Jordi Mollà: "It's been twenty years since I've known what it's like to get up at home to go to work"

BarcelonaWhen Barcelona is featured in TV series or films, its most touristy and stereotypical image is often projected. But the Catalan capital is not just a holiday destination; it's also a technological hub, and this is the side it aims to showcase. Day One, he thriller which arrives on Friday on Prime Video and can also be seen on 3Cat this March (when it is broadcast on Catalan public television it will be titled Day orThe six-episode series centers on a computer prodigy, played by Álex González, who returns to Barcelona after being alerted that a major technological innovation could endanger humanity. The series features the participation of the Mobile World Congress, which contributed to its production.

In Day One There's action, murder, technology, and even a techno-oligarch brought to life. Jordi MollàAfter many years working on projects abroad, the actor from L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, known for landmark Spanish films such as Ham ham either Stories from the KronenHe has returned to Catalonia to play a character based on real people. "Basically, I was inspired by Steve Jobs, by his whole persona. He was a guy who had the sheer audacity to give talks in shorts and barefoot, or in a black turtleneck sweater. When he appeared, California was a hotbed of activity: post-Vietnam, LSD... They must have had a blast. It's amazing that Hewlett-Packard hired him when he was just a kid," Mollà explains to ARA. The tech entrepreneur the actor plays is named Diskin and claims he's about to launch a technology, Day One, that will change the world forever. His ambition means he knows no moral or ethical boundaries.

In real life, Mollà's relationship with technology is more distant. "I don't use ChatGPT or Google Maps. What's important with artificial intelligence is knowing how to use it and not letting it use you. I think we still haven't understood what AI is; everyone talks about it, but we don't really know what it is. It's like a bomb that's suddenly dropped on us. I'm very interested in technology, but I hire people who know how to use it. I know what I want, and they do it. I don't have to know how to use it," he reflects.

In recent years, Mollà has worked mainly on international productions, such as the series Jack Ryan either Hunting season, the last film starring Mel Gibson. Day One and the movie Winter lionsThe film, which is being shot in Madrid, has allowed him to return home. "It's been twenty years since I've known what it's like to wake up at home to go to work because I work away from home. Here in Barcelona, ​​I've been sleeping in a hotel, but I was born here. Working here has been fantastic because when I finished, I knew exactly where I wanted to go for dinner; I have everything under control. If I go to Montreal and spend two months like I did, the question is always 'Where am I going?' Here, on the other hand, it was 'I'm not filming on Saturday? Well, I'll go eat some patatas bravas at Tomás'."

Catalan Cast

Beyond Mollà, the series features other Catalan actors such as Mercè Martínez and Ivan Massagué. The latter plays a police detective tasked with investigating a murder connected to Diskin. "It's a series that shows us the potential of Barcelona and a story we invented that, in the end, is quite close to the reality we live in. [Barcelona as a setting] doesn't just have to be Woody Allen bringing out the Sagrada Familia," Massagué points out. The actor It also has in its portfolio GenesisThe series about Ferran Adrià, which will be available on 3Cat in which she plays Juli Soler, the mastermind behind El Bulli alongside the chef.

The technological Barcelona that it showcases Day One It has used venues such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), the ALBA Synchrotron, the Talent Arena, the Collserola Tower, the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Torre Glòries viewpoint or the 22@ district.