Maria Molins: "I am much happier at 50 than I was at 20 or 30."

BarcelonaTen years ago, Maria Molins (Barcelona, ​​1973) made a radical decision: to leave the theater. The actress had already established a prolific career on the stage – she co-created and co-starred in Cabaret (2017), which was a finalist for the Max Awards—, in film—with movies like The forest (2012) – and on television, thanks to which she became especially known for her role as Isabeleta in The heart of the city (2001-2009). The birth of her daughter took her away from the theater and led her to Madrid, where in recent years she has worked extensively in the audiovisual field. Now Molins is making a radical change in her career and returning to the stage with GothenburgA show by Jordi Casanovas, which he stars in alongside Roger Coma. Berta Rabascall and Jan Mediavilla complete the cast of this story about second chances and honest lives, which premieres this Saturday, December 20, at La Villarroel, where it will run until January 18.

What made you return to the theater?

— For a long time, the theater was my place, but motherhood changed my perspective on who I was and what I wanted to do. Theater is very demanding: you don't have weekends, rehearsals coincide with picking up your child from school… These are sacrifices that few actresses talk about openly. I was very aware of this because I had an absent father who worked extremely hard, and I made a decision during my pregnancy. After giving birth, I was doing Purge at the National TheatreI was breastfeeding on demand and had to pump my milk. I would leave the baby with her father; I was at peace, but my daughter cried and felt abandoned. On top of that, my character was incredibly difficult, a woman who had suffered systematic rape, and I performed every night. Because of all this, I made a radical decision: I stopped doing theater because I couldn't give it all the energy it demanded.

From then on you focused your career in Madrid. Why?

— He had just won Gaudí Award for Best Leading Actress And this opened doors for me to two good agents in Madrid. I filmed a movie there and got off to a good start. I did the series Entrevíaswhich was initially a minor flop on Telecinco, but when it was released on Netflix it became the most-watched film worldwide for two weeks. That's what happens with streaming platforms: suddenly you can have a huge impact. That gave a real boost to the audiovisual industry here, because both Catalans and Spaniards tend to think that our films are inferior to those from other countries. And then I followed that with Wild Valley, Netflix's first bet in Spain on a daily fiction series.

Many people in the industry are moving to Madrid. Why don't they stay in Barcelona?

— When the major streaming platforms arrived in Europe, they were looking for a country with skilled professionals and they chose Spain. The shame was that they didn't set up shop in Barcelona. I don't know what happened or who made that decision, but it was poorly managed, because it's simply not comparable to Madrid. Here we have every possible studio, and the sea and mountains are very close by. Therefore, many Catalans have had to move to Madrid, because there have been, and still are, many opportunities there.

You made this decision because of motherhood, but working far away has surely made work-life balance difficult. How have you managed?

— My strategy has always been in my favor and the producer's, and at the expense of money. I get paid per day worked, but I would combine five days' work into two. I'd sometimes work 12 hours straight, which was fantastic for the producer because they paid me less. In return, I filmed on Monday and Tuesday and had Wednesday through Sunday to be with my daughter. But I've done some crazy things, like taking the AVE high-speed train to Madrid at four in the morning, returning late at night, and doing the same thing the next day. I did it for my emotional well-being. In our profession, we work with emotions and talk about the emotional deficits of our characters. But then we have to be consistent: I've tried to be a present mother and make sure my daughter didn't suffer that lack.

The couple helps, I suppose. How have you managed the family logistics with your husband, the producer Carles Manrique?

— He's made it so easy for me. He practically runs the whole house, even getting rid of our daughter's lice, which was quite a challenge for him. To mothers who tell me they have a balanced home life, I ask, "But who does the lice comb?" It's incredibly hard work, and it's always the women who do it. In our case, it was the last thing we needed to work on to achieve equality in our relationship. Before having children, I told Carlos that I didn't want to be a mother if we weren't clear about who we each were as individuals. I'm the one who's out and about more, so he has to manage the doctor's appointments, school schedules, meals, logistics, and extracurricular activities. Seeing him take on all of this has allowed me to feel like a good mother and to finally dedicate quality time to my daughter.

Throughout your career you have often played characters in difficult situations, who have suffered or are suffering a great deal of pain. Gothenburg You embody a woman who is alone and misunderstood by others. What is her value?

— Both Roger [Coma]'s character and mine are neurodivergent. They don't fit into society. During their teenage years, they share a beautiful moment at a Depeche Mode concert. And thirty years later, she goes looking for him. They reminisce about who they were and how many masks they wore to survive. It's an intelligent show that speaks of honesty. When something hurts you in childhood, you don't have the tools to defend yourself. I always give the example that if the ground is red-hot and you're barefoot, the first thing you'll do when you step outside is bandage your foot and put on boots. You grow up and the ground isn't burning, but you're still wearing the boots. That's your mask. We all have them, and they're very difficult to take off.

What's the secret to working from emotions for so many years and coming out unscathed?

— I go to therapy, many actors do. To enter a world of darkness without hurting yourself, it's important to know yourself, with all the masks you've built. That's why I'm much happier at 50 than I was at 20 or 30, when I suffered a lot. Now I put it in perspective. I take all projects, big or small, equally seriously; I give it my all. I consider myself a craftswoman of my work. When Entrevías It didn't work out on Telecinco, and I told myself, "I've done my job as best as I could, the rest is out of my hands." Then the series went on Netflix, it was a huge success, and it was a shock, but I was already at peace with myself.