Úrsula Corberó: “You don't always feel like stopping to chat with people. You're not in a good mood every day either."
It is the third day that he has attended the media and in his attitude there is not a trace of fatigue or reluctance. Úrsula Corberó receives with a smile from ear to ear, predisposition and the relevant two-meter distance. After two days of interviews in English, in addition, today he plays at home. He is in Madrid, where he lives, to present Snake Eyes, his latest film and the first in Hollywood, a childhood dream come true. “I was six years old and I already said that I wanted to be an actress and obviously the first thing you think about from the most naïve place when you are six years old is that, making a Hollywood movie. It has been an incredible experience, I would love to continue working in the United States, but that does not mean that I do not want to work in other parts of the world”. Asia, Italy, France, Spain... your wish list seems inexhaustible.
If there is one word that defines Corberó, 31, it is chameleonic. The Catalan actress either appears in networks in a tracksuit or revolutionizes them in underwear, as she wears an Asian-inspired look. It's not just appearance. In front of a camera, she has shown that she defends a historical figure like Margarita of Austria in the Isabel series as well as a villain like The Baroness, whom she brings to life in this new feature film that opens on August 13. A character for which he prepared for a month in Vancouver, Canada, which has demanded more physically than mentally, and to which he believes that he has given his own traits. “He has my energy, for example. I am a very energetic person, I think a lot, I spin the jar a lot, I am visceral. The Baroness, as calculating as she is, has some passion for everything she does,” she says.
She rose to fame in 2008 playing Ruth in the series Physics or Chemistry, but in recent years the popularity of this Catalan actress has reached stratospheric levels thanks to the character of Tokio in Money Heist, a Netflix series turned into a worldwide phenomenon, broadcast in 190 countries. She gives a good account of that resounding success on her Instagram profile. Ursulolita —her username— accumulates a whopping more than 21 million followers on the social network. A figure before which it is almost impossible not to feel a bit dizzy, especially when you are in charge of managing the publications yourself. “You know that anything you post is going to be questioned or sometimes you want to do something with good intentions and there are people who get hurt by things that you don't realize. Then there are people who hurt themselves just because, they want to put bad things on you and that's it ”, he explains. For this reason, she admits, she does not expose herself as much as she did "a few years ago", in an effort to protect her loved ones and herself, although she recognizes the usefulness of these platforms. "I really like social networks and I think it's very useful to be able to give voice to your projects and the things you do, but I have times," he clarifies.
This virtual caution is also visible in the face to face. When Corberó speaks, she does so slowly, sure of her words and does not hesitate to avoid a question if she feels that it could put her in trouble, for example, where does she really feel from: if she is from Barcelona, the province where she was born; from Madrid, where he lives; from everywhere, due to his busy schedule of filming and constant visits to Buenos Aires; or none. "Answer what I answer you, I'm going to get into an eggplant then... I'm from planet Earth, we're going to leave it there," he ditch. And it is that she recognizes that although she thinks every day about how lucky she is, "they don't teach you at school to deal with that either" which is fame. "I consider myself a very outgoing person and I really like interacting with people and meeting new people, but it is true that as a result of La casa de papel everything came very suddenly and, I'll be honest, you don't always you feel like stopping to chat with people when you leave home. It is a fact and it is so. You're not in a good mood every day either.”
In constant professional evolution, Corberó has maintained a stable relationship for the last five years with fellow actor Chino Darín, with whom he worked on the series La embassy. She goes to him and her environment, she assures, when she needs to put her feet back on the ground, and with him she spent the harsh confinement of the spring of 2020. She went to Buenos Aires to spend 10 days and stayed four months. “My boyfriend is the most earthly thing you can throw at your face. I am from living in the clouds, but it suits me. There are many things apart from the people that surround me who are my boy, my family, my friends... that make me, more than go down to Earth, disconnect. I think that nowadays it is super important, we spend all day with the thing there [he makes a gesture as if he were typing with the mobile phone], with the batteries on. Everything happens very quickly and everything is like it is disposable and then the new arrives ”, he reflects. Among those hobbies are music and cooking. The Catalan defends herself "very well" in the kitchen when she has time, something that, she says, does not happen often.
She'll be 32 in mid-August, and she still looks “super young,” even though she's often questioned about what it's like to be past her 20s. “It is a question that I am normally asked and that seems strange to me because I cannot imagine asking a man that question: ‘How are you doing not being 20 years old anymore? How do you deal with seeing that you are getting older?”, he reflects on some differences in treatment with respect to his male colleagues, who also warns about issues related to his physique. "You would never ask a man what his beauty routine is, would you?" She, in essence, is still the same girl who 13 years ago played a teenager in the corridors of the Zurbarán Institute. “I still have things very clear about what I want to be and how I want to be, I'm still just as sensitive, I'm still very sensitive, but when I see videos from then... I have a friend who sends me Physics or chemistry videos and I think : that's me?".
