You were clearly in the water and it wasn’t a soundstage. How did you shoot that scene then?
Actually, for that particular scene, there were a lot of safety precautions that were taken. There were scuba divers that you can’t see in the film. There was also some kind of barrier that was erected that you can’t see, but that the camera is actually traveling on that barrier so I, in fact, am in the water. The way that I felt was my fear, at that moment when we started shooting, was to really sort of let myself inhabit the character of Cleo. To imagine that she loved those kids as if she was their own mother and that any mother would risk her life to save her children. That’s how I moved forward in that scene.
What about the birthing scene? Was that something where you were given some notice for that moment as well?
No. Actually, I knew absolutely nothing about how that scene was going to transpire. All I knew was that they all said that they had been practicing with the doctors because the doctors that they hired are actual doctors as well. So, I knew that they were just practicing, say things like what tools they were going to use or how they were going to proceed in the scene. But when I came on to the scene, I didn’t know how it was going to progress. It wasn’t until I was just about to step on-set that Alfonso basically came to me and said to me, “O.K. So, we’re finally at the scene where you’re going to give birth. You’re going to give birth today. I just need you to remember that it’s been a bit of a difficult journey here. That you have some issues with the pregnancy,” and that was it. That’s all he told me before we started shooting the scene.
I apologize. I don’t know if you’re a mother yourself, but if you aren’t, where did you get the inspiration to react the way you do then with no rehearsal?
No. I am, in fact, not a mother. So, what I did at that moment is to sort of think about the very many months of gestation that I was supposed to have gone through, but also, again, because we did not have a script, all the kids in the film that acted with me were also awaiting the “birth” of the child. So, I just was thinking about what everybody else would have felt as well. And, as we did a couple of other takes of that scene, then I got to start thinking about my own sister who had had troubles with her pregnancy and, in fact, had given birth to a baby who wasn’t breathing. Thank God, my nephew made it through. He actually came to life, but I was thinking of the pain that my sister must have gone through.
Once production ended how did you feel about your performance?
When we finished shooting, the only thing that I actually really felt was a little bit of a confusion about how the film had actually ended. I didn’t quite understand the ending of the film because it was, again, because we shot in chronological order, that last scene in the film is actually the last I shot of the movie, so I wondered what that meant and how that would make the film come together. But then, at that point, I imagined that the next thing that I would do is watch the film in the theaters and that that would be it. That would be the end of my participation in the film.
Did you get to see the film in Mexico before it premiered at the Venice Film Festival?
In fact, the first time I saw the film was in Venice. It was incredible to get to see the film in such a huge theater with all those people and especially next to Alfonso, Marina and Nancy [Gracia] who were also there for the occasion.
Was it hard to watch yourself onscreen?
At first, yes, it was very strange to see myself and to hear myself. But then, as the movie went on, I just sort of allowed myself to sink into the story and to sink into the character, to the point where I almost forgot that that was me playing that character in the film.
Do you want to act again? Is this something you want to make a career out of?
I would like to, but I think, at this point, I would really feel like I would have to study acting. But if another opportunity came by me where I could act, then I would really love to.
People have talked that you deserve an Oscar nomination for your performance. What is your reaction to that?
It makes me very happy that after never having acted before people would see my performance and think that I am deserving of such a thing, and so an Oscar nomination. And yet, at the same time, it makes me incredibly nervous to think that it could actually happen.
Have your friends and family seen the movie yet, or they’re waiting for it to still come out in Mexico?
My family, yes. My family got to see it just recently this past weekend. But not my friends. My friends are still waiting till they get to see it in the theaters or on Netflix.
“Roma” is now playing in limited release. It will launch on Netflix globally on Dec. 14.