Rubí vs. Bárbara

After watching my telenovela, Rubí, I understand how viewers of telenovelas often have a hard time separating actors from the characters they play. In my telenovela, the main character, Rubí, is outrageously evil. Bárbara Mori, the actress who plays her, is magnificent in her role and perfectly embodies the cruelty of the character. By the final episode, I was so disgusted with Rubí, that I found it difficult to look at her.

Even after researching for my consumption presentation and finding Bárbara Mori in her other roles, I still can’t imagine her as anything but evil, and I know that if I watch another telenovela with her in it, I am going to automatically dislike her. These actors assume their roles to such a great extent, it seems impossible that they would be able to shed the character and assume a new, and often completely opposite role; but they do. And this is where I have to express my admiration for actors. It makes me think of what Marisa Román said about the process of assuming new roles: it takes a long time and a lot of preparation, and sometimes she becomes invested in the character so completely that she has to make a conscious effort to separate fiction from reality.