Diving into Bárbara’s vital crisis, a screenwriter in her thirties who binges on benzodiazepines and spends a character as honest as cynical in the series Many People Have to Die, is the latest feat of actress Anna Castillo (Barcelona, 1993).
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The original Movistar Plus+ series was created by Victoria Martín based on her novel of the same name, who also writes the scripts and directs alongside Sandra Romero and Nacho Pardo, to narrate with humor, shamelessness, and irony generational aspects such as job insecurity, mental health, and false expectations. Maca (Laura Weissmahr) and Elena (Macarena García) complete the trio of school friends protagonists, along with a kind of conscience figure played by the young Sofía Otero. After its passage through the Official Section of Canneseries, the series arrives on the platform next May 21.
The title of the series is quite a relief. Has it ever crossed your mind?
Of course! I suppose that phrase also corresponds to the idea that there are systems and people in charge of important systems that, in some way, are a bit outdated or do not match the ideas we would like to defend right now. It’s a way of saying we need fresh air.
What do you think is the height of human stupidity?
There is something about clinging to individualism that surprises and terrifies me. That we are not capable of thinking collectively confuses me and is very scary. I find it horrible and stupid because we are part of a whole. I feel that the smartest thing is to think about the common good.
The world has evolved into a place where our expectations have been frustrated”
Does frustration define today’s thirty-somethings?
There is something quite hopeful and positive in this generation: there was a time when we could cling to dreaming and projecting. Frustration is part of it because we were sold a bit of a lie and the world has evolved into a place where our expectations, as a generation, have been frustrated. I also think we are a generation that laughs a lot at ourselves, that enjoys and lives, that fights. I don’t think we are passive.
Which of your expectations has turned out to be a fraud?
I have been working since I was 15 in a rather peculiar industry and I feel very privileged, but from a very young age, we were told we could do whatever we wanted and that’s not entirely true. I thought that by 30, I would have traveled, lived in other places, but in the end, you get caught in a work wheel, capitalism, meeting goals while time passes and you don’t realize it.
Your character resorts to pills to manage anxiety. Have we normalized living doped?
I think a little yes… On one hand, I think thank goodness for pills!, because before mental health problems were not named or there was much more stigma. It was harder to talk to someone and have them say: you have depression or anxiety, but we can treat it, reach a chemical balance that will help you. All that silence no longer exists and it can be remedied. I [knock on wood], so far, haven’t had to resort to them. I think everyone does what they can and managing life, in general, and emotions is quite difficult.
What part of Bárbara has connected most with you?
Although at first she is very unpleasant, I really like Bárbara because, in reality, even though we are politically correct, empathetic, and considerate of the people around us, I think quite similarly to her in many things. I share with her that false honesty with oneself and others scares and bothers me a lot.
They say working with friends is a double-edged sword. What’s the best and worst of having done it with Macarena García?
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There has been nothing bad, except laughing a little more than we should. It has been lucky that we worked together again with characters like these. We are close friends and I consider her like my sister. What acting with someone so close and whom you love so much produces cannot be faked, and that has made the scenes we have together grow a lot.
She keeps her feet on the ground despite success. What is her antidote?
I think it has to do with a way of being. In this profession where we are constantly exposed, we all have moments when we feel a little more vulnerable or get a bit confused with validation, but relativizing has been the key for me. Nothing is super important, nothing is a matter of life or death. Life is many other things and, for me, my personal life is more important than my professional one. I think that makes me very in touch with who I am, apart from this profession.
I feel that women spend their lives fighting against themselves and it’s a shame”
What is your take on the aesthetic pressure women suffer?
It’s quite an incoherent moment because we have more information than ever. We know what aesthetic pressure is, why it is exerted on us, we know it’s a trap and the mechanism used… and yet, with social media and constant comparison, it’s inevitable. It’s terrible, especially what has to do with thinness; it worries me a lot. I feel that women spend their lives fighting against themselves and it’s a shame, but I don’t have the key to anything and everyone deals with this with the greatest self-love and as best they can.
In a hyperconnected world, what things make you turn off your phone?
People! We need to be in physical contact with them. When I’m alone for a while, I’m lucky that I like to read, enjoy watching movies, also reality shows… I consume screen time in other ways, but what makes me forget the phone the most is being with my boyfriend, my friends, my sister… Being in the world and living with people, otherwise it’s ruin.
If tomorrow you decided to give up acting, what profession do you think you would be good at?
I really like gastronomy, eating, and knowing about it, so I suppose something related to that. I could also stay in the industry and be part of the directing team. After all, I have been filming for so many years and meeting directors that I think I could do well.
Have you fantasized about directing?
Yes, in fact, I am working on it. I have a project and I think it will happen, but these things go slowly and with little pressure. I think stories have to be told from many places and when the possibility arises to contribute from another place, I want to.
What would you say today, with all you’ve learned, to your younger self?
I’m quite happy with how things have gone. My expectations have been exceeded. I would tell her to enjoy the process, to travel more [laughs], that everything will be fine. It would be a reassuring message.
A dream for the future?
To start my own project, which I trust will happen. A personal dream, at some point, would be to become a mother. It’s something that in recent years I have considered more strongly. I don’t know when it will be, because in the end these things are very complicated.
My favourite things
A song: Águas de março by Elis Regina.
An ideal Sunday plan: Sunny weather, going for a walk, seeing an exhibition, having an aperitif, going back home, taking a nap, going to the movies, and having dinner at an Asian restaurant.
A memorable trip: To Cuba, because there were many adventures.
A bedside book: Chelsea Girls by Eileen Myles. I love the narrative related to diaries or vital chapters of the person writing.
A role model: My parents, who are always there and do very well. I love them very much.
A scent: My cat’s, I adore the smell of his neck.
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