Karla Sofía Gascón | Trans Actress

Karla Sofía Gascón

Following her deeply moving performance in Emilia Peréz, Spanish trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, having already picked up the equivalent prize at the Cannes Film Festival. She also received the Best Actress award at the European Film Award. Here’s her interview about the role that has garnered her so much attention!

Who is Emilia Pérez?

With Emilia Pérez, it’s a bit as if Beauty and the Beast were locked in the same body. When the film opens, she is Manitas, a woman who’s confined in a life she doesn’t belong in, but who finds herself at a point in her life when she has the opportunity to leave this life behind – a life she wants no part of anymore. Manitas grew up in a world where parents would rather their sons were delinquents than “faggots”. So, he’s trapped on both accounts – in delinquency and in a manhood that he doesn’t relate to.

So, he decides to leave everything behind to become himself…

Yes, this is the story of mankind – we must always give up on something to gain something else. But it’s his last chance, and he chooses to give up once and for all, although he reconsiders his decision over the course of the film and tries to keep what matters most to him – his children.

Were you familiar with Jacques Audiard’s work before you began working with him?

Hardly at all – and I didn’t want to watch any of his previous films. His film Paris, 13th District came out as we had already begun working together on Emilia Pérez and I decided not to see it. I didn’t want to be influenced in any way. I like freedom too much. Seeing him as a god or a genius would have gotten in the way of my work – and instead I developed not a friendly relationship but a family-like relationship. One of the first things I asked him when we met was, “How will we communicate?” He gave me a very beautiful answer, “Telepathically!” And it was true – it worked! He’s the best actors’s director in the world and I love him so much. We have a common passion for the artform.

Do you feel Jacques Audiard has captured the complexity of Mexico – a country that you know very well because you built part of your career there?

I do. What he understood before anything else is how much women have the power to change the world, which is at the heart of the film. As regards Mexico, this is a country that captures you – you see things that are really tough but also beautiful. There’s something soft and warm about the people, and it’s a country where I’ve enjoyed really happy moments and developed deep, warm relationships with very dear friends.

When you read the script, did you feel understood both as a woman and as a trans woman?

Definitely. Jacques had been thinking about this project for a long time – he had been mulling over these questions for a long time. He kept away from really common pitfalls, including pronoun mistakes.

How challenging was it, emotionally and technically, to portray Manitas’ scenes?

As a rule, I like to play characters that are as far away from me as possible – and Manitas has nothing to do with me… But naturally, things echoed in me, particularly his profound desire for change and his love for his children. I love him because he’s free whereas Emilia is more subservient. Whatever people may say, social norms pressurise women, although the latter are more liberated inside – and during production, portraying Emilia was much more challenging. I had to wear a corset that restricted my movements, a wig that held my head tightly, and high heels… With Manitas, after being made up and having prosthetics applied on my face, I was free to move as I wished.

How did you work on your voice to reach Manitas’ very low-pitched voice, and that of Emilia’s, which is much more high-pitched?

My own voice is halfway between Manitas’ and Emilia’s, but I am passionate about dubbing. Even in real life, I always have fun making up voices for people. For Manitas, I thought of John Rambo that I grew up watching on TV as a kid with my brother. For Emilia, who has a lighter tone of voice as she needs to emphasise her softness, I was inspired by the voice of British singer Samantha Fox.

How did you approach the singing parts?

I immediately told Jacques and the rest of the crew that I’m neither a singer, nor a dancer. Fortunately, I’m a hard worker and we had a long time to prep – more than a year prior to the shoot. With choreographer Damien Jalet, we focused on Manitas’ and Emilia’s hand movements. With the composers Camille and Clément, it was challenging, especially for Emilia’s songs which are in a high tessitura. But Jacques is clever enough to embrace everybody’s skills and limitations.

How was it working with Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez?

If I’d been told twenty years ago that I would play in a Jacques Audiard movie opposite Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez, I’d never have believed it! My trick not to be daunted by the situation is to consider them as sisters and as their characters. I must have looked like a crazy woman because I was so immersed in the film that it sometimes blurred the line between fact and fiction – when I watched Selena’s scenes with Edgar Ramirez, portraying her lover, I could feel Emilia’s jealousy.

What scenes were the most challenging to play?

The hospital scene, when Emilia wakes up after his surgery, was one of the first scenes we shot, and it was emotionally challenging. And then Emilia’s scene with her son, in his child’s room, suddenly helped me realise how deep the role was. As I was lying down, watching the lights on the ceiling, I knew I’d need some kind of exorcism by the end of the shoot because what I was experiencing was really intense. I’m a mother and I used to be a father. For me, this aspect of the film was really intense emotionally, but also easier to grasp.

With the film’s release, you will be a voice for the transgender “cause” and for the fight for trans people’s rights. How does it feel?

First and foremost, I think that before being a champion of the trans & LGBTQI+ communities, I mostly see myself as someone who fought to make his/her dreams come true. Thousands of actors across the world struggle to be able to work and perform on stage in nearly empty theatres. I’ve personally already performed for only one audience member. It’s a very difficult job. So, before anything else I’d like to be a voice for this – the courage, the desire, the strength that help you achieve your dreams. As for trans people, I wish we stopped being dismissed, categorised and put into a box, I wish we stopped being made fun of, insulted and hated. I personally got lucky in a way – thanks to my wife and my family, I was able to follow through with my transition while going on with my life. But we must think of all those trans women who need to prostitute themselves because they lose their jobs and their livelihoods. I wish we could all live in broad daylight and, most importantly, live normal lives.

Featured Image: courtesy Kismet Movies

See more at: Selena Gomez Talks About Emilia Peréz and head to Kismet Movies

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