‘Such a Funny Life’, Interview with Star Gonzalo Trigueros

Gonzalo Trigueros is an actor. He has shot Hamlet, Son of a Kingpin  (2015), Such a Funny Life (2019), and Instinct (2018). Gonzalo Trigueros discusses his performance on Such a Funny Life, his recent production.

“Such a Funny Life” is about the Guiterrez family who move to New York from “nowhere“. We see the evolution of David as he juggles painful circumstances with dire decisions while still honing his ambition to be a successful comic, entertainer and actor. An inevitable story of secrets, loss, and betrayal to reach the top which later forces David to move Los Angeles to start a new life where he achieves success in all aspects, albeit with a unknown price on his head and a trail of fire that threatens his family, friends and loved ones that goes deeper than any one of his comedy acts or movie roles.

An inevitable story of secrets, loss, and betrayal to reach the top and later forces David to Los Angeles to start a new life where he achieves success in all aspects, albeit with a unknown price on his head and a trail of fire that threatens his family, friends and loved ones that goes deeper than any one of his comedy acts or movie roles.

indieactivity : Gonzalo, congratulations on the movie. Feeling some nervous excitement, with the release coming up so soon?
Gonzalo Trigueros: Thanks! For sure, as the date gets closer and it’s becoming more and more “real” I can definitely feel the butterflies jumping around in my stomach. I feel like I just baked my first tray of cookies and can’t wait to share them. 

indieactivity : Will this be the first time “Such a Funny Life” has been screened in theaters?
Gonzalo Trigueros : Yes. Looking back at the journey it’s taken us to get here… what a ride! 

indieactivity : Have family or friends seen the film? How was the reaction?
Gonzalo Trigueros : So far only one person has seen the full film. My family and friends have seen snippets here and there, but they’re going to have to wait (impatiently) until it’s in theaters. So far the reactions have been incredible. People have told me they loved it. They can relate to it. They loved to follow the story along and were on David’s side the whole time. I think that’s a testament to Oliver’s brilliant story telling. 

indieactivity : Let’s backtrack a bit. How did you get the film?
Gonzalo Trigueros : I actually found the film on Actors Access. I read the breakdown and the audition scenes and immediately knew I HAD to play David. I think I did 2 self taped audition rounds. And later 2 more rounds of auditions in person. It was an intense process but so so worth it. 

indieactivity : Could you relate to David?
Gonzalo Trigueros : Of course on so many levels! One of the things that we have in common is our love/need of family. David’s biggest motivators are those closest to him so we definitely share that. We share a need to find humor in life despite the world trying to bring you down and sometimes looking grim. Because I can relate to him in so many ways, it was a good base to build on. I think this was crucial because we do differ in so many ways. 

indieactivity : Were your acting aspirations anything like his aspirations to be an entertainer?
Gonzalo Trigueros : Absolutely. Acting is entertainment and David and I both share that. We both know what it’s like to go to open mics to try out material in front of 3 other comics who are jaded and most likely drunk but we also both know the feeling of when a joke lands and lights up people’s face. 

indieactivity : Were there any scenes in the movie you found especially difficult to film?
Gonzalo Trigueros : There’s definitely scenes that are bit more difficult. It could be for many things. The scenes with Ralph (Tom Ashton) were particularly hard because they have to do with an abusive father. Those days you go to some really dark places. 

I remember being nervous about the stand-up bits. Your insecurities come out in full blast “Is this funny? Will they get it? Am I ready? How’s my hair?” But then I’d see the crew burst out laughing between takes and it was a sigh of relief. And Sometimes it’s the environment, like when we shot the scene meeting Rob in the park. That day was freezing! I’m pretty sure even eskimos would stay inside. It didn’t help that wardrobe had me in pants with huge holes in them. But once the camera starts rolling you put all that aside and push forward. 

indieactivity : How would you describe the tone of the film?
Gonzalo Trigueros : Gray. Can tone be colors? It can now. I say it’s gray because it lives suspended between the worlds of comedy and tragedy. One of the greatest things about Oliver’s writing is that it doesn’t reduce characters or situations to black and white. It deals with real humans dealing with real human things. There’s no “good guy” or “bad guy” there’s people doing the best they can with what they know. Even the most heinous characters can be understood and related to.

indieactivity : Did you have much rehearsal time before the shoot to get to know your co-stars?
Gonzalo Trigueros : We had a few rehearsals with Oliver and some of the other co-stars. This was such a gift ‘cause usually in film you don’t get that rehearsal process that you’d get for a theatre piece. This was critical because we were able to get on the same page, get to know each other and really dig out the many intricacies of the scenes. Also, because we knew were shooting on Film and on a tight budget we knew we had to get it right straight away. We didn’t have the luxury to cut as many times as we wanted. Rehearsals really helped with that. 

indieactivity : What kind of director is Oliver Mann?
Gonzalo Trigueros : Oliver is an actors director. He has a clear idea of what he wants to see and he guides you in that direction. He’s also not precious about his writing or directing. He lets the actor experiment, discover, rediscover. He remains open to collaboration, which is crucial because it liberates the actor to explore and experiment. And he’s also great at getting difference nuances from his actors. He knows how to talk to actors individually to get the best out of them.He understands storytelling so well and knows where he wants the film to go, and what he wants to convey. He is a gentle but resolute leader with a little hint of mad scientist in there.

Follow Gonzalo Trigueros on Social Media
Website
IMDb
Twitter
Instagram