Adria Arjona is still on a high from the positive response to the premiere of her latest project, Splitsville, at the Cannes Film Festival. “I think people sometimes forget that actors don’t really get that unless you’re in the theater, unless you’re performing [live],” she tells THR. “When you get that applause, you’re like, ‘OK, I’m in the right zone.’ ”
Arjona’s zone is a bit left of center, which made co-starring alongside Michael Angelo Covino — who also co-wrote, directed and produced the movie about two couples who drift apart — fun. “I’m a quirky girl,” she insists. “I just look a certain way and people don’t think I am, but I’m weird.”
The remarriage comedy is a big departure from Arjona’s most well-known role to date — Bix Caleen in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor — but in that way, it perfectly aligns with the trajectory of the 33-year-old Puerto Rican and Guatemalan actress’ career thus far.
“I have found a lot of freedom in genre as a brown woman, as a Latin American,” Arjona says. “Through genre, I’ve been able to showcase myself and not be stereotyped. [But] these smaller movies have really given me the opportunity to do what I do and not be the tough, sexy girl in a big movie. It’s allowed me to just be a woman.”
Arjona brought that humanity to the sci-fi landscape with her portrayal of Bix, whose journey over the show’s two seasons was marred by tragedy: her capture and subsequent torture by Imperial scientist Dr. Gorst (Joshua James) and PTSD from that imprisonment.
“What happened to Bix in season one is huge, and I think what Tony [Gilroy, Andor’s creator] brilliantly does, by not letting Bix sort of get away with it, is showcase that trauma is incredibly complex and it takes time. It’s not healed in one year,” says Arjona. “I’ve heard the word ‘victim’ used when describing her — hell no, hell no. Bix is so brave. … I think someone who is trying so hard is the hero in their own journey, and I applaud that of Bix.”
Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen in the Disney+ series Andor.
Lucasfilm/Disney+
Longtime fans of the movie franchise took issue with the inclusion of an attempted sexual assault scene in the show’s second season, as well as the use of the word “rape,” arguing that the subject matter had no place in that universe. Arjona disagrees.
“If you’re going to tell all sides of one story, then you cannot leave out the abuse of power, because it’s part of our history,” she says. “The fact that I got to say those words [“He tried to rape me”] in the world of Star Wars meant a lot. I felt a great honor and I reached out to a lot of women, and I really felt like I had all these women holding my hand through that scene. It was the way that they wish they would’ve reacted if they were in that situation again. Saying those words, that’s not easy.”
The solidarity Arjona describes draws comparison to her role in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice, which ends with her character Sarah and the film’s lead, Frida (played by Naomi Ackie), burning down the lavish villa of a billionaire tech mogul (Channing Tatum) after they discover that he and his friends had been routinely drugging and raping them and other women on his private island.
“I think it’s so ahead of its time and also has so many beautiful cinematic references of movies that we’ve loved for so long,” Arjona says of the project helmed by the former stepdaughter of her current partner, Jason Momoa. “I think the more people watch it and the more they come back to it, they’ll realize what a mastery Zoë [has]. I’m really proud of that film, what it stands for and what it means. … I’ve gotten so many compliments on the street for Sarah. More than I think any other character — actually, no, that’s a lie. Bix gets the most.”
The recognition Arjona has gained through her role in Andor was predicted by the show’s creator. Recalling how she landed the part, Arjona says, “I auditioned, and he was silent. … I think the audition might’ve taken eight minutes — which is not a good thing; if you ask any actor, a short audition is a bad audition — and he kind of just looked at me and was like, ‘All right, kid, welcome to Star Wars … you’re going to be great, not only in this but in a lot of other things and this series is going to showcase you.’ ”
Arjona will next be seen in another franchise television series, Prime Video’s Criminal, based on the Marvel comic book of the same name. She’s also set to star in and executive produce Adam Wingard’s horror-thriller Onslaught. When it comes to her career, Arjona admits, “I’m not the most strategic person and I wish I was, because this business requires someone to be incredibly strategic with their choices.” Instead, she relies on instinct and one simple principle when choosing roles: “I like to keep myself entertained, as well as an audience.”
This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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