Caray, Caray!

Really interesting topic UA. As soon as I saw your header, I immediately thought of Altair. Bless her heart, I thinks she's a dynamo of an actress, but she frankly has now been playing the same character over and over again in the last few TN's she's in. And most of that could be the very reason you point out;she doesn't fit that image of a leading lady which seems to be big-boobed, statuesque or former model or beauty queen. (Pardons to my girl Silvia who thankfully doesn't really fit that bill.) I would love to see her in a lead or a character out of the bad little rich girl who finds redemption.

As for Fernando, I would have said yes to being a bad guy, but after his rather lackluster turn as a comedic actor in PEAM, not sure he would pull off being a really good baddie. Cesar, as you point out, is the a master at switching from a good guy with a heart of gold to being just hateful in the most convincing manner...not sure I see Colunga doing the same.

I could see Jorge Salinas as the villain in a TN. He has that serious, devilish attitude that I do think he could pull it off. Frankly, the more I think about it, that would be cool to see. Handsome actors can be awesome villains in the right role.

TN producers I think like to fulfill the stereotypes. How much did those of us who watched him LOVE Brandon Paniche as Patricio in Refugio? Heck, we loved him better than Gabriel. But he and some others I can think of aren't those body-building heroes the producers want as the leads, so they will be regulated to 2nd string. Erick Elias can act circles around some of the top billers, but he's not the traditional look. Honestly, I'm getting tired of "the look" getting the lead and putting up with so-so acting, and the real professionals are the 2nd tier performers.

Daisynjay
 

Fascinating topic. I learned a lot but don't have enough experience with the genre to comment.

Jarifa
 

Urban:

This is a great topic! I too am watching those two TNs you mentioned on Unimas.

I really like Cesar Evora and all roles he's done. I have seen him now as a good guy in CI and also in the two morning TNs and also as a bad guy, AB, Tempestad, and I have also seen his Bloopers reels on Youtube. I think he ought to try a comedy! I really like his laugh so much, he is so funny. I know he did Guapos and part of that was funny, but I'd really like him as a semi villan, redeemable, in a comedy.

I'd like to FC as a villain. He is disappointing in PEAM. I thought he'd have more comedy chops, but meh not so much. I think he'd be great as a villain with the looks he gives.

Eduardo Yanez would also make a great villain. I have liked all the roles I have seen him in, he has played bad guys in the States on TV shows, but not in a TN. I also think he'd be great in a comedy.

I'd like to see Enrique Rocha as a good guy for once. I've only seen him as a bad guy, even in comedy, UFCS. I bet he'd make a great AARP Babe Magnet ; )

I like what Helena Rojo has done, she has been a good person and a villain. She is much like CE that way.

I'd like to see Jessica Coch as a good girl. I've only seen her as a villana. Also Altair J, would make a great good girl with issues, let's say.

I'd like to see Silva Navarro as a bad girl and Zuria Vega too, I think they could both pull it off.


 

Daisynjay i totally agree with what you just said about Altair. I think she is a great actress but she doesn't fit the physical characteristics of a typical protagonist. I also want to see her be a lead actress soon.

 

I too think that Jorge Salinas could be an awesomely bad dude. He was one in the beginning of LQPNA. That whip of his! He could so pull it off.

DaisyNJay:

I so agree with you about the second tier performers. Especially for PEAM they are the heart of that TN and not the leads : )
 

Mads: agree with you about Jorge. Also, rumor has it, in SN's next--she'll be a villain
 

Just looked up Altair Jarabo to see what she looks like. She's awfully pretty, especially as a brunette.
 

You all should start watching Columbian TN's. The woman is ALWAYS beautiful, the men are usually really average looking. Their stories are usually about a poor man trying to get the rich girl.

PEAM is a remake of a Columbian TN called El Secretario.

Hasta Que El Dinero Nos Separe is a remake of Haste Que La Plata Nos Separe.

The lead men in the Columbian versions aren't that great looking.

Cynderella

 

Enrique Rocha is definitely the king of novela villains. I first saw him in the 1981 Yo Compro Esa Mujer and knew it even then. That voice did me in immediately. He would be awesome as any authority figure, good or evil.

Otto Sirgo (as I pointed out before) is typically cast as a man of authority and class. He's the AARP babe magnet for now. I think most of his characters have been decent guys (of course he doesn't have the voice of a Mephistopheles).

Marcelo Cordoba is an interesting case, too. He should be a galan, but doesn't want it. I wonder why.
 

Cynderella: there's a TN on Azteca that is a remake of a Columbian one whose galan is "average" looking.

UA: I think some actor's don't like to play good, because it's boring for them.
 

Having been a drama student I can say it is more fun to be evil. Or crazy.

The problem is often in the writing. It's probably a challenge to make a good character interesting, so I'm glad that our Jorge got such a great challenge in LQNPA. Very Bronte/DuMarier of those writers to make Rogelio a good man with very big issues.
 

Colunga says he wants to play evil. He would be good, he does mad so well.
He is going to do another play that will come to the US.

http://www.peopleenespanol.com/article/fernando-colunga-regresa-al-teatro-y-quiere-hacer-de-villano
 

UA: galans with a dark side are definitely the most interesting. But what of the ladies? Have their been good girls with dark sides? I don't think, from what I've read, that Teresa counts. I got the impression that she was a little too dark.
 

UA, I would take Marcelo anyway I can get him :)

Hate to say, but you look at some of the recent TN's and the writers can often make the hero so bland or one-note. Who would want to play that if you are serious about your craft?

And I agree that playing evil or nasty can be so much more fun. It takes that right blend in most TN's of playing a dual role---playing someone who looks likes an ok-person to a lot of characters but who is really evil. You get to do two roles in one character. Definitely a fun challenge. Could be why some who get to be the villains don't mind the stereotyping. They are having more fun. I think of Sabine M. or Letitia Calderon--they can just chew up the screen sometimes when they get into their roles. Who wants to be sweet and weepy when you can do that?

Daisynjay
 

Ooh, Daisy. Leticia Calderon in AB. What a deliciously bad girl.
 

Daisynjay, like you the first thing I thought about was Altair Jarabo. However, I like her just fine playing this same character over and over. When I saw the first episode of MPV I was so afraid that she was going to be a goodytwoshoes. Well her encounter with Ricky quickly put that fear to rest. Right now, she and Cecilia Gabriela are absconding with that show. My vote is to keep Altair at least a little wicked.

Carlos
 

OT (sort of): my boyfriend-Alejandro Ruiz (MEPS, AB) is in a new TN: Por siempre mi amor. Does anyone know anything about it?
 

Fernando Colunga did play a couple of villains in his youth but that was before he got better as an actor, he was pretty OTT back then but his physique was good for those parts. I think he would be a good one now.

Here's Colunga as a villain in Mas Allá del Puente:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmpxiN5eh-g


Altair, I'm afraid, will stay stuck in the same bad girl roles like Chantal Andere and Laisha Wilkins. Chantal has accepted that she will be typecasted but Laisha keeps trying though she keeps being rejected as a good girl, unless the part is small. Karla Álvarez also suffered from the same typecasting an is also only able to play good in less important characteres. Margarita Magaña seems to be that way too but she's gotten some nice girl roles here and there.

Besides Chantal (who always got saddled with bad girl roles) the others got nice girls in their youth, during their time making teen novelas. It was during their transition to more adult roles that they were sent to villainhood.

The executives are the ones behind the typecasting. Sometimes some producers want to take a chance on some actors but they are the ones with the last word.

It's easier for actors that got popular playing nice roles to take a chance to play a bad one than for the reverse to happen. César Évora, Lucero and Leticia Calderón are examples of actors that have played both types with success. They have now the freedom to go back and forth between heroes and villains.

It's also easier for older actors in general. At that point is seems like it doesn't matter much what kind of image they project because their long trajectories make them already familiar and accepted by the public.

An interesting case is Laura Flores, she got popular in her youth playing an Altair Jarabo type of character in El Derecho de Nacer but she also played the nice best friend in her next novelas and later she played some nice and not so nice secondary characters only to have her absolute break out role as a psycho villain in Clarissa. Then, rather than continuing as a villain she instead played leading roles in most of her next telenovelas and some small but memorable parts in other very popular ones (as Empress Carlota in the historical El Vuelo del Águila for example).

Nowadays Flores can go back and forth beteen villains and good characters, like going from Netty in Llena de Amor to Roselena in Refugio. Besides that streak of heroines in the late 90's, she's the one actress I can think that has managed to keep the most versatile career in telenovelas.

Jarocha

 

Re: Por siempre mi amor. Just read it followed CI in Mexico and started on Monday, there. That sounds familiar. I think someone mentioned it before.
 

Now I know why despite all the acting schools (private and the ones owned by Televisa and Azteca) the TN people uses always the same 5 people.

There are surely hundreds of new and young faces, cute and fugly (depending of the beholder) that could be starring right now and we only get to see the same boring 5 faces over and over.

What a nightmare!
 

Anon: From EL SECRETARIO Televisa only took the idea from the first episode, since then, the changes have been awful.

Nanette: Víctor García is not average, he is and looks more ugly with that stupid haircut with the bangs.

There should be a clause in the contracts, so if an actor see that his/her character is changing because the producer thinks the TN needs more stupidity and laughless jokes, they could leave the set and sue. When they read the scripts and the plots are already a trainwreck is their fault if they sign or not. BUT if they show you one thing and after you sign they start making changes that stupefy your character, sue them, Ana Colchero did it to Azteca and won!

Enough with doing what they want without consequences.
 

I have been wondering about Eduardo Franco, who plays Eduardo in Corazon Indomable and Rodolfo in Amor Bravio. I've seen him in other roles, but never the hero, even though he is very tall and good looking. How did he get pigeon-holed as the sidekick instead of leading man? I don't get it.
 

Oops, sorry, I mean Ricardo Franco.
 

Jose Elias Moreno is one of the character actors who has done well playing both good and evil guys. I've seen him play very sweet and loving roles and seen him excel as horribly mean and evil men.

Segio Sendel seems to play mostly bad guys or at least selfish ones. I have seen him as a galan in his earlier years. I could see him as a rogue who turns around for love of a woman.
 

Urban, I LOVE your weekend topics. Glad you could break away from your opera club for awhile to give us some good weekend food for thought.

I've already mentioned that I am a relative newbie to the TNs. A friend had recorded "Destilando Amor" and let me see it recently. I loved Sergio Sendel. I can definitely see why he is cast as a "bad" guy, but he excited me more than the galan (who I know has a huge following here!). Not that Yanez was uninteresting or a lousy actor, it's just that Sendel intrigued me more. I love his eyes and could easily see him as a diamond in the rough galan.

I'm sure you all can help me here, but one thing that I find confusing is why a relative newcomer is given a role based upon having won something (contest, etc) in real life when they have NO acting skills whatsoever.

The female lead in "La Tempestad" does nothing for me. Granted, this is her first acting gig (from what I gather), but what does winning a beauty contest give her preference over more talented newcomers who have already demonstrated potential? Is the acting gig part of the prizes that are won in Mexican beauty contests?

How do the established actors, in particular, the really strong actors, feel about someone like this being a lead in the story?

I find the female lead in "La Tempestad" to be so boring that I watch the show infrequently and find I enjoy reading about the story on the daily recaps.

I agree with those who think that Altair J is a genuine talent. To me, someone like her would have been much more interesting as the lead in LT, but I'm glad we have her in MPV!

Thanks, Urban!

Fatima
 

Thanks UA, very informative topic.
For me, an actor is truly good in his profession if he could portray whatever kind of character is thrown on him. This is why I admire Cesar Evora. True he is so bad in AB to name a few but isn't he adorable and fantastic as Octavio in Entre El Amor y Odio and the next one where he is a priest= EL Privilegio is it?
I truly respect him. I wish he could have some more good roles and let go of that goatee and moustache for a while.
 

Fatima:

I am going to stick up for XN the lead in Tempestad. Have you seen her portrayal of her "twin" Mags yet? The two are as different as night and day. This may be her first gig, but she is certainly bringing it. I like her and want to see her in future TNs. By the way she was Ms Universe of 2010 : )
 

Amen Madelaine!

Cynderella
 

Fatima:

" Granted, this is her first acting gig (from what I gather), but what does winning a beauty contest give her preference over more talented newcomers who have already demonstrated potential? Is the acting gig part of the prizes that are won in Mexican beauty contests?"

What happens is that many women who want to initiate a career in Television join these type of contests to get in touch with the network and producers and facilitate their beginings as an actress or tv personality. Some already have a little talent or experience.

In reality, beauty contests are very unpopular in Mexico. Ratings for these shows are low and Miss Universe isn't even aired on either of Televisa's two major channels but on channel 9, Galavisión, which is their third (and in some places their fourth) watched channel, much below channels 2 and 5. So, winning a contest doesn't automatically make you popular.

What happened with Ximena was that she won Miss Universe in 2010 (the first win since 1991), the year when we celebrated the bicentenial of Mexico's independence and everybody was feeling patriotic, a beautiful Miss Universe was the icing in the cake. This gave the impression to Salvador Mejía that Ximena would be bankable as a telenovela star.

Most beauty contestants (at least in the last two decades) start with smaller roles and then move on to bigger ones. It usually takes them years to get their first lead and it is extremely unusual for them to be offered a role just for winning the contest (I can't remember another instance where this has happened right now).

Yadhira Carrillo, for example, took 12 years from her start in a beauty contest to her first real leading role. She first took two years studying at Televisa's school and then ten doing smaller roles that became more and more important as time went on.

Of the recent ones, Jaqueline Bracamontes began working at Televisa as a sports news reporter, so she endeared herself to the public there. Then she started doing smaller roles in telenovelas and soon after she got an important secondary role in the hit Rubí she got elevated to leading status in Heridas de Amor. It took her 7 years from her win at Nuestra Belleza to her first lead.

Blanca Soto didn't start at Televisa but she has done a few movies (including a romantic comedy with Jaime Camil) and she was supposedly successful in Univision with Eva Luna which later ran at Galavisión here. So, she was acquired by Televisa as an experienced leading actress already. It took her 13 years from her participation in Nuestra Belleza to Eva Luna and 15 to her first lead in Televisa in PEAM.

The closest catastrophe in ratings for an ex beauty queen's first time leading role was Alicia Machado in Infierno en El Paraíso. She had acted before but only in her native Venezuela, so audiences in Mexico were not familiar to her as an actress.

Machado turned is now well liked though. I'm sure Navarrete will be able to do that too, she just needs to take some acting classes and find a good role.

Blanca Soto had good luck thanks to Colunga, so she has that. But, I don't think she's a safe bet for a successful lead yet. At least over here, she's better known in the US.

Jarocha


Jarocha
 

In Soto's case, I think it also helps being the sister of the daughter in law of the producer... ;-)


 

Jarocha - thanks for all the nifty info. I remain a fan of Yadhira Carillo. What a shame that after all of that time and finally triumphing in star rolls she gave up acting!

We will see if Jackie Bracamontes comes back to novelas after the birth of her little girl,

Daniela Castro has done comic , heroic and villainous roles, as has Daniela Romo. Both very versatile actresses.

Thanks, UA, for another great topic.
 

I wish Mujeres Asesinas would return. It was a great show for seeing Televisa actors play against type, or try to play against type. Angelique Boyer and Sherilyn were excellent in their episodes, but some others just weren't believable.
 

I hate beauty contests with a passion. I think they make most women who are average-looking or less than average feel like garbage. Unfortunately the beauty standard has also been pushed to absurd levels and pageants now allow contestants who have had plastic surgery.

Beauty is no guarantee of talent in anything, either. That beauty pageants are the usual entree to acting makes me ill.

Another typecasting thing that bugs me is that being a child star usually sets up a roadblock to future sex symbol status. Pedro Fernandez is an example of that.
 

Nieci, I totally agree. Mujeres Asesinas was a great series and most critics thought the Mexican version was the best one. I think their ratings were high because of the promotional hook of having these actresses play against type. Also, the programs looked like a series rather than as though they were made by different producers. If you look at the Argentine original in comparison you'll see why.
 

I am so glad you brought Pedro Fernández up because he is so ugly, with that crooked face and that hair!!
Next to him even Juan Manuel Avila look like Mr Charming.

Why is Televisa still trying to convince that he is a ''galán''?
He sings, but he belongs in the radio!
 

Dear Jarocha, I have so appreciated your thoughtful comments both here and when we were watching QBA.

Thank you so very much for this excellent explanation of the status of things with regard to beauty pageant winners who go on to become actresses.

I think Ximena probably feels incredibly fortunate and lucky to have garnered this lead position given that her work history certainly does not compare to pageant winners who have worked their way up the ladder.

I really appreciate you putting her win as Ms Universe in its proper perspective as it related to the national celebrations in Mexico. That certainly makes a lot of sense.

Cynderella and Madelaine, I can see why you like XN and respect your opinions. As Urban says, I'd like to see her in the future when she's had some acting lessons, etc.

Jarocha, given that Ximena has already started at the top, so to speak, where does she go from here? How would it "look" to have her take lesser roles in order to perfect her skills after having had this major lead role?

Also, do I understand correctly that Silvia Navarro auditioned for the lead in LT? To me, she is an excellent actress. XN is not in her class.

Jarocha, one last thing, I think it is FANTASTIC that beauty contests are very unpopular in Mexico!

Thank you so much, Jarocha!

Fatima
 

I think there are multiple things at play here. Basically you have two categories. Group A has people who are well trained and can act. A lot of them are in the Galan and lead classifications and are happy with it but others want more challenges and try to move away from doing the same old same old. In this group you also have the unconventional types like Brandon Peniche and Erich Elias. They appear doomed from our point of view to always being second leads but they may very well be happy with the opportunity to do a variety of things and will have long and sucessful careers.

Then you have group B - these are the ex models, the beauty queens, the jocks, the pretty boys and people who go through Televisa type schools and are more than happy to play the same part over and over again. The problem that brings up is them aging and the public ends up with people like Yanez and Colunga and after QBA Salinas being cast in age inappropriate roles playing against actresses that are too young for them.

Televisa seems to be doing a good job of bringing new girls into the mix but not as well as with younger men who are slated for galan roles. They exist but not in the same numbers as the girls.

One of the worst problems from my point of view is that there is no original writing. Every novela on Televisa now is a remake and all the ones to follow are as well. There doesn't seem to be a drive to develop original material to challenge the actors. I also think that the producers pander to the public, casting the same actors over and over in what is essentially the same part. They know that throwing a Levy or Colunga in as the lead will bring the ratings they want but they risk the public getting bored.

Colunga may talk all he wants about wanting to play a heavy but I suspect he will never be cast as one especially at Televisa since it is unlikely that the public would accept him in that kind of part. I think a lot of actors are stuck the same way. It will be interesting to see how the new jamie Camil novela turns out since he has been cast as the antagonist.

As for a basso profundo's Evora and Juan Ferrer, they have somehow managed to escape true type casting and play wide ranging roles. I do suspect however that every time a villainous more mature man part comes up the producers automatically think of these two.
 

Madelaine/Cynderella - I too am impressed with XN, esp since it's her first gig. I don't particularly like the typical protagonista over acting. XN imho acts natural. And her Magda has kind of a different accent, no?


 

Pablo Villalobos:

"In Soto's case, I think it also helps being the sister of the daughter in law of the producer... ;-"

Definitely. Nepotism also helps in getting roles although it doesn't help with the success of the novela. I tend to think PEAM's good ratings were mostly for Colunga's presence and a few well liked side characters, not Soto. I didn't personally care for it (or Colunga's turn in it) but we'll see how her career goes afterward.


Fatima:

"Jarocha, given that Ximena has already started at the top, so to speak, where does she go from here? How would it "look" to have her take lesser roles in order to perfect her skills after having had this major lead role?"

Well, it may look like a step down but given that before La Tempestad she had no experience whatsoever, I don't see it that way. It depends on her attitude and drive and the people and opportunities she finds in the way but even a nice side role on a novela with good ratings would be a good thing.

Going from reaching a lead and then step down to a series of side characters and finally managing to come back to leading is not unheard of. The latest examples: Ana Brenda Contreras and possibly África Zavala.

I think she could use some good acting lessons though. I am of the opinion that she's a bad actress, but she's new, she can improve. And who knows, maybe another producer for whatever reason will decide to give her another chance to lead sooner than we might think.

Jarocha




 

In one occasion Mariana Levy (rip) and other, complained that televisa was hiring a lot of people from Southemerica mostly, when in México there was enough talent to hire.

When she was invited to Perú or Chile, don't remember, she didn't complained.

What would people who has studied acting night and day for years feel
when they see the roles they should be playing are given to ''beauty queens'' and handsome and tall guys with no experience?

I complained about voice dubbing jobs being given to people like William Levy instead of professional voice artists, and I read that they do that even when it is more expensive to hire somebody without experience but with a selling name, because they wanted the name, not caring about the results.

So, I guess is all about the money. They don't care about scripts, audience, anything, and once the product is on air, they also change it at will without caring if people is able to keep up with the new schedules and all...

I think it is more fun to watch how mexican tv stations revolve around and around in an endless vicious cicle right until nobody watch what they do anymore than the products they make.
 

Jarocha, yes, good points. Getting a nice, juicy, supporting role in a good TN could take one very far, I would think. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain how things work in your country. I think it is fascinating.

Pablo, also appreciate your comments. Thank you!

Fatima
 

I saw Fernando Colunga as a villain in Maria Mercedes and he was very unlikeable. I read Jarocha's comment and apparently he was villainous in other things too, If he could do it then he could probably pull it off now and the producers would be nuts to refuse him the opportunity, I think people would tune in to see him even if he wasn't the lead, and it would be fun to see a villain really give the hero a run for his money,
I agree Altair should get a leading role, she seems too cuddly to really hate, and I think Blanca Soto could really chew the scenery as a villain, (I mean more than she is now as the heroine)
 

Colunga's part in Maria Mercedes was a very minor role and long before he became a big name. I've not seen him in anything where he was a true villian but if he wants to be one he surely has enough clout to fight for it. He is getting to the age where he is going to have to move out of galan style parts so only time will tell.
 

One of our Caray mates noted that Jaime Camil is going to be the antagonist in an upcoming TN. I had the pleasure of seeing him for the first time today in his new movie "Pulling Strings". Guau! Guapisimo!!!

This man has galan written all over him. It was such an enjoyable move (English subtitles) with good music and excellent signing on Jaime's part. His English was excellent, btw.

It was a happy and, yes, some would say predictable, but I was just having so much fun with the Spanish and the music and scenes of the DF that I didn't care!

I loved the new Derbez film and think that Jaime's film was just so enjoyable. Hope all of you can get to see both of them.

Jaime has just been added to my list of take home galans (Salinas, Zepeda, Soler, and now Camil).

Fatima
 

Jaime Camil will be protagonist. Antagonist will be Mark Tacher. And USA will see it very soon, because it will be broadcast after PEAM.
Alegria
 

Alegria, thank you so much for that information! I will definitely be planning to see this new TN. I just loved Camil in his film and am still impressed with his excellent English. I hope my own Spanish can be that good some day very soon. I sure as heck am working on it!

Fatima
 

Anon

Glad to hear that. I had read on a Latin Gossip site that he was going to be the antagonist which I though was odd. However I'm pretty sure a lot of people will be griping that he is too old for Zuria being 40 to her 24. MT wasn't much better age wise. I too am looking forward to this one as the current crop on both Televisa and Telemundo are leaving me cold. Marido pretty much jumped the shark for me when the dead husband returned and Theresa Christina brings annoying to new screeching levels.
 

I am getting too old to watch anything after 10pm (except SNL of course), but I remember liking Teresa Cristina (in the beginning).
 

Jaime Camil, David Zepeda and Pedro Fernandez - so NOT hot! Never watch anything with them as the main galans, they just don't sizzle for me. Even if I like some of the other cast, if any of these three are the main galan, forget it - I pass.
 

Erick Elias has had lead roles, at least two that I watched. I thought he did a good job and fit the galan expectations very well.
 

Desie Girl,

Fernando Colunga did play a villain in Mas alla del Puente and Maria Mercedes there were two others as well. Women's stories of Real Life he played a villain there as well and Mujeres Egoistas. He was originally type cast as a villain in his beginning roles but after the performance done in Maria Mercedes they gave him a shot as the Leading man in Maria del Barrio. He has been in a lead role ever since. He would make a great villain I think.