For the youngest, his voice embodied one of the most popular characters in the Disney universe, Dory, from Finding Nemo. For the older ones, it was Diana Freire in 7 livesone of the first times when the everyday stories that happened to a young lesbian girl entered Spanish homes in the late 90s and early 2000s in prime time. He was also Pruden for 122 episodes of Thieves go to the officebenin in Love is eternal for 2,406 episodes and until Celestina, a play in which he plays today.
Anabel Alonso Gómez (Barakaldo, 1964) takes the time, despite her busy schedule, to visit elDiario.es/Euskadi and browse her work, her multiple characters, the conciliation or lack thereof in the world of cinema and television , his personal opinions on social networks or the difference in scale between the beauty of men and that of women. All this in a career full of success that took him where he started: his native country, Euskadi.
When did you know you wanted to be an actress?
At 15 years old. I can’t tell you which came first, the chicken or the egg. I think at first I wanted to be an actress and then I found a small theater group in Santurtzi. When I walked in there, I saw that it was really my thing.
This question may be difficult to answer, but who is the character that has given you the most fulfillment throughout your career?
It’s complicated. Let’s say that the one who “consecrated” me, in quotation marks, was Pruden de Thieves go to the officefor all the cast I was with and everything it meant to me.
And which was the most difficult?
Let me think.
Of course, calm down.
Look, I just remembered this. For me, the most difficult job was a show that I did in Basque, because I had to learn it by heart. I don’t know Basque and I learned everything by heart. I remember playing a witch and, although it was complicated, I succeeded.
Have you ever played in Basque, even from memory?
No, never. Then I moved to Madrid and made my career there.
In the series “7 Lives”, did the neck of Sole, the character played by Amparo Baró, hurt?
(Laughs) Let’s see, generally no, even if sometimes I didn’t hit the right place and then it sent shivers down your spine. But come on, the one who really wanted it was the fruit basket.
In Santi Rodriguez?
Yes, in Santi. He offered it to her with great enthusiasm. With [Carmen] Machi or I were kind.
Putting a lesbian in a prime time series for the whole family and seeing the reception she received was a gift we hadn’t anticipated.
What was it like working with this cast?
Well, it was amazing. When you’re in trouble, you don’t realize it, but then you look back and see that you worked with the best actors of your generation and on top of that, we had a great time, we had fun and enjoyed it a lot. The series also had a lot of impact and was very successful. What more could you ask for? Everything was wonderful, the colleagues, the scenarios, the reception from the public… In addition to the fact that they gave us many awards, it was scandalous.
It was an innovative series and way ahead of its time. In fact, he had to interpret Diana’s marriage, a marriage between women, even though this right did not yet exist in Spain. What does this mean to you?
It was something incredible. When they suggested that I change the character, a little to give her more life, we weren’t aware of what that implied or the impact that would have if Diana realized that she loved women. So, putting a lesbian in a ‘prime time’ series with a large audience on a Sunday evening for the whole family and seeing the reception she got, was a gift that we hadn’t expected, because from there, we no longer know the maps that have reached us. They have given us numerous awards from LGTBI groups and associations. We received letters from boys and girls telling us how much it meant to them to watch the show with their parents. Small-town girls who saw themselves represented in Diana and realized they weren’t really weird. We entered the houses in a fresh and direct way because the same things happened to Diana that happened to all of us: she was fired from her job, she fell in love and they didn’t reciprocate. The writers did a wonderful job. because they did it absolutely every day, fresh, direct, without big coconut puffs and by demonstrating that LGTBI characters are mortals to whom exactly the same thing happens to others.
What was your start as a voice actress like playing a character like Dory?
When I was offered, I was excited about playing a Disney character, but I thought it would be a character with four or five lines. When I saw what Dory looked like and how important she was, I told them I had never done voice acting in my life. Thanks to Eduardo Gutiérrez, the dubbing director of the film, who helped me a lot and gave me a lot of confidence, we managed to do it this way. It was he who took a risk and invented the Dory that we have in the Spanish version, more expressive and less monotonous than the original.
Today, she is working on a play in which Celestina plays. What does theater offer that television or cinema don’t?
In the theater, there is first the work process up to the premiere, which is very enriching in the sense that you try to discover. You have 45 days to try, investigate and make mistakes, but once the work is published, the work does not end, another one begins, in which you consolidate or discover new things. I am now at the 130th performance of Celestina and it is still alive because you discover new things with your colleagues or with the audience. You know the text, but you get to know the character as you perform and that’s something that enriches you and enhances you as an actress. This in addition to the relationship with the public, the immediate response and the fact that no function is the same as the previous one. There are many things that make theater something different and unique.
Reconciliation is very complicated and even more so when you don’t have family support. They don’t make it easy for you
Beyond his work as a performer, he has appeared on television shows such as MasterChef. How was this experience given the criticism of the program?
Personally, I really enjoyed this and have also been a repeat offender. Everyone always tells the story as it goes and it’s a TV show where you have to put on a show, outside of work, which is something we’ve worked a lot on. Obviously, there were tensions and we had to bring out the dishes and the tests, but you also have to entertain and have fun. I’ve never seen anything strange. When I made a mistake, they eliminated me. My experience was fantastic.
In such a broad and powerful career, is there room for work-life balance?
There is, but barely. Reconciliation is very complicated and even more so when you don’t have family support or grandparents to help you. When you can’t, you have to babysit. It’s complicated and they don’t make it easy for you. Fortunately, I have the means and can hire someone, but if I didn’t, I would have to give up a lot of things to enjoy the dwarf. With work I have to travel and go out, but I measure my commitments a lot and say no to anything that is inevitable. The departures and premieres have for the moment become history.
She is one of those actresses who does not hesitate to give her opinion on social networks. Has openly stating your opinion on something ever prevented you from getting a job or caused problems at your job?
As far as I know, I haven’t lost any jobs for giving my opinion online, but I don’t know. You may also have lost your job because someone didn’t like you. In this business, everything is so fickle, so random and depends on so many things that it’s difficult to know. This job is not about giving your opinion or because you stop giving it you can lose it directly because someone doesn’t like it.
Men aren’t forced to conform to just one type of beauty in movies. Here we have Luis Tosar, Javi Gutiérrez or Javier Cámara
In the case of women, do other factors such as age or physique also come into play or are things improving in this sense?
More or less, it remains the same. There are now more female directors and screenwriters, but it remains difficult. Steps are being taken, but you see the big picture and in the case of men, they don’t have to adapt to one type of beauty. We have Luis Tosar, Javi Gutiérrez or Javier Cámara. However, in the case of women, everything is more conventional. In the cinema or on television, the balance of beauty among men and women is still very unbalanced.
You were recently seen on EiTB, what does it mean for you to return to Euskadi?
I came back for love of the land. Since I started, they have never called me and it’s been almost 40 years. When they called me to collaborate, I said yes even though it’s quite complicated to go to Donostia. I did it because of this nostalgia and this affection. Enough of not being a prophet in your country.
