Hearthbreaking, truthful, disruptive and, ultimately, a great actress. Mallorcan Vicky Luengo (Palma, 1990) has been able to captivate the public with what she knows how to do best: playing characters. And she does it in such a way that the critics love her. Her first prize was collected in New York in 2014 for the film Born, but it was in 2020 when her role as Laia Urquijo in the Movistar Anti-riot series led to her leap to national stardom. For this role she received an Ondas Award, a Silver Fotogramas… It is clear that there is no one to stop her.
Photos: Itziar Jiménez.
– When and how did a girl from Mallorca decide to become an actress?
– I decided it from a very young age. I think I was 11 years old when I asked my mother to sign me up for acting school and that’s when I started studying. I don’t know why I decided it, but I always wanted to be an actress.
– In 2019 you received critical and public recognition for your role in ‘Antiriots’. What do you feel when you are awarded for your professional career at just 30 years old?
– Very grateful, because in this profession it is very difficult to get a job, to be offered interesting roles and for people to see them from the outside. The fact this has happened to me and that my work has been recognized is to feel very grateful, which is how I am, and hoping that it will allow me to continue working on the things that I like.
– Rodrigo Sorogoyen has counted on you on other occasions. Where does this professional relationship come from? Can it be said that you are one of his muses?
– I really don’t want to be anyone’s muse, it’s been twice: in ‘Antiriots’ and in ‘El doble’. We understand each other very well working and we have a similar way of seeing the job and telling stories. I hope I can meet him many more times.
– You’ve done a bit of everything: television, theater, cinema… What do you highlight from each of these formats?
– From the theater I prefer the spontaneity and the magic that occurs. Being live, it only happens once, and this is incredible. In the audiovisual field, I like the possibility of going into detail, being able to tell things with the eyes, much more specific. But I really couldn’t choose one, the roles I choose depend on the story I tell in them more than the format. I like all equally, I want to do them all.
– And what is the hardest thing about them?
– In theater, the sacrifice involved. Physically and mentally, repeating a two-hour theater performance in which I don’t leave the scene is a strong sacrifice for the body and also on an emotional level. In filming, what is complicated is the waiting time, the number of hours involved in being present. But, in general, the hardest part of the profession is uncertainty, not knowing what will happen to you or how it will be the next time you work.
– Do you have a predilection for any of the characters you’ve played so far?
– I could not stay with just one, it would be very rare. But, obviously, Laia Urquijo, from ‘Antiriots’, is a character that I will remember all my life. She fascinated me doing it and it brought me many good things and many changes in my life. I will never forget this, so I think I would choose him.
– And any that you have left to do?
– All the ones that have been done so far when I see them in the movies I like them because they have been made by an actress who did them the way she did and they are already good that way. I wouldn’t consider wanting to do it or repeat it. What I hope is that characters as interesting and as rich as they have been until now keep calling me.
– You have had a great role in one of the chapters of “Stories to keep you awake”, what is it that keeps you up at night?
– Hypocrisy, selfishness and lack of love, in general. Not taking care of the people you love.
– Does going to psychological therapy help to digest criticism?
– I don’t talk much about criticism in therapy, I talk about it more with my friends, but therapy contributes everything. It seems important to me, it helps me manage my conflicts, my emotions, the good things, the bad ones… In short, it keeps my head healthy.
– Do you visit Mallorca often? What relationship do you have with the island today?
– I was born in Mallorca, but as an adult I have gone less than I would like, only some summers. I like it a lot and it’s a beautiful island, I still have family there.
– What are the places you remember the most?
– When I was little I used to go to Alcúdia and its beaches a lot. But as an adult, where I have gone the most has been to the Manacor theater to act and I usually stay in Portocristo.
– Tell me some memorable movie for you.
– Night show, by Josefina Molina.
– And series?
– The Virtues, a Filmin series.
– Any actress that you have idealized?
– Many, choosing one is complicated, but I will say Juliete Binoche.
– And actor?
– Hmm… Daniel Day Lewis.
– What was the last movie that made you cry?
– I didn’t cry, but the last one that moved me a lot is the one in Paris 13th district -Les Olympiades- by Jacques Audiard.
– And laugh out loud?
– I think it’s been a long time since I laughed out loud at a movie. I laugh out loud listening to Deforme Semanal, which is a podcast.
– After a few years of constant work, what will be the next steps in Vicky Luengo’s career?
– I don’t know, if it were in my hands… But this year I will premier the movie Suro, which I shot last summer and with which I’m very happy. It has a beautiful script directed by Mikel Gurrea, a new director. I will also go on touring around five cities in Spain with the theater El Golem.
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