‘Los Frikis’ interview: Adria Arjona has a gift when it comes to her characters
One of my favorite working actors today is Adria Arjona. And in her new film, Los Frikis, she brings a simplistic beauty to Maria that is captivating to watch. I was lucky enough to speak with Arjona for the film’s release.
Arjona has a power when she is on screen. She uses her natural beauty in a way I have never personally seen before. Each character carries that beauty differently. In films like Hit Man, Madison uses it to her advantage. In Andor, Bix almost hides it away to survive. But with Los Frikis, Maria’s beauty is what draws Gustavo (Eros De La Puente) to her.
When we talked about Arjona’s ability to use her own beauty to her advantage when creating a character, she shared with me how the process of getting into make-up for Maria helped her understand who this woman was. She revealed that she did her own make-up for the film because she didn’t see Maria as a woman who would wear much. Her hair was very natural because they were contending with the elements and Arjona knew what her hair would end up looking like.
But she went on to talk about how Gustavo’s connection with Maria was rooted in the affection she was giving him and the joy he was providing her. “I think with Maria, it was more the fact that she was providing all this joy and love to him. And I think it was this maternal element and he was giving her this joy and the attention,” Arjona said. “She finally, for the first time, can do something for herself. She’s been giving so much, she’s finally like ‘I can get it back.’ Back to what you were saying with beauty, with Maria, it was really important to me that she didn’t have make-up on.”
Arjona explains having some on for lighting and when a scene calls for it but went on to say that as a producer, she saw how much time was being spend on her hair and make-up and made the decision to do it herself. Which allowed her to start each day as Maria.
You can see our full interview here:
Los Frikis hits theaters on Christmas day.
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