Earning Best Actress Awards and Getting her SAG Card, Galvanizes Actor Rosa Fortuny
Award-winning actor Rosa Fortuny recalls the excitement when she earned her SAG (Screen Actors Guild) card, which provides the major entry into Hollywood. Spanish-born Fortuny, who has earned Best Actress nominations and awards in Spain, recalls the moment she got to perform on the TV series, Pump, which earned her that entrée into film and television in the U.S., saying, “It was amazing! I just went to an in-person audition and two days later they told me I got the job. I just finished graduating from University, got my work papers and boom, I Landed an acting SAG job. I couldn’t be more grateful. The experience was incredible, having my name at the door of my changing room (camerino), all these people coming in showing me wardrobe, make up, running lines. All the movement and life on set was a very exciting experience.”
Indeed, Fortuny’s experience includes performing in a broad variety of productions, including: award-winning shorts, like the horror film Three Pick-Up Artists, which was a Finalist for Best Short at ARFF Barcelona International Film Festival; starring in the feature action drama, American Samurai; starring in Cross Words Together, which earned Best Drama-Short at the SAG AFTRA festival, and which also aired on Amazon Prime US and UK; and, she’s also earned a Best Actress award from the Barcelona International Film Festival, and a Best Supporting Actress from Flick Film Festival.
After she earned her Best Actress Award from ARFF, she says, “My heart smiled when I received the email telling me I got ‘Best Actress.’ I couldn’t believe it as there are so many talented folks out there and to have gotten that award brought me confidence to keep going and keep believing in myself. It’s a reminder to keep pouring my heart into what I do and hope the message gets received. As for earning some honor at Cannes, the Golden Globes or Academy Awards, that’s on my bucket list and just attending any of those shows would be an absolute honor.”
Additionally, Fortuny has performed in several national commercials (Lavazza Ode to Coffee, and LifeSource Water Systems on Roku TV), and, most recently, she played a lead role for a voice-over on a new game called Travel Game. She talks to us about her strengths, the joys and literal pain of her starring role in the action-drama American Samurai, and performing on projects like The Hunch, and Cross Words Together.
— What are some of your strengths and assets?
— Being professional and being on time is number one. You got to be there a few minutes early and show up for work, ready to go. Also, bring your best attitude, and bring your best mood to have the smoothest day possible. We are all here to work. And, also we are all here to enjoy telling the story — meaning, I love movie sets because everyone knows what part they are supposed to play and it’s incredible how much love, effort and creativity everyone brings to the table. As for myself, I’m always down to improv new scenes that might bring more juice to the film. I do feel super lucky every time I’m on set, working on a project, rehearsing with my coach.
— What sort of commitment did you make being a lead in the action movie, American Samurai?
— It was incredible! I spent that entire year doing intensive stunt training for the movie, and the more I trained, the more I got my focus on action films. I even put a photo of Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander from the Tomb Raider film next to my mirror that I would see every morning. She played a heroic warrior, just as I did. As for commitment, check this out. I actually got hurt during a sword fighting scene and the director just kept filming because I just kept going. It started glazing and the actor I was fighting against, he was wearing a mask and due to the weather, his visibility became more restricted and I cut two fingers. Although it wasn’t too serious, I actually didn’t realize until I saw blood later on. Afterwards, the director told me that he didn’t stop rolling because I just kept going. It was an amazing experience.
— What were some of the highlights of some other films you worked on?
— I believe The Hunch was a retro film inspired by director Hitchcock’s thriller Psycho. I enjoyed the role a lot since there was a lot of room for me as an actor to explore. I got to play an Italian from Brooklyn and it was a lot of fun, with a lot drama and screaming. My character is killed at the end and I had to give a very dramatic scream. On Cross Words Together, which earned a Best Drama Short at the SAG-AFTRA festival, we were encouraged by the director, Shubam Shevade, to use everything there was around us, and whether we identified it as positive or negative, it was going to be added into our performance. We are human beings and everything around us changes us, either we want it or not but it’s up to us to use it for our best purpose.
— What’s key to successfully acting in commercials like for Lavazza, LifeSource Water System and Hello Fresh?
— Getting a great self-tape (or pre-recorded video) or first audition is key. Bring your authentic self to the audition, while adding all the character breakdown that casting is looking for. Dress the part without going to a carnival. My take is that commercial work is another form of storytelling. I feel like acting in commercials is about bringing your best attitude. Then, listen very closely to what the director wants and let the shoot begin. Also, the Hello Fresh commercial was particularly fun, with me coming from a Spanish-speaking background, and shooting a Spanish commercial in Los Angeles. The woman I acted with just had the lines recorded since it was a “zoom call” conversation. We worked a lot on timing and bringing in different options, so post-production had different outcomes to choose and play with during editing.
— What other types of movies would you be open to showing your skills in?
— Having done a dramatic action film, American Samurai, I’d also be open to an action comedy. I love comedy since I also grew up watching comedies from Sandra Bullock — she would be someone I would look up to as a kid, being a smart intelligent woman, as well as funny and very detailed with her comic timing. I couldn’t choose between comedy and drama, I love them both, but I would love to be in a film with Sandra Bullock, Kristen Wiig or Tina Fey. Or on the more dramatic side, acting in a quirky fantasy film like Oscar winner, Poor Things. The thing is, you have to love all kinds of cinema to be able to last in this industry.
— How has the role of actor developed over time, given new technology and AI?
— From my experience, I went from Spain where self-tapes weren’t a thing. To continue my studies in LA, you had to get a hand on a camera or a good cellphone camera and record it. I think green screens have helped so much in cinema, making it look real but keeping it inside the budget. Also, the job of an actor in a green screen scenario takes me back to my improv classes — you really had to see everything that was around, either a jungle or New York City — it gives you an opportunity to create, visualize and just imagine. I believe A.I. can be a good friend to cinema if used with caution, respecting the naturalism of life. That’s why people go to the cinema, to feel emotions they might not feel themselves.
Drop in on Rosa Fortuny on IMDb, and on Instagram. Check out the American Samurai trailer, and full movie on TubiTV. Also drop in on Rosa’s commercial, and film acting reels.
