Few actors can say that they debuted in the profession with a leading role in a series. It’s what’s going to happen to Other Puig (Barcelona, 2001), which bears the weight of history in To be or not to be, the new fiction of the RTVE digital channel for young people, Playz, which premieres on Wednesday, March 30 and in which he plays a trans boy who aspires to succeed on stage. But it is that he, like actor transgender, knows a lot about what this production is talking about. It will not be his only short-term job, because he is one of the signings for the sixth season of one of Netflix’s greatest hits, Elite. Although he is already in his twenties, it seems that the directors of casting They keep seeing him inside an institute.
You studied acting for three years in Barcelona, but did your family already have artistic precedents?
It doesn’t come from there, because in my family there aren’t many artists. My second cousin is an actor, but he does a lot of things.
Was it always clear to you that your thing was to get on stage and act in front of a camera?
I had always liked it, but I had not been so clear about it since I started taking acting classes at the age of 17.
To be or not to be He talks a lot about the importance of being oneself, of taking off the masks.
Yes, it talks about having the courage to be who you are. The series encourages you to be yourself, but not from the drama, but from a positive perspective. It teaches you that nothing happens if you dare to do it, whether or not you are trans. Because To be or not to be It doesn’t just have to do with the trans issue. My character, Joel, strips one way, but other characters do it another way.
There will be many things about Joel that will be very close to him.
As I am also trans, there are many things that I identify with, because the character goes through things that I have gone through. So my bond with Joel is very strong. The character reminds me of my high school years.
The serie It is written by Coral Cruz and has the advice of two people from the trans community. Have you also contributed your own experiences?
Yes, I have contributed things, but very on the fly. Obviously I have helped on the subject of information, especially in the scenes. But Coral had a script that was already very well written and I didn’t have to help much either, because she already had it very well polished.
Being in his twenties, he is going to become a reference for trans youth thanks to To be or not to be already Elite, since he has signed for the sixth season. Do you feel responsible for it?
I am very happy with that because I too would have liked to have had a role model, and to see a person who goes through what I was going to go through. I feel a certain responsibility, but to a certain extent, I don’t see that I have to be the leader of the trans. Yes, it is true that I think I will have a voice based on what I am doing, but I don’t think it will be in an exaggerated way either.
“They still see you as the weirdo for being trans”
Do you think that the way of showing the trans collective on television has changed?
I think it’s changing, but it still remains. I think we are going to achieve it, and in fact we are already doing it, although we are going little by little. We are still seen as strange, as a taboo, as a rare thing.
In fact, his character, Joel, is obsessed with not being the weirdo of the institute and that is why he hides that he is trans from his classmates.
Because we come from a society that still makes you feel a bit like that when they find out you’re trans. And since people don’t know about it, in the end you can end up thinking that you’re a weirdo and it’s not like that, only that there is no information about it and it is not given visibility.
On television and in the movies there is usually quite a stir when a trans character is played by a cis actor or actress. She passed, to give just one example, with Paco Leon on the house of flowers. What do you have to say to these controversies?
Of course, let everyone do what they want. But what less than giving trans people who want to be actors and actresses the opportunity to tell their story, and not do it by someone else who has more possibilities because they can play other roles.
Would your goal be to achieve a role that goes beyond being trans or not, like Theo Germaine does in The politician?
Of course! That he should not focus so much on labels, on whether he is trans or cis, but on the fact that he is a boy who does his job well, which is to play a character.
“I would have liked to have had a role model, to see a person who was going through what I was going to go through”
Are you prepared for the avalanche that awaits you with Elitea series that has launched the careers of many young actors?
Yes, I am prepared. I have also found very cool people there, lovely people, and I am very comfortable filming. I try to keep my feet on the ground, do my job, which I love, and I’ll see what happens.
By the way, what can you say about your character in Elite?
is that it is very top secret… I can only say that it will enter Las Encinas with great force.
What do you like to watch on television?
I’m more into movies than series. now i’m watching Euphoria and The Turistand I love it Black mirror.
And what are your hobbies?
I really like reading, watching movies, being with friends, listening to music…
And do you play sports? Because in To be or not to be he spends his time running.
Yes, I like to run. What a marathon I hit all over Barcelona!