‘Emilia Pérez’ Star Karla Sofía Gascón Jokes That She Had to Get Out of Character ‘Through Exorcism’: ‘I Didn’t Know Who I Was’

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Karla Sofía Gascón, who delivered a breakthrough performance as a ruthless narco gangster transitioning in Jacques Audiard’s crime musical “Emilia Pérez,” has revealed how she fought to get the part. “At the beginning, (Audiard) did not consider me for the role (of Juan “Manitas” Del Monte), he only wanted me to play the female role after the transition,” the Spanish actress said during a masterclass at the Biarritz’ Nouvelles Vagues Festival, speaking in a packed theater. “It took me a long time to convince him that I could do both, and thanks to… I don’t know what, thanks to this universe, I ended up convincing him.” Gascón’s performance in the film would earn her the best acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival (shared with Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana and Adriana Paz).

From the start, she felt that it was “absolutely obvious” that she had to play both roles. “I do not see which actor would not have had this desire to follow their character in all its evolution,” she said, adding that “very few actors and actresses” get roles like the one she got in “Emilia Pérez.” “I haven’t seen many roles like it, not even with Javier Bardem or Marlon Brando’s careers.” Gascón admitted, however, that she dived into the role so deeply that she struggled to come out of it once filming wrapped. “There were times when I didn’t know who I was and neither did my co-stars.

I was too deep in that character that it was very hard for me to get out of it,” she said. Gascón joked that she “managed” to pull Emilia Pérez out of herself “through exorcism.” The experience was such that when came the time to do some dubbing and final takes, “there was a part of (her) that rejected these characters, who.