Venezuelan actress Paula Velasquez is tapping into her feminine side, in her new TV series, ‘The Feminine Side.’ In an exclusive interview, we caught up with the Latina star to chat all things, Paula and more!
Paula thanks so much for chatting with us today. For those perhaps unfamiliar can you tell us about yourself?
Hello! Thank you for having me. I am an actress, model, and screenwriter. I was born in Venezuela but moved to Mexico City when I was seven with my family, that is how I got into acting and dancing more. Since I was a little kid, I always enjoyed being on stage performing, whether it was singing, dancing, or acting, the feeling I had being on stage was unique and nothing could match it.
I lived in Mexico City for seven years and then I moved to Cancun with my family. In Cancun there were not a lot of things to do related with theater or acting and that was very frustrating because for four years I couldn’t really pursue what I truly loved. Once I finally graduated college, I had the opportunity to go to New York and take some musical theater and acting courses and I completely fell more in love with acting than ever.
I decided to move to LA and do my BFA on acting for film and I discovered so much about myself and the craft. I graduated a year ago and I cannot be more in love with what I do. I am a very passionate person and doing what I love keeps me going every single day.
You now live in Los Angeles, how different is the entertainment world in Los Angeles to Mexico City?
The entertainment world is very similar here as it is in Mexico City, but Los Angeles has a very different culture than Mexico City. Both of them are very fast paced when it comes to work and the industry, all the time something is happening, very active.
What do you love most about LA?
The fact that you have everything, there is the industry, entertainment, always something happening. But also, I love that fact that there are places where you can feel more grounded and peaceful, such as mountains. My favorite thing to do, almost every day is hiking, it brings me so much peace and joy. Not only mountains, but you have the desert, you have snow, you have beaches, you have everything and anything you want, and nothing can beat that.
You’ve had some incredible training over the years, what got you into acting?
Thank you! Acting has been something that I have done since I am seven. It has been such a wonderful way to just play around with my inner child and let it all go. I guess what really got me into acting more professionally was the fact that you can literally change somebody’s life by your performance and vulnerability, and to me, there is nothing more beautiful and powerful than that. Being able to be completely vulnerable and open up to an audience like that is so moving. Putting all of your emotions in your work and letting them be has helped me a lot to accept myself fully and embrace my sensibility towards the world and my craft.
We’ve enjoyed watching you the television. Your latest project is ‘The Feminine Side’ can you tell us what audiences can expect?
The Feminine Side is a project made from the female perspective of life and specifically adolescence. The rawness of life at that age and all the stages we go through. The real side of being a woman at that age and all that comes with it, the highs, the lows, the ups, the downs, etc.
Can you tell us about your character? Are you anything like her?
I play Liv. She is definitely a huge part of myself. I see her and I see a lot of myself when I was that age, she is wild, she is loud, her presence is so strong when she walks in a room, and she loves it. She definitely has her crazy side, but she also feels very lonely deep inside. She craves genuine love and connection, but it is very hard for her to open herself up to other people, she tries to put on this facade of the rebel child when inside all she wants is somebody to care for her.
Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you?
When I tell people that I write movies too they always seem very surprised. And when I tell them that my favorite genre to write is psychological thrillers, they are definitely shocked. I love writing, it is definitely a passion of mine and I have some shorts that I am planning on shooting very soon. Also, I have a very rough idea for my first written feature film which will be a psychological thriller and I cannot wait to finally start writing it.
If you could make one wish, what would it be and why?
I wish that everyone could do the things that they love. There is nothing more beautiful than doing what you love, you feel so passionate about it that you start seeing life with different eyes, you start realizing the beauty of life and eventually start falling in love with yourself, with what you do and with your own life. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing someone do the things that they love, you can see that spark in their eyes and that moves me so much.
What is one motto you live by?
All things pass. That has been my motto for almost four years already. When I was in acting school, my teacher gave me a poem to perform and it was called “All Things Pass”, at the time I was struggling with some insecurities and some other things in my life that I thought I was going to live with forever. I remember when I performed the poem I cried so much and remember all of my classmates promising me that everything passes, which it did, and since then I always have that phrase with me.
Are you active on social media?
Yes, people can follow me on Instagram as @pauvelaasquez and also on IMDb.