Ivana Baquero is back. Between shooting Alta Mar (Netflix, 2019) in Spain and staying for a – long – period in the United States, the actress is back home, while in USA her latest movie comes out Black Friday.
"It's very funny, like a tribute to the horror movies of the 80s. An alien invasion with a little humor. I love watching and making these kind of films. Overall, Black Friday was very special because we shot it during the pandemic, even before the vaccine."
Ivana, who continues to combine works on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean – "I always say that I live in a luggage", adds —, will be staying in Barcelona, where she was born in 1994, for the holidays. Days with the family and glamour nights whose preview is this shooting in which she wears Dior, firm she is very passionate for. "Since the 40s, Dior has shaken up fashion. Its footprint is indelebile and has marked all the decades until our days", Ivana said. "I believe that it's more than a firm, it's an icon. It's always a pleasure to work together. I've been admiring the work since I was little!".
Your comeback matches with another date that needs celebration: the 15th anniversary since the release of Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto Del Fauno), movie that worth you a Goya as Best Young Actress.
« It's been very long, but I keep having it close to my heart. It's curious, because now, when I see the movie, I basically can't see myself. And it's something good. People keep asking me about that and I'm very happy about it, because I could talk about it for hours and hours without getting tired. There's projects that I have made that I couldn't know what to say about, but I will be forever grateful to Pan's Labyrinth. »
This film was also the starting gun of your career in Hollywood.
« I had the luck to have studied in the American School of Barcelona, what brought me close to the United States. I knew the language and for that it wasn't so shocking. I shot my first American movie at 14 years old (The New Daughter, where she was Kevin Costner's daughter). But it was a total life change. My mother had to travel with me because I was very little. The entertainment industry is a place of adults, you need to supervise and she was always there, ready for whatever may come. She went with me to South Carolina, Los Angeles, wherever it was necessary... Today they both, my father and mother, come to visit me to set when they can because they enjoy the filming. We're very close. »
Have you ever felt different from the other girls?
« A little bit, yes. My first casting (before Pan's Labyrinth I shot five or six projects) was in my school, because they were looking for a girl that spoke English. All my class mates showed up and they chose me. There, in that moment, started the envy and, you know, when you are little it's hard to manage it. I had a bad time, because I left to shoot many months and when I went back school I didn't have a group of friends. There were children who had a hard time understanding it and they made me pay for it. »
Then you chose Law. Have you got the University degree?
« I'm on it. I love Criminal Law and Criminology. I did the first two years in regular time, but starting from there I've started choosing subjects according to the volume of work I had as an actress. I take one or two subjects for semester at UAC (Universidad huerta de Cataluña). I study from distance, but the exams are in presence. »
Your life seems split in two. Are you more there or here?
« It's difficult to choose, because what I really love about United States is the work, the offer... They make many castings and creating a name is very difficult. Here I can have a certain reputation, but in the United States I start from zero. It's complicated, because, on the other hand, I am attracted by the many prepositions they offer. In my everyday life, there I have friends, my fiancee (he's actor as well James Trevena-Brown), but in the end I miss Spain because my family is here. It is still my home. »
Of all the people you have known in Hollywood, who is your favourite?
« On my press tour of Pan's Labyrinth they introduced me many well-known actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie... Morgan Freeman got me excited, I told him I loved him. I was so nervous that I just blurted out "I love you". The thing is that these superstars are very normal people. In fact, there's many that are super hippies. Los Angeles isn't that glamorous city that we see in movies. It's sticking the contrast: they are your neighbours, ordinary people. »
Do you still care about the environment as much as you used to confess?
« Yes. I try to do what I can. When there's a campaign live I join and try to bring awareness among the people that surround me. But in the end those who have to create change are the people in power. It's something that worries me, not just for me, also for the children I might have in the future. »
Is there some other cause that you fight for?
« In Los Angeles there's a place where they take care of the wild animals: squirrels, coyotes, parrots... I love lending a hand. There's also jaguars, many of them. I'm really passionate about animals. »
Have you gotten something positive from these last two chaotic years that we have lived?
« I always say that I'm reinserting myself into society after not going out to have dinner, going to the cinema or having a massage... But at least I took advantage of it [pandemic] to start developing my projects with friends, authors and contacts that I've made in the United States. It's exciting to be behind the camera and developing something that is yours. Stories that catch your attention, that you want to tell... I like it; waiting to reveal you something in a very short time. »
Take a look to the beautiful shoot in our gallery.
🔗 Related links:
Photo Sessions > Photoshoots from 2021 > InStyle España Interview by: Chus Salido
Photos by: Danniel Rojas
© InStyle España (December 2021)
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