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Karla Sofía Gascón: Star of Scuola di seduzione and Emilia Pérez
- Ariel Lavi
- Apr 16
- 9 min read
On this special edition, star Karla Sofía Gascón sits down for an exclusive interview to share an unvarnished look at her creative process. Following her acclaimed performance in Emilia Pérez and ahead of the Italian comedy Scuola di seduzione, Gascón opens up about the rigorous demands of dual roles, the vulnerability of singing on screen, and the deep emotional connection she builds with her characters.
You fought hard during the casting process, doing numerous tests to convince Jacques Audiard that you could play both Emilia and Manitas. When approaching a dual role with such immense psychological depth, what is the very first step in your internal acting process to separate those two identities before stepping onto the set?
“It was a complicated process because there was a predisposition for me to only play the female part of the character,” Gascón admitted, reflecting on the arduous casting journey. “But I believed it was a mistake to use two people to portray the same character, and for me it felt like giving away half of my performance.”
She paused, a quiet confidence settling over her features. “I think that from the very beginning, Jacques and I had a strong connection-he understood perfectly that it would be very difficult to find an actress or actor capable of portraying that character across its entire range. But I believe he realized from the start that they had found that person.”
“And that’s where the answer to your question lies,” the actress explained gently. “There is no separation between the two sides. The character simply hides their truth in different ways and shows the part they want in order to deceive the world around them. But deep down, they are just someone running away from their own reality.”
You have been beautifully honest about your initial hesitation toward the musical genre and how you had to get over the hurdle of not wanting to sing. How did Audiard’s specific directorial style help you find your voice and build the confidence to sing through such intense emotional beats?
“In reality, I’m quite exaggerated, and I really enjoy laughing at my own circumstances, so there’s always a touch of irony in what I say,” she shared with a warm laugh. “I do like singing, actually-it’s just that my training has never been focused on that genre or on dancing, but I do have a very good ear.”
Detailing the technical compromises made on set, Gascón noted, “My strength lies in the emotion I bring to songs, to what I do; that’s why I felt more confident with less technique and more heart. If it had been entirely up to me, I would have kept the versions that were in less suitable keys and not as well sung, but that carried greater emotional depth for the character.”
“We had to find a balance, and for that they worked with me for a long time, so that I could adapt to the songs and they could, as much as possible, adapt to my voice,” she elaborated. “Since I had surgery on my vocal cords, my singing range has decreased, and perhaps it’s more difficult for me now to reach or move between certain keys. But in the end, I think the result is beautiful.”
Following your historic success, you recently had the chance to meet cinematic idols like Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill. How do the legendary artists you admire shape your own approach to storytelling and character development on set?
“It’s inevitable that the artists you followed in your childhood, throughout your life, the ones you admired, end up influencing what you do later on,” she mused thoughtfully. “But this is true of anything that happens around you-everything shapes the way you approach a character and the way you relate to it.”
“In the end, what you realize is that we’re all people,” Gascón continued, “and we share the same problems and feelings, the same qualities and flaws, which show up to different degrees depending on each moment and each person’s circumstances.”
She smiled, pointing to a specific cinematic reference. “It’s true that certain ways of approaching things, speaking, or particular mannerisms stay with you. In my case, in my performances, I always try to take something from those figures I admired. For example, in Manitas, there’s a lot of Sylvester Stallone in Rambo. I always try to make sure it doesn’t become a parody, but rather to capture what’s interesting about those characters you’ve seen and incorporate it into your own work.”
“You don’t always get the chance, but when you do, I think it adds a very beautiful touch of grace,” she concluded. “It really connects with the audience, because there’s something they recognize as familiar, even if they can’t quite identify what it is.”
Having built a career that spans from intense Mexican telenovelas to a Cannes-winning auteur production, what is the most vital piece of acting methodology you would share with young performers trying to find their authentic voice?
“There’s a technique called Meisner that is one of my favorites,” Gascón offered generously, “but it has much more to do with being present, with the moment, with truly living what you’re experiencing, and above all, being yourself.”
Leaning in, she delivered her most distilled piece of wisdom: “If there’s anything I could offer as advice, it would be the power of the present moment.”
Shifting to your work with Carlo Verdone on Scuola di seduzione, you mentioned he taught you about calm, pause, patience, and a different kind of comedy. How does his distinctly Italian directorial approach fundamentally change the way you build your comedic timing?
“At the beginning, anything that doesn’t fit with your own essence creates a kind of rejection-even a physical one, not just mental,” she revealed honestly. “And I think that’s the biggest mistake any actor or actress can make: not being like a sponge, not allowing other techniques and emotions to pass through you.”
“We can’t be a shield, because otherwise we wouldn’t be able to reflect other people’s feelings on screen-we would only be able to portray ourselves, which doesn’t seem very interesting to me.”
Reflecting on her artistic growth, she added, “That’s why, the older I get, the more receptive I become to listening to what others have to say, and instead of rejecting it, I try to incorporate it in a way that benefits the character. In this case, I think it helped me build a very different character from those I had played before, with pauses that I would never have been able to draw from my own experience, because my own nature tends to lean more toward immediacy.”
Acting in a foreign language inherently alters an actor's rhythm. How did performing in Italian force you to discover new tools in your acting arsenal, and what can other actors learn from this linguistic challenge?
“More than an advantage for me, I see it as an advantage for the director and the screenwriter,” Gascón observed. “Since in a language I don’t know it’s harder for me to adapt the scripts to my own style, and I’m the one who adapts more as an actress to what’s written.”
“When you master a language, you tend to do the opposite-you start changing the text so it fits your way of speaking, so it feels more natural,” she explained. “But when you’re working in a language that isn’t your own, you don’t have that freedom. At the same time, though, you gain the advantage of sticking closely to a text that you end up understanding very deeply, because you have to go over every single line again and again at home to grasp its true meaning.”
“In a way, it can even become a deeper kind of work,” she pointed out. “That’s what happened to me with this film in Italian, and it also happened with a western I shot earlier in English, which will be released at the end of this year-a wonderful project called Trinidad, in which my character is entirely in English. I had to let myself be guided by others and not rely solely on my instinct and my own sense of knowledge.”
“So you end up learning new things by necessity and stepping out of your comfort zone. I think that’s an advantage.”
Ortensia is described as an unconventional love coach who uses a mix of madness and tenderness, including exercises like rock climbing and video cameras, to help her clients. As an actor, how do you physically prepare for a comedic role that requires such an eclectic and active teaching method on screen?
“For me, working in comedy is a lot of fun-it gives you much more freedom to play with reality and allows you, in many moments, to step away from the seriousness of a scene,” she shared enthusiastically. “Eccentric moments, especially, take away some of the heaviness and weight from sequences, and it’s a very rewarding kind of work for an actor.”
“Not everyone feels comfortable in comedy, but for me it’s one of my comfort zones,” Gascón confessed. “Even in moments that might feel more exaggerated-moments that, as an actress, you might see as overly histrionic-there’s something inside you that says: don’t take it so seriously, it’s a game. And after all, what is acting if not playing at being someone else?”
You carried an immense singular weight in your last dramatic role, but Scuola di seduzione is a brilliant ensemble piece. How does your creative process shift when you are bouncing energy off a large cast of interconnected characters?
“I work for the actor in front of me, and I also draw from what they give me,” she stated plainly, illuminating her collaborative spirit. “I think it’s much harder when you have to act on your own, when you don’t have anyone to play off or connect with. Having a great cast around you is a fundamental part of your growth as an actor.”
“I’ve been fortunate to always have people in front of me from whom I could learn many things,” she reflected warmly.
“An actor’s generosity toward their colleagues is equal to their greatness as a performer. The greater you are, the less you should hold back for yourself and the more you can share with others,” Gascón declared with determination. “And that’s something that ensures the success of any project.”
Having worked in Italian television during the 1990s on programs like Solletico, returning to Rome to film Scuola di seduzione must have been a fascinating full-circle moment. How has the Italian entertainment industry evolved since your early career, and what surprised you the most upon your return to the set?
“It’s incredible how life moves you-how it takes you, brings you back, and returns you to places in different ways,” she observed with a quiet reverence for the journey. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work in many countries, to immerse myself in different cultures, and to share and grow from all of them.”
“Italy is a country I deeply admire and love,” Gascón declared. “In my youth it gave me so much, and it’s also a beautiful place to film and work in. Italy has been the cradle of cinema-it has given us incredible directors and works, and it continues to delight us.”
Addressing the shifts in the industry, she continued, “I don’t think the seriousness with which people work there has changed. Of course, the 1990s were a different time, when perhaps we even had more freedom in the way we worked. Now, I think Italy is trying to reclaim the important place it has held in the world of cinema, and which it will with certainty regain at some point.”
“Italy is home to some of the most prestigious film festivals, where many of the most awarded films each year emerge, and it has a deep-rooted connection to the art of cinema. I’m immensely happy to be part of its history, even in a small way.”
After experiencing such a historic evolution in your craft over the last two years, what is the single most important lesson you have learned about your own artistic resilience that you will carry into your next role?
“I’m already immersed in my next character-we’re starting a new film in Latin America,” she teased, her eyes brightening at the prospect of new work. “And it’s true that, in one way or another, what you’ve recently lived through always finds its way into the character.”
“I think I’ve learned the importance of being yourself, of being at peace with yourself, of laughing at yourself,” she affirmed softly. “And above all, of understanding that what others say does not define you-what defines you is your soul. And if your soul is clear and your conscience is at ease, no one can harm you.”
Closing the interview with a powerful message of hope, Gascón offered a final thought: “You have to move forward through the darkest moments. There is a lot of malice in the world, and when you are someone who is judged unfairly, you realize that hate leads nowhere-and that there is only one way to face it: with love. And this will be very present in my next character.”
With a lingering smile, she added, “May the Force be with us, and may goodness stay with us always-and ultimately triumph over darkness.”