“I've done about 35 or 40 films, I don't count exactly,” says Gloria Sandoval, the Salvadoran actress who came to Hollywood almost four decades ago without imagining that she would find a place to succeed there.
Gloria Sandoval is known for her role in El Camino. A “Breaking Bad” Movie” (2019), “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” (2014) and “Chef” (2014). He has also worked on television series such as “The Mentalist” and “Community.”
In an interview with LA PRENSA GRÁFICA shared her story as a young migrant who left her country in search of a better lifehis recent projects and his experience in an industry in which he has managed to hold his own over the years.
The Salvadoran actress in one of the scenes from the series “The Mentalist” alongside the protagonist of this hit series, Simon Baker.
He revealed that too He is writing an autobiographical bookwhich is divided into four parts: “My Childhood, My Youth, the Eldest and I, and Gloria and Hollywood.”
Its origins go back to a conflict-ridden country. During the Civil War she was mistaken for another person and received severe beatings after this terrible experience. He left El Salvador in 1979. He remembers a very difficult time; A few months later, his uncle, Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, now San Romero, was assassinated. Gloria came to Los Angeles, USA as a scared young woman but full of dreams.
“I have never denied El Salvador and always say that my city is Ciudad Barrios. The country you were born in is your second mother, why deny it? The fact that people are upside down is not my problem, I am not a politician, I love my country
and I will represent it with pride.”
Gloria Sandoval, Salvadoran actress
“I grew up in wealth, we were landowners in Ciudad Barrios; I lived well, I was educated at the Belén School and then my life changed, because here (El Salvador) you are someone and there (the United States) you are just.” One more thing: It's sad that “When I had to adapt to this rustic change, I cried for the first few months or years,” he remembers.
In Los Angeles, she worked as a volunteer for an animal shelter, where she distributed food, clothing and other supplies to refugees in 1983. A film director came to this place to offer him a job and Gloria, who had no experience, dared to take advantage of this opportunity.
Gloria Sandoval breathed life into several characters. Here at “9-1-1: Lone Star.”
“I signed up for the job, I didn't know what it was, but they said we want Cuban refugees, they asked about experience with weapons and they asked me, miss, what weapon can you and I use.” Machete said, it made them laugh, they didn't know what “it was a machete”remember.
“We worked with Brian de Palma, the director of the film 'Scarface'. I started there as an extra, and I'm not ashamed to say that. Many people think my career was easy, but I spent ten years as an extra, and by 1999 I was able to complete my graduate studies and I haven't stopped until now,” he adds.
“I'm not a great actress but I assert myself, I don't want to go up or down because if I go up I'll puff myself up like a toad and I'll believe myself a lot, my ego will come in, I wants to be the humble person that I was raised like and they taught me from the beginning.”
Gloria Sandoval, Salvadoran actress
It recognizes that because of its origins There was a lot of discrimination at the beginning of her career, but because of her white skin color she was able to play women of different nationalities.For example, a Russian or a German, but for Gloria the key was to go beyond the characters given to her and transform as needed.
Years later, the list of Hollywood stars he has worked with is very long, Includes characters such as Jon Favreau, Scarlett Johansson, Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Robert Downey Jr., Dwayne Johnson, Simon Baker, Aaron Paul, Ben Stiller, among others.
“All the roles are memorable because each one is a beautiful experience, a new director, different scenes, sets, productions, locations, the acting career is impressive, it involves a lot of sacrifices, people think it's easy,” he reflects .
Gloria worked with Dwayne Johnson in The Rundown (2003).
Salvadoran cinema
After a solid career and career alongside great personalities of international cinema, This Salvadoran woman does not give up on her dream that the film industry can one day be consolidated in her country. And he makes it very clear: “My dream is to leave a legacy for young people.”
“I wonder why the cinema was closed for decades. I want it to go beyond that and see a productive El Salvador,” he says.
Among his most recent projects, two Salvadoran productions stand out: “The Pleasure of Giving Joy” by director Zaza Márquez, which premiered in local cinemas on December 14, and “La balada de Hortensia” by director Arturo Menéndez, currently filming is set in the countryside, with the actor Julio Yudice as the protagonist.
“Here there is money to make films and there is power. The only thing I know is that if cinema is a business, they have no interest in it. Support the cinema, there are good filmmakers, authors and producers and above all talent here, “ closes.
Among the celebrities the Salvadoran has worked with is Danny Trejo. Gloria assured that Latin American actresses initially get roles as dream housewives, but then they gain space.