“My father’s death changed my emotions forever”

Why did you decide to become an actress?

I have always been very outgoing and I loved dancing at home to musicals like Cats. I would dance and sing every day. When I was 14, I accompanied a friend to a casting. Unexpectedly, the person in charge gave me a piece of paper and said, “Here, read this”. So I read it and they gave me the part.

From then on your life changed.

Yes, I started shooting the German series Mallorca: search for paradise. Ever since, I knew that was my path. But first I had to reach an agreement with my parents, who let me work on condition that I carried on studying.

And then shortly afterwards, your father died.

When my father died, my emotions changed forever. It’s a latent pain, a scar that will never heal. Even today I often wish he were here, so that he could feel proud of me. I am still struggling with the dilemma of who I want to make happy, my father or myself.

Later on you were chosen to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York.

Yes, I wanted to study acting at a recognised school. I arrived just after the Twin Towers attack, and rented a room in the district of Queens. Whenever I went to the institute I had to take the train and the subway, and twice people tried to steal my purse. They yanked it but I didn’t let go – I felt I shouldn’t, not only so as not to lose what was inside it, but because it was a kind of metaphor of how I could manage in a hostile world, of how the New York adventure would be a success.

Afterwards, an opportunity came up for you in Los Angeles.

Just one day after finishing class I signed a contract with an agent and things started going well for me. I worked in films like Spider-man, and in series like CSI New York. Although if I had to choose, the project I learned the most on was Bruno, by Sacha Baron Cohen.

The deceleration of the industry in 2010 led you to explore new avenues.

It was a time when I needed to make a professional leap, but the industry ground to a halt, so I decided to tell my own stories. I started with a short film, and afterwards another one came, and then another. Until my husband, who is a director of photography, told me I should take a step back and go to a school or university to learn to direct.

In 2012 you set up the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival. What prompted you to make that decision?

It happened because I wanted to present one of my short films here, in Mallorca. I mentioned it to my friends Magda and Pau, and they told me there weren’t any film festivals here. I immediately told them I wanted to create one, and they helped me.

And what was the aim of the festival when it was created?

The main idea was to bring together people from different cultures. I was born in Berlin, I lived in Mallorca and New York, and now I live in Los Angeles and Mallorca. So I wanted to create a space where we could all come together and celebrate our lives as artists.

In the meantime, the birth of your daughter was a defining moment in your life.

Being a mother has taught me to be more patient, to understand that there is a time for everything. Before, I always wanted to [...]

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