Since the premiere at the Cannes film festival, international awards have been pouring in for the film, most recently at the weekend when it received the award for best musical/comedy at the Golden Globe gala.
For Karla Sofia Gascón, the role of gangster Manitas was more than a dream.
It took a 30-year career to find a role like this. I'll never do it again, she says when TT meets her in Cannes.
Changed everything
She was born in Spain in 1972 as Juan Carlos Gascón, made her film debut in 1995 and appeared in a number of films and TV series. She had always felt like a woman in a man's body, and when she was 46 years old, she decided. She would change everything.
My wife asked me "and what will happen now, what will you do, what will happen to us". I could only say that "this goes beyond everything I've done before".
Was I scared? I was already known, how would my surroundings react? Yes, I've experienced terrible things, been insulted and received death threats just for existing.
In "Emilia Pérez", we meet Zoe Saldana ("Avatar") as a lawyer in Mexico. She is kidnapped and taken to the feared cartel boss Manitas, who is married and has several children. He tells her that he wants to change sex, her task is to find the world's best doctor who can perform the operation, for a very high fee.
Several awards
Four years later, we meet lawyer Emilia Pérez, who turns out to be the former Manitas. She wants to go home to Mexico to meet her children. This is followed by a story with many twists, including song and dance numbers and a shootout. In Cannes, the film received, in addition to the Best Actress award, also the directing award.
At first, they wanted me to only play Emilia, says Karla Sofia Gascón.
I worked every day to convince them that I could do both roles. And I knew that my voice could be deep in the role of Manitas.
Jared Leto and Rambo
The dual role involved different challenges: as Manitas, she had to cover her breasts, and as Emilia, she was forced to wear a corset to look slimmer.
And since I'm neither a dancer nor a singer, the musical numbers weren't entirely easy to do.
As Manitas, she had to go back to being a man. She laughs.
I see Manitas as a mix of Jared Leto and John Rambo. It was really fun to go back in time. I realized now that women are more restricted, it's easier to be a man, for example, when you want to go to the toilet.
Name: Karla Sofia Gascón.
Age: 52 years.
Family: Wife, a daughter.
Lives: In Mexico City.
Occupation: Actress.
Previous films: numerous Mexican and Spanish TV series, including "Rebelde" and "Harina".
Currently in: "Emilia Pérez", which will have its Swedish cinema premiere on 10/1.
