'It’s like a sport.. you train a lot and suddenly it comes naturally'

Ingrid García-Jonsson: 'I love cinema verite and the more natural films but when films go a step further, I really enjoy that' Photo: Amber Wilkinson

Swedish-Spanish star Ingrid García-Jonsson is a woman whose career is on the rise. Nominated for a Best New Actress Goya in 2015, for her role in Jaime Rosales’ Beautiful Youth, about a young couple with a newborn trying to make ends meet. Since then, her career has continued to flourish in Spain, with recent success including as Tamara in Nacho Vigalondo’s miniseries about the transformation of the Spanish pop star and in the fantasy-inflected Rafaela Y Su Loco Mundo. Recent big screen roles include in Bruno Lazaro’s August So Tragic And Tender and, as a contract killer in Pablo Hernando’s The Whale (Una Ballena).

Also buried in her back catalogue was a role as Cameron Diaz’s double in Knight And Day, a quirky fact that came to light as both she and the cinematographer of James Mangold’s spy adventure, Phedon Papamichael, both won awards at this year’s Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival. She’s also got a keen sense of humour, noting that when she gets a scripts she always counts how many pages her character is in it for before deciding. We spoke to her about her career so far and her plans for the future after she picked up her New Talent accolade.

You started off training to be an architect. It’s interesting that you’re still designing in a way – but characters rather than buildings.

Ingrid García-Jonsson: I studied architecture for four years. I didn’t know what to do with my life and I wasn’t brave enough to tell my parents that I wanted to become an actor. I decided to go for it also because I wanted to do something related with film and theatre. Production design was something that interested me a lot, and I thought, ‘Okay, maybe architecture is a good way to get into that world’, which it wasn't.

I was 18 years old. I wanted my parents to feel proud of me and not tell them the real truth is I'm going to leave, I'm gonna try to make movies. It was a very crazy idea.

They must be incredibly proud of you now though, you’ve achieved a lot.

Ingrid García-Jonsson in Beautiful Youth: 'When the crew is good, it's easy because everyone works in the same direction, and you only have to worry about being real in the moment'

IG-J: I hope they are proud. Yeah, I know, you never know. Now, I think they are and I think they're having a lot of fun because I have a lot of experiences to cheer and very nice stories to tell. I mean, yesterday I had wine with Steve Buscemi, which is amazing, and my father loves him so it was good to gossip with them. They also suffer it with me because I'm very dramatic, and when I'm not working, I'm always, ‘I’ll never work again’. They love me so they both enjoy it and suffer it with me.

You’ve said you would like to play Lady Macbeth – do you think you’d prefer to do that on stage or screen?

IG-J: On stage it would be terrifying, so it should be on stage then. But on screen would be a real challenge.

On the television side of things, you’ve had roles that are quite transformative in shows like Superstar and Rafaela Y Su Loco Mundo. Is it tricky to shoot those sorts of things that are so full on?

IG-J: When the crew is good, it's easy because everyone works in the same direction, and you only have to worry about being real in the moment, which is tricky sometimes if you have a lot of make-up and composition of the character. You really need to practice a lot, to do that in a way that feels natural for you and to not be thinking about how you need to move up your hands or how you need to talk. It’s almost like a sport, in a way, you train that a lot, and suddenly it comes naturally, and then you can play with it however you want, so it's tricky but with work, you can do it.

How do you find the difference between film and TV, do you have a preference between one or the other?

IG-J: Now, it's very similar. The crews are the same, and there are a lot of movie directors that are working in TV shows. Some years ago, things were different, but now I see a lot of similarities. The only thing is that TV series are much longer and more demanding physically, because when you are shooting for six months with the same character again and again and again, that's hard. That takes a toll on the body. Movies, at least for me, are six or seven weeks, and then I'm done. I like the stories. If the story is good, I don't mind. Maybe I’ll have to do it someday, but usually I don't sign for more than one season because I don't know if a character is going to be interesting enough to be exploring it for more than one story. But you never know, maybe I find something that gets me hooked and I want to come back. Rafael Y Su Loco Mundo, for example, was a very fun experience, so I would do that again for sure. You never know when you start. There's a lot of elements that need to align.

Do you have aspirations to write and direct further along the line?

IG-J: Yes, I directed a documentary, Nómadas, some years ago and I really enjoyed it. I loved being part of the whole process and being able to make decisions, so I'm working on it. I'm writing a few things now and I’m trying to find the money I need for it because cinema is so expensive. But, yes, hopefully one day. It's not that I'm always complaining, but sometimes I'm complaining about not having enough interesting female characters. And, at some point, I thought I should shut up and maybe try to put those characters in the world. So, a way to do that is writing and directing.

If I'm writing and if I’m directing, I wouldn't be acting at the same time.I really want to do one thing 100 per cent and I'm talented, okay, but not as talented as that.

Are there any directors who you would like to work with. Do you have aspirations to do more English language work?

IG-J: So many! I'm actually working on an American film now, I'm travelling to Tenerife to do that. I can't say anything, everything is secret, but I love to work in other languages. I've done a few things in English, and that would be great to still explore what kind of actress I am in that language. I also really want to work in Sweden with a Swedish crew and a Swedish director. It's my mother tongue and I would love to explore that. Maybe, maybe one day Ruben Östlund or Lukas Moodysson will call me for a movie.

So does edgy, satirical material interest you?

IG-J: I really like things that make me imagine things. I love cinema verite and the more natural films but when films go a step further, I really enjoy that. I don't want to stay doing only one thing. For me, part of this profession is to learn, so the characters need to be different, I need to do different stuff all the time. If I was always playing similar parts, I think I would be a bit bored. I want to learn.