Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Jungle Cruise’s Veronica Falcón

Veronica Falcón became an artist to bring people together. For over three decades, she’s done just that with the dynamic characters she’s brought to life in television, film, and on the stage.

This August, she can be seen starring opposite Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Edgar Ramírez in Disney’s Jungle Cruise. In the must-see adventure film, Veronica plays a reimagined version of the beloved character, Trader Sam.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Veronica about her career as an entertainer, Jungle Cruise, and the responsibility she felt playing Trader Sam.

PC: Tell us about the Jungle Cruise, your character, and what drew you to this project?
Veronica: Jungle Cruise has been one of the greatest things that I’ve ever done as an actor. I came to this country trying to work and to be able to share the screen with people I respect that would challenge me professionally to become a better actor. That certainly has happened with this.

I was very, very lucky to play Trader Sam, not only because of the people involved with this project, but also because it’s the first time that Disney decided to have a woman play Trader Sam—that’s a huge honor. I take that responsibility very seriously because fans love Disney and this character. I wanted to honor it. Luckily for me, I was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who is not only a great director, but also someone that is very kind, very generous, and very passionate about what he does. That’s inspiring.

And of course, there’s Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall, Edgar Ramirez, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, the entire cast. All these people are excellent at what they do. It’s very inspiring to see that they’re great performers, and they’re also generous, honest, and very passionate about what they do. Jungle Cruise is very special because of all that. It has a lot of heart.

Everybody was very dedicated to the movie—the studio, the director, the actors, everybody that was involved. It was a very inspiring project to be part of.

PC: Did you feel any pressure playing Trader Sam just given the fact that Disney has reshaped and re-envisioned this character?
Veronica: Yeah. It’s funny because I didn’t feel pressure from Disney—they were super generous, open, and supportive—it was more my own personal pressure because I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to really honor this character; I wanted to play it in a way that served the character and audience. That was where the pressure came from. But I certainly had all the support from the cast, director, Disney, and my team—that made things a lot easier.

PC: Audiences have really connected with Trader Sam. What has that response meant to you?
Veronica: It means everything. At the end of the day, we do this for the audience and fans. Dwayne is incredibly respectful to his fans. I’ve always been like that as well, but the connection he has with his fans is inspiring. He’s absolutely right; they’re the ones that have the last word. Knowing that a little girl can see this character and be like, “Trader is a woman! I connect with that,” that’s the biggest prize you can get. It’s particularly special now because of what we’ve all gone through with this pandemic. We’ve all experienced a lot of loss, uncertainty, and fear. It’s been incredibly hard on everybody.

To be able to entertain an audience, to make them laugh, and forget what’s going on for a second, that’s the biggest gift you can ask for as a storyteller. Let’s face it, we’re not changing the world. We’re not doctors. We don’t discover the cure for an illness or anything on that level, but we are entertainers, and that’s a very beautiful thing to be, especially in moments like this.

I also love that this movie is very inclusive. We’ve got a lot of races, ways of life, and an international cast—that’s very important. Guillermo Del Toro once said, “It’s not them and us; it’s all of us.” We’re in this together. We’re all human beings. We all feel love, sadness, fear, and joy. If we can put aside our differences and be together as human beings, that’s exactly what the world needs.

Through storytelling and movies, you go to a movie theater, and you look around and see you see people from all ages, walks of life, and races, having a moment, enjoying a communal experience—that’s the biggest gift.

PC: There are so many layers to your character. Which was your favorite to explore? Which was the most challenging?
Veronica: The most challenging was the language and the physical scenes. Even though I try to keep in shape, and I do speak some languages, this was certainly different. But luckily for me, Disney had experts in every field. They were guiding us. We had amazing stunt doubles who are incredible, so that made it a lot easier.

In terms of what I connected to with this character, I think it was everything. The character is very complex. She has a childlike quality and a sense of wonder. At the same time, she’s very loyal and has a deep friendship with Frank. She’s a woman ahead of her time. She’s the chief of her tribe, and she’s also spiritual, but I could see her playing with the kids, enjoying the food, and discovering an artifact, and just trying to use it in a different way and being creative.

All of that made this character incredibly appealing and lovable to me. I fell in love with Trader Sam the moment that I read the script. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play her—I didn’t know if they were going to let me—but there was an instant connection and respect between me and the character. She was a challenging character to play, and I was working alongside talented performers like Jack, Emily, and Dwayne. They’re all on the top of their game.

Emily and I were talking about how these women are really ahead of their time. Trader Sam really likes Dr. Lily. They understand each other even though they come from different worlds. That’s also a reflection of what needs to happen in society. We may come from very different backgrounds and have different ideas or beliefs, but at the end of the day, we can still connect as human beings.

PC: You’ve really used your platform to support the causes and issues that you’re passionate about. How did you discover your voice as an advocate?
Veronica: I don’t consider myself an advocate. I’ve met a lot of very brilliant women and men that are true activists and dedicate their lives to what they believe in. I’m certainly an actor and not an activist, but I try to be logical with what I believe in and support the causes that I think are fair. It’s all about respect. I try to support any causes with women, children, fairness, and kindness. I really try to support a lot of causes that have to do with cancer. I lost my mother to cancer. My father has cancer. I lost my grandfather to it. It’s a terrible disease…that as well as AIDS.

I’m a big supporter of women. We need to stand with each other and together with men. I’ve found men in my life, in my family, with my friends, and in the world that are incredibly respectful to women. I try to teach that to my son.
We may not be activists, but we do have a responsibility because we have a public platform. We need to be respectful and decent. I’m a big believer on kindness. Being respectful and being open to communication is incredibly important. I take that very seriously as an actor, being Latina, and being Mexican.

There are a lot of men and women before me who have done incredible work and opened doors for a lot of us. I can only hope that I can open the way or pave the way as they have in the past with me, to people that are coming after me. There are always new performers and artists.

To keep up with Veronica, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Jungle Cruise is in theaters and on Disney+.

Photo Credit: Bjoren Kommerell