of the things I like most about sharing my life with Lolo and with animals in general, is that vocabulary is left out. When you live with an animal you realize that what prevails are emotions and sensations. And the bond is strengthening from that other place.
Romina: Is he very unruly?
Irene: Wow, he behaves very well, he has learned to sleep on his couch and he has never broken anything, something that can happen to adopted dogs, due to the anxiety that many suffer. The only prank I remember was last summer at my family’s house in A Coruña. My mother had made a wonderful omelet and left it in the kitchen. We discovered him gobbling it up like there was no tomorrow. Plus, she loves to open the trash cans at my parents’ house and take out food. Her weakness is food, no matter what state she is in (laughs).
Romina: What is the best part of the day with Lolo?
Irene: It is what it is to open the bedroom door in the morning and find a little dog who greets me every day as if I were the most wonderful thing in the world for him.
Romina: It’s a hackneyed phrase, but dogs are the best.
Irene: Yes, and look, I love cats, but there is nothing like a dog, no matter how affectionate the cat is. I don’t change the time I have lived with my cat, but it is a very different bond. With Reina I shared the home, but now, with Lolo, I go for a walk to the Casa de Campo, to eat with my friend… I share everything about my daily life. It is true that a dog is also more dependent. The first day he came home, he started throwing the ball at me to play and I, who was 17 years old with a cat, thought: “will this always be like this?” (laughs). I got a little anxious, but now everything is more relaxed, we have our routines and we have been adapting to each other.
Romina: You have already understood that you cannot play constantly.
Irene: That’s right. We go for a walk in the mornings, we play ball, I take him for a run, then we watch a movie. Watching a movie on the couch with your dog or kitten by your side is one of the greatest pleasures in life.
Romina: Is it okay to stay alone if you have a shoot?
Irene: I am lucky that my parents are close by and that helps me a lot to live with a dog, with the crazy profession I have of being an actress. Devoting yourself to this, having a family unit to help you is very important when it comes to having a dog.
Romina: If you say that Lolo accompanies you everywhere, and despite being small in size, have you ever had problems getting him into places?
Irene: I haven’t had any problems, you can go to more and more places, except one time they kicked us out of the subway because I wasn’t wearing a muzzle, I didn’t know yet that I should wear it. Then, it’s also that everything falls under its own weight: when I go shopping, he behaves super well in the fitting room, but if there is food on display or a lady tells me that she’s afraid of the dog, as happened once, then we move away and that’s it. I also tell you that sometimes people who shout, spit or listen to music on a loudspeaker on the street are more problematic than dogs.
Romina: Have you ever taken it on a set?
Irene: I haven’t seen the need, I already told you that I have my parents nearby and Lolo is happy to stay there.
Romina: Especially because they have the best garbage cans in the world.
Irene: That (laughs).
Romina: I understand that he hasn’t gone to the theater either.
Irene: Neither.
Romina: Now you are with Only the End of the World, the staging of Jean-Luc Lagarce’s famous play about incommunication, family and preparation for death. You’re on tour, right?
Irene: This week I am at the Arriaga theater for three days, 17, 18 and 19. In September we are in A Coruña, where my family is from, at the Rosalía de Castro, and we are already done.
Romina: How is the work going?
Irene: Well, very good. It is the second time I have worked with Israel Elejalde, who is the director. I was very excited because already in the middle of the pandemic, Isra told me about this project and my character. And I admire my fellow actors, Yune Nogueiras, Raúl Prieto, María Pujalte, Eneko Sagardoy and Gilbert Jackson.
Romina: I have seen a script on your table on your Instagram. Are you filming something that can be told?
Irene: Yes, I’m filming a little thing that I’ll finish in June. Then I also have other projects in the future. But you know how this goes, you can never advance anything because nothing is ever certain.
