The applause and the screams are for Miguel de
León! Welcome Miguel! For a man capable of evoking
those screams of passion, how is it he doesn't think of himself as a
leading man? You say you're more of an actor than a leading man.
MIGUEL: Well, yes. I
developed myself as an actor. When I arrived here, they told me I
was a leading man.
They told you.
MIGUEL: Yes
You never knew it? You never dreamed of
being a leading man?
MIGUEL: Once I was in the
profession, yes. No one can deny it's a prospect that can open up
but it's always difficult to make it, no? I've been fortunate to
run with that luck. So onward with the reruns.
You started out as the "bad guy". The day
they said: "Miguel, you're going to be the leading man in the
next telenovela." Did you say: "Me?" What was your
response?
MIGUEL: Well, yes. One
always thinks it's difficult to rid oneself of the image of being the
bad guy, no?
The image of being the villain
MIGUEL: Yes, but it's turned
out to be almost a prerequisite in the profession. The
individuals who make it to protagonists usually get there by playing
the counterparts, no? It's like a trial by fire for them.
And once having done that, if --I would guess-- it's determined
that it was done well and that the public accepted them...
What are the qualities of a leading man, Miguel?
How should a leading man be?
MIGUEL: Well, the truth is I
really don't know at this stage because there are a lot of different
types, no? I would imagine that the fundamental conditions are:
to be a good actor. There are 200 to 300 episodes in which
one appears in a telenovela. One has to have a lot of stamina to
be able to do those 200 episodes and to be able to keep the audience's
attention. During those 200 hours on the air, you're seen
everyday. You can't tire the audience out. There have to be
acting
constraints, there have to be personal constraints...
Speaking about the personal part, while you're the
leading man in a telenovela, you're also the ideal and the dream of
all the women out there. What's your life usually like when a
telenovela is airing in which you're carrying the full weight of the
love story?
MIGUEL: Well, when we're
making a novela, we don't have a life.
There is no life. Yes, I don't know what
it's like because I've never really been in one.
MIGUEL: Yes, it's difficult
to find some free time. For example, I imagine you're talking
about when one goes out to the store to purchase something.
Yes, what happens when you do the everyday things:
when you go out with a girlfriend to eat, when you put gasoline in
the car, when you go to the shopping center, etc.?
MIGUEL: Well, one has to get
accustomed to the people knowing you, to your being familiar to them.
In spite of your not knowing anyone, everyone knows you. And
you have to treat the viewing public right now as your family, and not
just the family you have at home.
But can one do that? Or rather, is there the
patience, is there the tolerance so that everytime you go to the
store... well, you're accompanied and you're charming with all the young
girls, with the ladies, with the older women?
MIGUEL: One has to do it,
yes. Once you accept them as your family, you have to do it.
Is it part of the job?
MIGUEL: Yes, it's part of the
job. And it's possible for one to have a (bad) day when one
doesn't get up with the right foot but rather with the left one, right?
So then, one should opt not to go out that day.
That's preferable? And what happens when
you get up with the left foot but you have to go out
unavoidably?
MIGUEL: Let it be to work only,
but I try not to linger around the city. I try not to go to any
night club or to a supermarket.
Is it difficult, Miguel, for an actor as
sought-after as you to maintain, for example, a steady sentimental
relationship and to keep everything that surrounds you as a leading
man from interfering in, what is after all, that ordinary
boyfriend-girlfriend relationship?
MIGUEL: Well, one has to make
the time to stabilize that relationship.
How? How does one do it? How do you
accomplish it?
MIGUEL: I sleep very little.
He breaks out laughing. Yes,
if I leave here at 11 o'clock at night, for example, I'll visit Gabriela
and I'll stay there till 1 in the morning despite...
Gabriela Spanic, his girlfriend. We
clarify.
MIGUEL: ...despite having to
get up at 7 o'clock in the morning the following day to come in to work.
And when you go out to do what normal steady
couples do: sip a cup of coffee, hold hands and gaze into each
other's eyes which is typical of steady couples?
MIGUEL: Well, you can
imagine. In our case, it's both of us. When we
go out and the people approach us, we understand it with all the
cordiality that is possible. If there comes a moment that they
don't leave us alone... Because the bad part about it is the
intimacy. Of course, we don't have any. In public, never.
But isn't it essential? Don't you need
it?
MIGUEL: Yes, you do need it
but regrettably, this is what one likes to do.
So then you sacrifice your intimacy?
MIGUEL: Yes, one has to
sacrifice it. Our private time is set aside for the moments when
we're alone by ourselves.
Between four walls
MIGUEL: And in public, well,
we're also not embarrassed to, for example... If we're entering
a restaurant, we'll give each other a kiss and, of course, the people
will keep looking at us like this and they'll smile.
The people start to search for the camaras because
they think a telenovela is being taped. Both laugh.
MIGUEL: Yes, yes
The people are touched/moved. In your case
then, we can say that having this steady relationship is a lot easier
because Gabriela is an actress, she's also famous, as famous with the
men as you are with the women, shall we say.
MIGUEL: Yes, and that of course
leads to a lot more understanding, right? I know her work; she
knows mine. I know they know her; she knows they know me. We
have to be tolerant.
What happens when all of a sudden there's a fan
crazy for the leading man? Maybe a fanatic more insistent than
normal. A fanatic who looks for you, follows your footsteps,
casually bumps into you, calls you at home. Let's say that the
relentless pursuit is a little more constant with the same face.
You know what I mean.
MIGUEL: Well, it's very
difficult to reach me by telephone because I...
Don't have a telephone?
MIGUEL: No, I do have a
telephone but I live in my parents' house and they're the ones who
answer and filter out all the information.
Everything
MIGUEL: And when I'm home
alone, there's an answering machine and I never pick up.
You never answer the phone?
MIGUEL: Nope
And when you're waiting for a phone call?
Uuy, I remember the time when I would say: "He's going
to call, he's going to call," and the phone hadn't finished the
first ring and I would be: "Hello?". Let's say, when you're
expecting a phone call that is important for you, doesn't your hand
itch to pick it up?
MIGUEL: Well, if it's someone
I know, I have their phone number, for example, memorized in the
cellular phone and I can see on the screen who's calling.
Ay, those little phones that talk are a marvel.
MIGUEL: Yes
You're always with that smile, with that
tenderness, Miguel. We who know you always see you like that.
Is that you or is it the leading man?
MIGUEL: It's me. It's
an inborn trait of mine.
You take everything calmly.
MIGUEL: Yes
With a smile
MIGUEL: Uhuh
What is the best thing a leading man has?
MIGUEL: ...His magic
His magic and his patience in your case.
Miguel de León, leading man of leading men!
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