Exclusive Interview: Bella Ortiz Talks American Carnage, Bringing Much-Needed Representation to the Screen, and More

Bella Ortiz is delivering a transformative performance in American Carnage.

The horror-comedy follows the events after a governor issues an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants. The newly detained youths are offered an opportunity to have their charges dropped by volunteering to provide care to the elderly. But things quickly turn sinister…

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Bella about American Carnage, bringing much-needed representation to the screen, how the film tackles important topics like immigration in the United States, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting and storytelling?
Bella: My mom enrolled me in theater classes as a way to help me assimilate when we moved to the United States from Chile when I was four. I was always drawn to drama, making people laugh, and entertaining, even if it was at my own expense. My mom saw that interest and enrolled me in classes in the city where we were living. I grew up doing theater and was very involved in the arts as a way to assimilate, make friends, and learn English. It’s always been a passion of mine.

I guess I always felt like I was going to be an actor, but I never really made a blueprint. I never could visualize how that was going to happen. In college, I studied psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience. I was really fascinated in mental health and unraveling why people do the things that they do. But my junior year of college, I started to miss acting. It came about in a funny way. I went to see a movie, and for whatever reason, I felt so frustrated. I couldn’t place why. The movie was a comedy, and it was very lighthearted. I was like, “Why am I so frustrated? Why do I feel these feelings of angst inside of me?”

Once I reflected on it, I was like, “I’m frustrated because I so desperately want to be doing what they were doing.” It hadn’t occurred to me until that moment. I decided that after I graduated I was going to pursue acting professionally. But it’s always been an interest. Acting has always been a vessel for me to tell stories and to help people feel represented or not feel alone in terms of what they’re going through.

As a kid, I had a tough time. People thought I was really weird, and I was bullied. There were certain moments in my life when I would watch a movie and I would feel so seen. I had this overwhelming feeling that I wasn’t alone in what I was going through. It really resonated with me. I thought, “You know what? I want to be able to do that for other people.” If I can’t be understood, at least I hope to be an aid in helping other people feel understood.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Bella: My mom. This industry is a tough one. It can be very lonely and very isolating. This applies to any field, but when you’re the one who is making moves and you don’t have anyone telling you that you’re doing a good job, it falls on you. Sometimes you could be doing the best job and you still won’t get recognition or praise. Those moments are hard. My mom has always been my rock and my grounding force. Even in the moments where I can’t see it or I feel defeated, knowing that she believes in me and sees it for me is all I need.

PC: Tell us about American Carnage and what drew you to this role.
Bella: American Carnage is in select theaters and digitally on demand on July 15. The synopsis is that the governor issues an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants, but they are offered this unique opportunity to have their charges dropped if they volunteer to provide care for the elderly. But once they get there, they find out that the governor and the supervisor are operating something completely different from what they originally thought. It has a lot of twists and turns. I would consider it a genre all of its own. It’s comedy, horror, and thriller. But what really drew me to this project is that I’m an immigrant myself. I was undocumented until I became a citizen at seventeen. I’d never come across a script or a project that addresses this topic and the realities of immigration in the United States in this way.

I have always thought that horror and comedy are powerful tools in storytelling, especially when you’re dealing with heavy subject matter. It holds up a mirror to the harsh realities of the world.

Going back in history, this is why Hollywood came to be. During the Great Depression, people needed entertainment. This project is very unique in how it takes on heavy subject matter but tries to push the envelope to make people think and laugh.

PC: Director Diego Hallivis actually reached out to each of the actors prior to the first day of filming. What was that initial conversation like? How did that help you shape your character?
Bella: That really set the precedent for this filming experience. You could tell how important this project was for him. He opened that line of communication almost immediately after I found out that I had booked the role. I had never really experienced anything like that before. I’ve done a lot of day-player roles on TV. You’re not necessarily the focus or a main part of the storyline, so there’s not much needed in terms of fleshing out a backstory or a full-fledged character. It was really unique in terms of feeling valued as an artist and feeling like someone was interested in what I personally had to bring to the character and what my ideas were.

PC: Audiences are going to have a strong reaction to your character. How were you able to approach her without judgment?
Bella: That’s a good question. The number one rule that you’re taught as an actor is not to judge your character. You can’t really play them authentically with that bias. Honestly, at first, I had a little bit of hesitation. I was like, “What does this mean for me as an artist and how I’m presenting myself in my career?” The choices that we make as actors impact how we’re seen by the public and therefore impact our careers. After I sat with it for a bit, I realized that as a White, Latinx woman I was the perfect type of person to play this character of Micah.

When I started looking at it from that perspective it was almost like my imagination knew no bounds because I was able to approach it from a similar starting point as Micah. We both have immigrant parents and are White as well. I was able to think about how my life could have turned out differently if I hadn’t made the choices that I did or if I had been surrounded by a different environment or different types of people. It was really fascinating to sit with that and flesh that out in terms of knowing my own experiences and then trying to flip it on its head.

PC: You were saying earlier that as an artist you want to bring representation onto the screen, which this film definitely does, and you’ve done that throughout your career. What has it meant to you to be a part of a project that’s pushing these inclusive storylines forward? How are you and your loved ones going to celebrate the release?
Bella: Thank you for asking that. It’s meant a lot to be a part of a project where the creators are Latinx and we filmed in Spain. The whole crew spoke Spanish. The whole principal cast is Latinx, and we all come from different backgrounds. It was really great to represent the Latinx community in all the ways that we showed up. There is a lot of misrepresentation in Hollywood. When you think of Latinx performers, we all think of one way that we’re presented. In this movie, we’re showing the versatility. I feel very grateful and honored to be a small part of this.

I hope that when people watch this movie, they start to look at things with more of a magnifying glass. I hope that people enjoy themselves and are challenged to think about things differently. I hope they recognize that this is the beginning and a small part of more representation that’s to come in the future.

To keep up with Bella, follow her on Instagram. Watch American Carnage in select theaters and wherever you stream movies.

Photo Credit: Christopher Shintani