Presenter: Today in our studio we have a Brazilian-born actress Alice Jones, who made her film debut at the age of 18 in the Oscar-nominated «City of God». Good afternoon, Alice!
Alice Jones: Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for inviting me.
Presenter: Your biggest achievements are connected with Hollywood and even your surname now is English. Do you still have any connections in Brazil?
Alice Jones: Well, my roots certainly remain firmly in Brazil. I own a production company in São Paolo, the city in which I was raised. Many of my family members are in the film and television industry, and my aunt and mother are both actresses there and my sister is a producer.
Presenter: What inspired you to become an actress?
Alice Jones: I can’t say I’ve always been interested in stardom. Once as a teenager I saw a performance at a theatre, and I loved the play. For me, it changed my perspective on acting and theater. I was 14, and I was enchanted; I completely fell in love. Then I finished school in São Paolo and started attending a university for the performing arts. When I got the invitation to come to an audition, I remember exactly when they told me who was going to be in the film. These were the same actors as in that play. I thought it was written in the stars.
Presenter: Are you currently into any project?
Alice Jones: I am. It is based on a novel by a wonderful Spanish writer. I read the book eight years ago. A really good friend of mine gave me the book, and she said, “You need to read this book because it’s a beautiful, strong story about this woman. Maybe she’s a nice character for you to play, so just read it”. Years went by, and now they want to make a version of it in Spanish, and I was happy when they called me because I always thought it was such a beautiful character for a woman to play. When they called me, I couldn’t believe that eight years after I read the book and fell in love with the character, they came to me. It was very special.
Presenter: As far as I remember, it’s not the first time you’ve worked on a book you love.
Alice Jones: So true! One of my films, «Blindness», is also based on one of my favourite books, so when they invited me, I had the same feeling. For «Queen of the South», again, my main reason to sign up for it was the character and the book, because that was a role I really wanted to play. So right after I got cast, I went straight to the book and made notes, getting all the little details about what people say about her, who she is, what type of woman she is in the world that she’s born into, how she manages to survive – all that. I was just trying to honor the book and have a better understanding of it.
Presenter: How do you prepare for your roles?
Alice Jones: I have an acting coach that helps me. He works with me on preparing – running lines and having ideas and developing different ways of approaching characters. When it’s a story, based on a book, I basically work off the book. The book is my main source of material.
Presenter: I think now you’ve worked more in English than in Portuguese. Is it still difficult for you to work in another language that’s not Portuguese?
Alice Jones: Even now, it’s still a challenge. Because I’m so close to my family and friends and I always speak Portuguese, my heart and mind go to Portuguese. Once I’m on the set, after three or four months doing the series working hard every day and only speaking English, it becomes easier. Your mindset is there and you’re dreaming in English. But it is hard; in a way you keep translating from one language to another.
Presenter: Thank you, Alice.
