Pop-Culturalist.com

Marta Milans is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses. She’s captivated audiences on the screen and stage in projects including Valientes, Killer Women, Shazam!, and The Pier. This spring, she’s heating up the screen as Kika Calafat in Netflix’s sizzling new crime-drama, White Lines.

Created by Álex Pina, White Lines follows the story of a woman who returns to Ibiza to solve the mysterious death of her brother. Marta Milans portrays Kika, the ex-girlfriend of the deceased DJ Axel. It’s a role that Álex created with Marta in mind. We caught up with her to learn more about the series, what it’s like having a character created for you, and why White Lines is the perfect escape right now!

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Marta: My grandmother wanted me to be the next famous violin player in the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra or something fancy like that. They started training me to play the violin when I was three years old.

At the age of seven, in my music academy they were looking for a young girl who could memorize a lot of texts in Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story. I guess they couldn’t find anyone who could memorize all the texts. I jumped right in and I said, “I’m not into classical musical theory, but I want to be on the stage. I want to be the turtle.” I got the part, and I haven’t looked back. It was clear from a young age that I had to dedicate my life to this craft.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Marta: My family has had an incredible influence on me. My mother is an artist. She’s a painter and sculptress. Her and my father were huge supporters. They never questioned what I wanted to do, even though they knew how hard this profession was. They never lost an ounce of faith in me. I mean, I never doubted myself, even in the darkest of times and times where I was running out of money and I hadn’t worked for a year. I was subletting my apartment in New York City to be able to be out here auditioning during pilot season. The unbreakable faith that my family bestowed upon me is the reason why I never lost it in myself. I knew I would eventually get through.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Marta: I would say when I got to be one of the first Spanish actresses on a Broadway stage. It was my childhood dream growing up. I was always like, “One day, I want to live in New York and be on a Broadway stage.” I said that a lot as a kid. Lo and behold, it ended up happening. I remember I was being interviewed for the New York Times Arts and Leisure section. I remember my mom showed up for opening night and I hadn’t told her I was featured.

We were walking down my neighborhood in the West Village. I was like, “Mom! Let’s go buy a newspaper.” I bought it for her and I asked, “Can you go to the Arts section?” I knew where it was because they had sent me the article earlier. On the page was a huge photo of me. She saw it and was like, “What? My baby is in the New York Times?” We hugged each other. I will never forget that moment because I knew I wanted to be on that stage since I was nine. I can close my eyes now and my heart still flutters thinking about that moment.

PC: That’s the perfect segue. How has your work on the stage made you a stronger film actor and vice versa?
Marta: They’re different animals. When you’re on the stage performing seven shows a week, you feed off the energy that you get from the room. It’s very hard to describe for any actor that’s done theater. You’re aware that you’re touching people’s hearts. Being in film and TV, you get that feedback from social media. You connect with audiences and fans that way. But when you’re on the stage, they’re feeling everything that you’re feeling. That’s why I do this. I want to be able to touch people’s heart and remove them from their daily lives, especially in the tender times we’re currently living through. Acting has impact. Being in a movie like Shazam!, it reaches every corner of the planet. Then a show like White Lines, we were number one and reached people through digital platforms.

White Lines

PC: Speaking of White Lines, tell us about the series, your character, and what drew you to the project.
Marta: White Lines is a roller coaster of a show. It’s exactly what we need right now in these dark and uncertain times. It offers some escapism. It has excitement, passion, murder, sex, rock and roll. It has everything that we can’t do right now. White Lines brings you to the nightclub and to the beach.

The reason that I joined this project is because of Álex Pina. He’s the creator of White Lines and Money Heist, one of the most successful shows of the year that’s not in English. I worked with him on another show called The Pier, which became a big success in Europe. I believe you can stream it in the US. But anyway, when he picks up the phone and calls you, you don’t say no.

He pitched me the show and the role of Kika, who is pretty much an extension of me. He’s worked with me in the past. He knows who I am and my life. He pretty much designed this role for me. It was a complete gift. He was telling me about a girl who grows up in Ibiza and moves to the States, which is exactly what I did. She comes back to Spain to help solve a murder. That part is fiction! [laughs] But when I thought about filming in my hometown of Ibiza and getting to work with a bunch of amazing actors, directors—all picked by Álex Pina—I was like, “Where do I sign up?”

We have the producers from The Crown. We have Álex Pina. I knew I was in good hands. I didn’t expect that we would get the reception that we did in such a short time. It’s a crazy show with some wild storylines. There were times when I was like, “You guys are really going there.” There were times I would call Álex and be like, “I can’t sell this! They’re going to hate us. They’re going to think all Spanish people are crazy and that we have crazy families.” [laughs] He would say, “Milans. It’s funny. You of all people can sell it. It’s going to work.” Then you see it edited, and it did. I don’t know what formula he devises in his brain, but it’s brilliant.

PC: Was there any pressure heading into this project knowing that Álex created a role with you in mind?
Marta: Definitely. There was a lot of pressure with this project. Álex is writing the show in Spanish. He doesn’t speak English, and we knew it was going to get translated into English. We’re working with people who did The Crown who don’t know Álex. There were people who came on the project and were like, “Who is this chick that Álex is bringing on board? Is she good?” Thankfully, not only do I think I’m good enough, I think I had the same mindset of wanting to create something unique.

Imagine that for a second. There’s a man who doesn’t speak a word of English. He’s working on a show called White Lines that will be translated to another language and not by him. He can’t check if it’s translated well. He doesn’t speak the language. Imagine how delicate that formula had to be. We had directors that assumed everyone spoke English like them. [laughs] The amount that got lost in translation could be its own spin-off show called Behind the Lines. [laughs]

I’ll tell you a really funny anecdote. We had this great director, Nick Hamm. He directed Episodes 1, 2, 9, and 10. He’s a wonderful English madman, and he directs like one. [laughs] We all love him, but he can drive you mad. He’ll throw you into a million directions with this very elaborate, beautiful command of the English language. We had some actors who have never worked in English. There’s this really sad funeral scene because our dog died. My dad on the show is in his sixties and he’s at the altar. Nick comes out and he’s like, “Darling, darling, let’s take it from the top. We’re going to do this from the top.” Pedro Casablanc, who plays my dad on the show, was like, “Uh huh!” But you could tell he had no idea what the guy was telling him. [laughs]

We go back to the monitor and we can see my dad climbing the altar steps. Then you hear “Cut!” Nick comes back and he’s like, “Pedro, what’s going on?” Pedro says, “You told me to take it from the top of the altar.” Nick’s like, “No, from the top of the scene.” [laughs]

PC: That’s hilarious! White Lines is a show that keeps you guessing until the very end. When did Álex clue you in?
Marta: He didn’t! [laughs] That little—we didn’t find out until we filmed Episode 9. Two of my costars knew who the killer was for obvious reasons. But when we found out that they knew, we were like, “What?” Álex was like, “It doesn’t matter! Kika isn’t supposed to know. Why are you mad at me?” [laughs] I wanted to know. But he kept us guessing till the end, which is better for us actors anyway. It may have changed how we did certain things.

PC: If the series is picked up for a second season, where do you want to see Kika storyline head?
Marta: I want to see Kika running the Calafat family, the island, and the cartels. This is the first show that I’ve seen where the family has already fallen apart and they’re trying to reconstruct itself back up. They’re trying to build those bridges between the broken relationships, whether it’s between my parents, my brother and I, or between my mom and I. I feel like it’s important to know that this show is about family. Some people come from broken homes, but when you see this series, you’re like, “Look at the Calafat family. It can’t get more fucked up than that.” [laughs] Yet they still try to make it work. I think it gives hope.

To keep with Marta, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch White Lines today on Netflix.

Photo Credit: Sergio Lardiez