Pep Ambròs: "I have a hard time losing control at a wrap party."

Does the timing of a glass of wine vary as much as your acting routine, or do you have a specific time set aside for a glass?

— It changes a lot, yes. For example, when I'm about to start shooting a film, like I'm shooting one in Bilbao, I try to meet up with friends because I know I won't be seeing them for a while, and that's when there's a good opportunity to open a glass of wine. Filming times are very different, as I have to spend many hours alone in a hotel. However, at night, it's time to call some of my castmates, or crew members, or the film's director, or whoever, to go down, socialize, and have dinner and also make a glass of wine. This is a good time. Although I like to open wines during meals.

We've been seeing you more on screen lately, but you've also done a lot of theater. What do you expect from the theater's dressing room?

— Wow, to start with, we actors can't ask for many things. Audiovisual productions are different; then there's more leeway. Sometimes it's a lot to have a space to change. I mean, we can't really ask for anything. But it's true that there are things that are never missing from my dressing room: a bag of nuts and some herbal teas. But for me, alcohol is never linked to work or the dressing room. The only time I drank something was when, many years ago, I did Uncle Vanya at the Teatre Lliure. A shot of vodka before the performance would ruin my day. But it was the only show where I drank a little, and because it didn't restrict me at all.

You're suggesting that there's more room for ordering drinks in audiovisual media. Is this a budget issue?

— One hundred percent. But, in any case, you can't drink on a shoot; in fact, I think it's prohibited. If someone has alcohol in the dressing room, that's their problem. It's a different story at the end of the day, when the production team sometimes arrives with a cooler full of beer for the whole crew, to celebrate the end of the day.

And also at the end of filming.

— Yes, at the end-of-shoot party, there are people who feel like it's the last day of their lives. That the world is ending. This is a conversation I've had with many colleagues. At end-of-shoot parties, even though it's a party and even though it's the end of shooting, there's a part of me that still feels like work. I have a hard time losing control at an end-of-shoot party. I mean, it should be a shoot where we're all really, really, really good friends. Because, after all, the industry in Spain is small, and in Catalonia it's minuscule. So, on projects, you always repeat with people. On the other hand, I really enjoy the dinner before the party, because I really like it—lots of food and accompanying the food with good wines.

What wine would you choose to accompany you at a dinner like this?

— For my partner Alba's 30th birthday, my birthday present was a trip to Massimo Bottura's restaurant in Modena. We ordered an aperitif wine and then a wine for lunch, which I think are the best wines I've ever had in my life, though I'm not an expert. They're clearly not wines for everyday use. The first was a sparkling wine, like an aperitif, Anna Maria Clementi, from 2014, and for lunch we drank the Barbera di Alba Superiore from 2021.

Now that we're here at the Gelida winery, where there are thousands and thousands of bottles, what makes you choose one wine over another?

— I'm going to say something super absurd, but sometimes, with wines, it's like with books. I read a lot, and with wine names, just like with book titles, some catch my attention. But I think it's a maxim that works with everything, including theater posters, movie posters, book covers, and wine labels. Choosing a good name is a good draw. It's also a good way to give it meaning and substance. So, often the name catches my attention, or the label catches my attention, and then I ask the person at the store, and maybe they tell me it's not that good a wine and I don't buy it, but I've already asked about it because it caught my attention.