Since she was a little girl, María Gabriela de Faría’s life (Caracas, 31 years old) has been marked by the cameras. At just six years old she was already doing advertising campaigns in her native Venezuela, and at 10 she landed the role of Marifé in the Venezuelan soap opera Intimate ragsfollowed by another in Mrs. CardenasIt was during her teenage years that she rose to international fame, since at just 16 years old she moved to Colombia to star in the musical series Isa, TKM from Nickelodeon, a huge hit with teens.
Having become a star throughout the continent, she moved to Miami to work on youth series Grachi and I am Frankieand since then she decided to bet on the United States, settling in Los Angeles, where she studied English and acting. However, as happens to many stars who make the leap to Hollywood, it was not easy: after two years of living there she had spent all her savings and lost all her hopes. Then, in 2019, she got the opportunity to work on the series Lethal classrecorded in Vancouver (Canada) and broadcast on Prime Video. Finally, her first major role in the cinema came in 2022 with The exorcism of Goda Venezuelan film with wide international distribution.
After experiencing national cinema and also going through productions in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, now De Faría comes to the big screen in Hollywood as one of the protagonists of the film The duelwhich opens on July 31 and where she shares credits with actors Dylan Sprouse, Callan McAuliffe, Patrick Warburton, Denny Love, and also with her husband, Venezuelan actor Christian McGaffney (star of Simon last year). In addition, it is preparing for the premiere in 2025 of Superman: Legacydirected by James Gunn, where she will play the villain Angelica Spica, alias The Engineer.
Ask. As a Venezuelan, how do you feel about being part of The duela Hollywood movie?
Answer. Oh, incredible. Latin Americans are 19% of the population that goes to the movies, that is, we are the ones who fill the movie theaters. And thank God we are increasingly represented on the screen. But as Venezuelans, there are not that many of us, in fact, we are very few. And being able to feel that we are making our way into the industry and trying to open doors not only for ourselves, but for our compatriots, is a privilege that has no name. And especially with a film like this, where the Latin characters are not the typical ones, nor are we like back there, but they are the ones who make the story happen. Thanks to them, what happens happens. So they are hilarious, they bring the smoke and explode that bomb.
P. The duel It’s a drama with comedic overtones. What was it like working on set with this group of young actors like Dylan Sprouse, Callan McAuliffe, Patrick Warburton and Denny Love?
R. It was all with the pandemic in the background. We filmed in October 2020 and we were in a social bubble. We all lived in the same house and we had those latent nerves that if someone got sick the film would stop. And being an independent film it is very difficult to restart it, that’s the truth. So we all put on the team shirt and decided that this was our film, that we were going to protect it and all the decisions were in favor of that. But it was very funny, because the cast It’s very young and the directors, who are also the writers, are very young. It’s the first time they’ve written, the first time they’ve directed, and they’re crazy people making this story that, although it’s a reflective satire, has a wonderful depth, very well told. A huge privilege.
P. How do you feel when you see the movie poster with your name on it and sharing the credits with your husband, Christian McGaffney?
R. It’s wonderful to see each other there, and to see each other as Latinos. Seeing each other together is also very special. We’ve worked together in television before, we met while working on television, but we hadn’t made films together and the truth is we never imagined making American films in another language and having such a good time doing it. It’s a joy.
P. You have said that in the acting industry you have to be perseverant and emotionally strong. How have you managed to get to where you are?
R. As Venezuelans, we have no other option, that is, we don’t have a country to return to, we don’t have an industry that supports us. For better or worse, we are alone. Our industry died many years ago, so we have to make it happen. We don’t have an option B, we don’t have a buffer. And the truth is that we are both very stubborn and very positive, and I think that’s also important. Perseverance has a lot to do with not believing that the possibility of failing in the long term exists. It’s about taking the daily failures, those daily mistakes, because we know that they are steps that will take us to the other place.
P. How do you see your country, Venezuela, from abroad?
R. I am a little optimistic about the elections at the end of the month. Our national soccer team also made us very proud in the Copa America, which was wonderful. In the industry, there are also very nice things happening abroad… Hope is the last thing to be lost. And we are actively participating in any way we can to generate change in our country, because we are in the United States, but always wanting to return, to return home.
As Venezuelans, we have no other option, we have no country to return to, we have no industry to support us. For better or worse, we are alone. Our industry died many years ago.
P. He is part of the cast of the next installment Superman: Legacy. How was the physical training to play the role of Angelica Spica aka The Engineer?
R. It was hard. I thought I wasn’t going to make it. When I saw my character and realized who I was, I didn’t think I had the mental strength to do everything I had to do, which wasn’t just the change and the dietary restriction, but the intense exercise every day, three to four hours a day, physically hurting yourself to achieve something for so long, because it’s been almost a year since I was given the character. But it has shown me many things about myself and it has made me grow a lot as a professional, but above all as a person. It has given me a lot of confidence and I have found my strength by doing it and realizing that I can do it and acquiring the tools along the way. It has been very nice.
P. She has been in a relationship with Christian McGaffney for over 10 years. What is their daily life like?
R. Marriage is very hard, and it is a daily decision to say: I am going to love this person who I don’t particularly like at all today, and I am going to make the decisions that I have to make to elevate my marriage, to honor my marriage and my promise to be in this relationship and to be a better person or wife. It is an everyday decision, and many times it may be very difficult and very uphill, but it is always worth it. There is no priority more important to me than our marriage.
