Lucia Saavedra- Headshots & Interview

So when I moved to Barcelona I met a retired actor from New York and he became my mentor, almost like a father.
He saw something in me and he started pushing me to study and to move to London to find work. He believed in me. So that's how he got me into acting. His name was his name was Elio Agnese. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. Which is really sad because now I am doing things I would love to share it with him, but he's always in my mind, he's really important to me.

I met him in 2012 but I will say that professionally it was in 2016. That's when I first called myself an actress. Before that, it was like “I want to be an actress”.

Mhmm, I have a few. I will say I like David Lynch ‘cause I really like surrealism and his style really blows my mind. He's so scary so I'm going I say him but I also really like the animation in films and I love Hayao Miyazaki. His films are just beautiful and one day when I direct, I would love to make films that are similar to his but in real life.

It is actually Spirited Away and Mary Poppins. I love them.

I think a good portrait shows who is in that picture before you see the real person. When you look at the picture you are “oh I know what kind of person this is” and when you meet them that’s what will see. But there are other things, like taking risks and playing with colours, like you do with shadows and all that stuff brings it to life. All of it.

That's a difficult question because I like many things. One of the things I would love to play is something similar to Mary Poppins but not in such a Disney way, something similar to her part. I would also love to play something where I would be able to explore a lot of emotions. I am really interested in European cinema more than American cinema. European cinema has a lot of those slow films where you can really see the characters, I love that kind of stuff. I love Nouvelle Epoque wave, something like that would be really fun to play. There are so many things, I also like comedy, though.

That's a difficult question because I like many things. One of the things I would love to play is something similar to Mary Poppins but not in such a Disney way, something similar to her part. I would also love to play something where I would be able to explore a lot of emotions. I am really interested in European cinema more than American cinema. European cinema has a lot of those slow films where you can really see the characters, I love that kind of stuff. I love Nouvelle Epoque wave, something like that would be really fun to play. There are so many things, I also like comedy, though.

To believe in themselves. This may sound like what everyone else says but I'm so tired of judgment. Everyone will always have something to say to you. Every time, just because they feel like they have the right to. In the end, it is about who we truly are and being honest with ourselves. You go to acting school and teachers will tell you smile too much or you are too loud or you laugh too much and then you go to another teacher and they will tell you the exact opposite and then you actually go up the casting room and when they won't see who you are. So just believe in yourself instead of turning into a copy of other people. It's just about being present. And another thing I'd say is that they are going to make a lot of mistakes, always. I made so many mistakes and many stupid too decisions. But you just have to keep going. And then the next time you just do it better and that’s what matters. Then you look back and be like “I'm better now”.

I feel that I am an absolute geek. I used to go to Comic Cons dressed up for cosplay.
I used to spend like 15 hours a day playing video games and read comics and just chat about all that stuff. Now I don't have a PlayStation or anything but I don’t think it would be healthy.

I think no. I ’m just trying to do my best, now creating my own work. Because when I was really obsessed about maybe getting castings from elsewhere I used to have a period when I was obsessed with social media, I looked at other actors and thought “oh no they're doing great”. You know, this kind of like pressure. Even with that I wouldn’t because that taught me a lesson.

Another thing I would tell actors is to not compete with other actors. Because acting is not a competition. I think it's something where we have to work together.

In the beginning, you're feeling insecure and you want to do things really quickly. But then you start thinking about it like a marathon, as a long-term thing. Take it slow and you will enjoy it with the people that come along. Because the better the people next to you in that film or photo shoot the better you're going to be.

Sometimes it made me feel insecure. Sometimes I wondered if I should be more British or to be more American instead of being Spanish because maybe then I would get more work. Now I'm at the point when I want to really embrace where I come from. It's not like I'm a very nationalistic or anything. Even if I learn the best accent and I would have afternoon tea every day I will still be Spanish and that's what makes me special. I think it’s difficult in terms of getting parts because 90 % of them go for people without an accent but it's my job to make it work for me.

Because there are more opportunities here. There are more interesting projects. Even if I have an accent or maybe because they have an accent, it makes me different. When in Spain, I wouldn’t really stand out. I don’t want to say bad things about the scene in Spain.
Also, I moved to London because it’s such multicultural city. You can just meet anyone here and you will find a place where you are going to fit in.
So that's why I thought the UK would be a right place for me.

A lot. So now I want to learn how to become a witch. But more for the meditation part because it's so nice to play with plants and make infusions. And you can say this one is for my confidence, it’s not like it’s going to work but it is fun. I love reading the Tarot, they are beautiful cards. It's not like he's going to tell you the future but it goes deeper into your mind.
And I love painting. I draw comics now. I love cats. I actually drew comics about cats.
I like cooking. I love cooking. I used to have a cooking blog with cats telling the recipes. It was called “The Really Full Cat” in Spanish. I could keep going so it’s better if I stop there. I love jazz as I’m a jazz singer as well and I would love to learn to play an instrument. Maybe accordion or sax.

I will have loved to be in a film with Anna Karina. I think she's awesome.

It is Simon & How. Her name is Samantha and I just started with her.