I think it's important to give a little break to the people. I think through the humor of any character that people will get more attached to that character. It's like a door that you open for people to come in and feel a warm welcome. Once you are inside, then the drama of that character is going to affect you even more. That's why I think that humor is important.
What was it like working with John Malkovich, a first-time director who is also a critically acclaimed actor?
He's an amazing director. He's done 50 theater plays and he knows what an actor is. He has done I don't know how many movies and I don't know how many theater plays. He's a man who is going to tell you not very much but exactly what you need to hear in order to keep on moving, in order to get to the goal. It was easy to work with him and very demanding in the sense of quality. He was always there trying to get the best out of you, without telling you too much, which is something that I like. He left you room to improvise, he left you room to try things that otherwise would have been impossible.
How would you describe his style? Did you get to have much input in developing your character?
We worked very hard one month before shooting, going through any type of questions that I had or he had, in order to get the answers as much as we could. Then once we started to work on the set, we left those answers out of the road and we just tried to have an experience. We both felt like the homework was already done and it was in the back of our heads, so we didn't need to go on and on about questioning and answering intellectually the reasons why my character was on the scene. We felt that it was better for us to improvise what we already thought, in our previous work.
There was not much improvising on the lines because of the English, because it is difficult for me to improvise in a foreign language that I can't control. We were working from the script's lines and sometimes we'd do something different.
Do you like working for actor-directors?
Yes, I think as long as he's a good actor, he'll be fine. If he's a bad actor, he can be a nightmare I suppose. Because he's a good actor you feel more confident, you feel like you're in good hands, that the director who is making the movie is also a man who understands every kind of detail and every kind of struggle that an actor has. You feel very well-protected and you are much more confident about letting yourself go.
Originally John Malkovich had you in mind for the role of the younger partner.
Yes because at that time... I'm 34 years old and when he first approached me I was 27 or 28. So I was bound to be the young assistant, the detective's young assistant. Because the movie took so long, time went on my side, I suppose.
Would the role of the younger partner have been a good fit for you a few years back?
Well I suppose that at that time a role like this would have been impossible for me to make because my English was nonexistent so it would have been very difficult. So thank God, because the movie went so long, I had time to work on my English, make a movie in English, and get confident in myself working in English.
NEXT PAGE: Javier Bardem on Learning from "The Dancer Upstairs," Working With Juan Diego Botto, and Passion
