Exclusive Interview: Marianna Burelli Talks Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion, How She Helped Shape Her Character, and More

Marianna Burelli is a global superstar who is best known for the dynamic roles she’s brought to life in projects including El Torito, Su nombre era Dolores, la Jenn que yo conocí, and Paramedicos.

This year, she makes her American television debut in Disney+’s Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion. The laugh-out-loud comedy follows Violet (Scarlett Estevez), an everyday Mexican American teen who is chosen by a magical luchador mask which transforms her into Ultra Violet, a superhero fighting crime. Marianna is a standout as Violet’s mother (who has no idea about her daughter’s superpowers) and the principal of her middle school who masterfully juggles both responsibilities.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Marianna about Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion, how she helped shape her character, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling and the arts?
Marianna: I had a very special grandmother. She was a writer. My very first memory is of her teaching me how to recite poems. I was very good at learning them. I was three and reciting Rubén Darío. I fell in love with storytelling then. She would read stories to me all the time. Everything was storytelling in my grandma’s house. I spent a lot of time with her growing up.

Then I won a scholarship to study International Baccalaureate in Eswatini. When I was there, I had to choose six subjects. Three of them had to be high level and three of them had to be standard level. I was absolutely sure that I didn’t want to dedicate myself to the sciences. That wasn’t my passion or my strength.

I had already decided what I wanted to do, but I was still missing one subject on a high level. I had the option to go towards physics, chemistry, economics, or the arts. Someone said to me, “Listen, the theater arts department here is fabulous. It’s something that’s going to always serve you in life.” I was like, “Okay, perfect. Let’s do it.” I did it. That was the beginning.

I would say that my grandma planted the seed. Then the school, Waterford Kamhlaba, provided that reassurance. I was really sure that was what I wanted to do. After I finished there, I went to London to apply to these drama schools. Everybody was saying to me, “It’s really hard to get in. Some people try for years and years, and they never make it.” I was like, “I’m going to try.” I already had a space to study sociology at one university in the UK. But I was going to try it because otherwise I’d never forgive myself for not trying, no matter how hard it was. Then I got accepted into East 15 Acting School.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out?
Marianna: I’ve had exclamation marks in my career. I would say Paramedicos was one of them. It was my first series regular in a show. That went on for quite a few seasons. I became a real EMT in the process because I became so passionate about the work that the volunteers of the Red Cross do in Mexico. They put everything on the line, and they don’t get paid. They sacrifice their weekends and their free time in order to get out there and be in the place where nobody wants to be and do the things that nobody wants to do.

I found it fascinating, beautiful, and powerful to serve other people. All you want to do is to get to the place of the accident or the incident and take that person alive to the hospital. That trajectory from A to B is so important. It can change somebody’s life forever. I became a paramedic between Season 1 and Season 2. That of course was huge for me as a human being. For me as a civilian to see what goes on in the streets of Mexico City was mindblowing and wonderful. I grew a lot on that TV show. I also met my husband on that show. It holds a special place in my heart because it shaped me as a human.

PC: You’ve got a new series out now. Tell us about Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Marianna: Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion is a superhero, coming-of-age action-comedy. It has so many elements that are incredibly valuable in a show. It has family elements. It has the element of action. It has so much comedy. It’s a coming-of-age story about becoming who you’re meant to be. It talks about how social media affects someone’s level of self-esteem, which is upsetting but also a reality within the society that we’re living in right now.

You see so many important themes. Some of them are very current. Some are universal. It’s a show that I believe has everything you need. The characters are very beautifully drawn and performed. As an actor in the show, I can tell you that the chemistry among the actors was remarkable.

As actors, we get so many auditions. When I got this one and I read it, I was like, “I’m totally miscast for this. This is totally not for me.” Isn’t life so funny? It makes you believe that you know what you’re good for. But I was like, “I have never played a mom in my entire career. Now I’m playing the mom of two teenagers.” I was like, “This is totally crazy. This is out of my range.” Because I had never played the mom of a baby, let alone a fifteen- and sixteen-year-old. I am a mom, so I know what it feels like to have kids.

The character felt very alien to me at first. As the process moved forward and I went in for the producers’ session and chemistry read, I started shaping the character to be someone who was really playful. They really liked it. They kept writing new scenes with more comedy. I was like, “Okay. This character can be a very young mom who is this way.” I started discovering all those little golden strengths within the character that resonate with me. Those are some interesting aspects that I created with Nina.

I got to work with the best showrunners, Leo [Chu] and Eric [S. Garcia], who are wonderful creatives. I told them what I thought Nina was initially before she became a teacher. When you see her in the show, she’s the principal of the school as well as a mother. But I spoke to Leo and Eric and I said, “I think as an immigrant, you don’t really have a choice as to what you choose for your career. You grab whatever you get.” Nina didn’t have a choice. I don’t think her first choice was to become a teacher, but once she got the opportunity, she went for it because she’s a go-getter,

They listened and they were like, “We really like that, Marianna. Thank you for sharing this with us.” I never heard anything else. The episodes started coming out and we would read them. At the end of the season, you see the thing that I told them and how it becomes a massive piece of the story. It felt so rewarding to be able to craft the character with them and the writers. The fact that I had two showrunners who would listen to the actors was so rewarding, beautiful, and satisfying.

PC: You’re no stranger to comedy. What is it about this genre that excites you as a creative and a storyteller?
Marianna: Comedy is so painful and so wonderful. It’s such a pain in the a** to do because it’s like mathematics. There is something about the timing and the dropping of a line. It almost feels like it has to be so exact. But at the same time, it’s also so organic and free. That combination can be really hard to achieve. It lingers between total freedom and absolute strictness. It’s hard. It’s really hard to do. I love it though because they say, “There’s nothing more serious than comedy.” It is serious. If you want to hit the lines and have the jokes drop in the right place, there’s a lot of precision to it. There are a lot of nuances. There are a lot of tiny tweaks here and there for it to be able to work. Because a line can be said absolutely hilariously or in the most boring way. It all depends on the delivery.

It’s so well written on this show. They make it very easy. What’s fascinating for me about comedy is the challenge behind it. I feel that comedy has a path that goes straight to your heart or straight to your subconscious. It doesn’t linger around in your thoughts. It goes straight to where it has to go. Laughter is therapeutic, and it’s theater. When we laugh at something, it’s because it resonates with something in our bodies. When we’re talking about something that matters, it has a shortcut into the important places, and I love that.

To keep up with Marianna, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion on Disney+.

Photo Credit: Isaac Sterling