Ursula Corbero makes Hollywood debut: I’m proud of myself
By David Villafranca
Los Angeles, Jul 21 (EFE).- After triumphing around the world with meticulous and thrilling heists in the Netflix series “La casa de papel,” Spanish actress Ursula Corbero is now making her Hollywood debut in “Snake Eyes,” a spinoff of “G.I. Joe” in which she is now at the pinnacle – so far – of her career.
“I’ve always been pretty much an enemy of false modesty. So, I’m feeling proud of myself,” she said in an interview with EFE.
“It’s very good and I think it’s very healthy to feel proud of oneself, although it seems to me that sometimes it’s not viewed well to say it openly like that. But I feel that I’ve made a big effort to achieve what I want, which is to be able to devote myself to my vocation,” she added.
Before saying farewell to “La casa de papel” at the end of this year, Corbero – who was born in Barcelona in 1989 – on Friday in the United States will present “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins,” a film directed by Robert Schwentke, who directed “RED” in 2010, which relaunches the “G.I. Joe” action saga with the character of Snake Eyes as the protagonist.
Henry Golding, who made a big splash with “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), heads the cast in this tale of the beginnings of Snake Eyes, also starring Samara Weaving, Andrew Koji and Corbero – playing The Baroness, a clever and cruelly entertaining villain.
Question: In 2021 you’re debuting in Hollywood and also saying goodbye to “La casa de papel.” Do you feel like this is a phase change in your career?
Answer: It’s funny because I was feeling that cyclical change the whole day that we were finishing filming “La casa de papel.” We’ve all been working together with this craziness for almost the past four years … It’s been a long journey.
Look, what I’m saying is that I feel that the end of “La casa de papel” is more of a phase change than my start in the American (film) industry.
Q: Why did you decide that “G.I. Joe” was the ideal project for getting started in Hollywood?
A: It’s very funny because, when they sent me the script and offered me the part of The Baroness, the truth is that I wasn’t very familiar with the “G.I. Joe” universe. And I think that that worked in my favor: I was completely free of any pressure.
But, it’s true that, as I was getting into this world, I noticed that it’s something that really moves people.
Above all, I was clear that it had to go well. The Baroness was the first villain that I was going to do in my career and to have a villain’s role in your resume was a real “achievement” (laughing). Also, it was something new and different for me.
Q: Recently, you remarked that there is something “liberating” in portraying an evil character.
A: It’s all very liberating because when you’re playing a villain there are no rules, there are no regulations. Everything goes.
Everything goes well for this women, even when she’s in the tightest situations, when she has to make important decisions. It’s all the same to her: she never loses her sense of humor. She’s always enjoying it.
I said: “Yikes, I think I need a character who enjoys things because Tokio (her role in “La casa de papel”) is the complete opposite …” She suffers – oh, man, how she suffers! – and I went home suffering, too.
So I thought that this would be very liberating: to be able to play a character like this and take great delight in this thing that has (The Baroness) being feminine, powerful and everything.
Q: A little more than 10 years ago you made your appearance in “Fisica o quimica” and now in 2021 you’re in Hollywood. What do you feel when you look back?
A: (thinking for a while) I think that I’ve always been pretty much an enemy of false modesty. So, I’m feeling proud of myself. It’s very good and I think it’s very healthy to feel proud of oneself, although it seems to me that sometimes it’s not viewed well to say it openly like that.
