He feels free. Unstoppable. Looking forward to driving her life, now that she just bought a car. Model. Actress. “It is a transition that is looked at with a magnifying glass, I have the feeling that it is necessary to show that it is not something capricious”, reflects Godeliv Van den Brandt.
In front of the cameras, she feels safe: her 1.81 height, innate elegance and chameleon-like beauty help, as does her ability to unite and “put a nose at things”. Fashion shows for major brands, image of various firms… She debuted as an actress with Traces of Sandalwood (Maria Ripoll, 2014) but became known for her roles as Rubí in Sky Rojo, Olga in Las de la última fila or Virginia, the director in Elite.
With a Belgian father and a Zairean mother, Godeliv arrived in Spain at the age of six. “I didn’t realize he had a different skin color until people let me know,” he recalls. Perhaps that is where his vindictive spirit comes from and his allergy to remaining silent in the face of injustice.
The cameras love her. Was it easy to go from model to actress?
It is not easy to be an actress or a model. She was a thorn that she had. She had always been interested in exploring my role as an actress, but she wanted to do it with training (she has done it, among others, with the teacher of the Actor’s Studio Jack Waltzer). They had called me to do castings and I was good at it, I had a lot of fun. I did it intuitively, but I felt that I needed a more solid foundation, a technique to lean on.
Rubí, Olga, Virginia… Is she also a strong woman in real life?
I am a strong woman because my life has made me go through many situations. There is something of me in each of the characters, but the one I identify with the most is Olga. I’m more emotional than mental, but if the character calls for it, I try to add salt where it’s needed.
Do the characters stick to your skin or do they slip off you like a dress?
I try to get in and out of them in the healthiest way possible. One of my teachers told me: “Grab it passionately and release it lightly”. I don’t think it would be good for me to be attached to the character, but they leave their mark.
Which portrait would you feel comfortable with?
I like adventure, trying new things, feeling free… I’m smiling, a good friend… I think about things a lot and sometimes I get into a loop, be it positive or negative. On the set of Las de la ultima fila he kept saying: “How cool”. I live things very intensely.
How do you feel free?
Accepting things as they come, doing the things I like and not judging myself or others.
What shocked you the most when you arrived in Benidorm?
The language, because I didn’t speak Spanish (he now speaks six languages), and the color of my skin. At school I was not part of some playground dynamics for that reason, but I ended up being the standard bearer of the “weird” and the most timid. I wanted to be a delegate, I had a very demanding spirit…
Did it make a dent?
My mother told me that you always have to move forward, that I am neither more nor less than anyone else. She had always wanted to be a model, an artist, but she was the ugly duckling. Although I thought: “I’m going to get it, you’ll see.” They sang the Cola-Cao song to me and I ended up doing the Cola-Cao fiber ad. wound healed
Is diversity noticeable in fashion?
We have a long way to go, but it is changing. I have noticed that there is more inclusion, although in some productions there is still zero diversity. But it has come to stay. There is no way back.
You passed the Woody Allen cut… How was your experience at Rifkin’s Festival?
Brief but pretty. I named my character, who had no name. Then, at the costume fitting, I saw that she had been brought into the script, even though they gave that part to someone else. I was excited!
Any dream role?
Something like Lieutenant O’Neil, a strong, tough woman who has to play hard in a very masculine environment… When I was little I was a big boy, I liked to play rugby. I would also like to be the villain in the movie, although my aura is very positive.
