International fame reached Ivana Baquero (Barcelona, 1994) at 12 years old, when she became Ofelia, the protagonist of Pan’s Labyrinth. Looking at her pre-teenager pictures on the red carpet of the Oscars what strikes is how confident she walked among Hollywood stars, such as Penelope Cruz or Meryl Streep. “Leonardo DiCaprio had wanted to meet me, because he had really enjoyed the movie”, remembers Ivana. “He impressed me for his friendliness and kindness, but Morgan Freeman, Charlize Theron o Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were very nice too.”
That first flight to the city of cinema became something frequent, when Ivana started to live “from coast to coast”. “I love to always have a packed luggage; in fact, I am just making one right now, because I am leaving for Barcelona tomorrow”, she says laughing, just a day after the photoshoot for this issue. She’s staying in Madrid for some time, but she has her home in Los Angeles. “When you’ve grown up, you miss more your home and your roots. I love filming in United States, but right now I want to spend more time in Spain; I love working here.”
Of course, she has something to compare. Her smartphone sometimes surprises her writing down the number of cities that she has seen in one month – “They can be more than 20, without even noticing” – and she went to places as remote as New Zealand. There she starred in the MTV tv series The Shannara Chronicles, alongside Austin Butler, the actor who played the role of the king of rock in Elvis. “I’ve always had a weird fixation with that place. It appeared unattainable and sometimes it fascinated me, because I am a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings saga. Who was going to tell me that I would end up spending three years there?”. Or that she would meet her partner, the kiwi actor James Trevena.
She shared department with Kevin Costner, but she also worked with Jose Sacristan, and she assures that the only difference between one coast and the other is the “budget”, that is, the money. “The productions are bigger as well as the crew. Instead, on a creative level, the talent is the same. I love doing both, but I recognize that sometimes I love working on smaller projects, where you feel part of the mechanism and not just a small part inside a huge machine”.
It has been almost 18 years since Pan’s Labyrinth, Ivana says that people tend to recognize her more for her names rather than her face. “For example, to the doctor, they told me that I had the same name of an actress, I am often recognized as Ofelia from Pan’s Labyrinth, but the people add: how much you have grown! What surprised me lately is that people have recognized me for movies that I thought in Spain were not popular, such as Black Friday, a zombie movie I worked on in the United States. It’s exciting to know that there are people who enjoy your work.”
Ivana is approachable and down-to-Earth, she’s always willing to talk about everything, showing a genuine interest to those who approach her. But there’s a moment in which she prefers putting a “do not disturb” sign. In the hair and make-up trailer, the actress starts connecting with her character, anticipating the emotional state in which she needs to be and what she will face during the action. “The shooting hours start very early and you need to wake up and, sometimes, focus. For me, it’s much easier to feel the character when I am totally inspired”. Something similar happens when she needs to prepare for red carpets or an award night, even though in that case the purpose is the exact opposite. Ivana needs to find herself in a look, to be sure to not faking being another person. “I am 1,60 high and I am a petit girl. I try to follow the trends, but first I keep in mind the kind of figure I am and that I feel nice”.
There’s a little silence, but her perfect diction fills even that: she never leaves suspension dots and makes words like “motley” sound nice. Now it would be when a classical Hollywood actress drank a glass of champagne or had a gross problem. Instead, she surprises with a trivial comment that defines her. “Thank God that the contouring fever that hid it all stopped. In truth, I am no model, no celebrity, not anything at all… I am an actress and I want to keep my essence, be true to myself”.
Take a look to the beautiful shoot in our gallery.
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Photo Sessions > Photoshoots from 2024 > Mujer Hoy Spain Interview by: Manu Piñon
Photos by: Elena Olay
© Mujer Hoy España (February 2024)
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