A charming man, with an affable, peaceful and cordial smile. With these characteristics, Esteban Lamothe could surely convince any diner to choose the dish of the day when he worked as a waiter and he could also persuade the inhabitants of a house or apartment about what was the best color for the walls of a living room when He dedicated himself to painting houses.
Now he is an actor with an enviable filmography, with titles such as “Extraordinary Stories”, “El 5 de Talleres”, “Villegas”, “The Student”, “Abzurdah”, “Tomy’s Notebook” and “The Locksmith”, among others. A family boy, he took the surname of his mother, Olga Lamothe, owner of “Lo de Olga”, the restaurant located in front of his teenage house.
Passionate about boxing, he grew up watching the fantastic four (Ray Sugar Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Mano de Piedra Durán) on nightly viewings in front of the television accompanied by his grandfather Bonifacio, who served him coffee so he could stay awake.
Known for television shows such as “Farsantes”, “Guapas”, “Las Estrellas”, “Educando a Nina” and “El marginal”, he sits down to chat with NOTICIAS about the recent premiere of “Antígona en el cuerpo”, a play that He stars alongside Verónica Llinás and Héctor Díaz.
News: This is a year of a lot of theater. He finished “Nudes,” he made “Shadows of Course” and now comes “Antigone in the Bath.” Did it happen that way or was it a personal decision?
Esteban Lamothe: I had done a lot of theater when I was a child, I started there, I acted in many plays and then I stopped for ten years because I had a son, I started working on television and making movies. I had less time and I had also gotten a little tired, but the return was what I wanted. For this work Vero Llinás called me, but for “Sombras decourse”, which was put together with El Silencio, a group with which I have worked for a long time and with which I have already done four works, the move was managed by Esteban Bigliardi and me , we wanted to get together again, work with Romina Paula, with Pilar Gamboa and with Susana Pampín. I think that after “Desnudos” the desire to do theater came back to me, I had never done theater when I was famous and I discovered that something about doing a play on Corrientes Street so that people laugh and have fun makes me feel complete as an actor. .
News: Why do you think you felt that way?
Lamothe: There is something about audiovisual that distances you from the public, because it sees you on a screen, never acting right there. It made me want to do theater to see what it was that I really still liked about the job, after so many novels and so many things, sometimes you don’t even know why you are acting. You might wonder if you really like acting… but I confirmed that I really like it!
News: Did you notice much difference doing theater now that you are a well-known actor compared to your beginnings?
Lamothe: Yes, I think that when you work on television there are many people who come to see the person on TV and the challenge is that the person who got a ticket to meet someone they see every day in a soap opera finally finds themselves with a work. theatrical. That is the most valuable thing, that fame is a trap for people to come and see a good work. Because ultimately the only thing that matters is that the work is good. How many minutes could you watch someone on TV if the work is bad? Five, ten, fifteen? Then you say: “I saw you, ready. In any case, I’ll wait for you outside for the photo, thank you very much” (laughs).
News: Being better known did you have to deprive yourself of things like going to the court or a recital, for example?
Lamothe: Sometimes yes, in certain situations, not many, and putting myself in a victim’s position doesn’t work. Nowadays, unfortunately, there aren’t too many soap operas, but many years ago if you made a soap opera, the moment you touched the street it would become somewhat intense, especially when I went somewhere with my son. The public that sees you on TV somehow takes ownership of you and it is logical because they watch you at home, while they eat, while they sleep, while they fight with their cousin… so if they pass you on the street there is one thing they don’t It’s not rude at all, but it’s demanding. That was the only thing I suffered from, but it wasn’t a big deal, I never had an unpleasant situation. If you complain about that and do television, don’t do TV and that’s it. You have to be able to embrace that and be grateful for it.
News: In “The Stars” you played a chef, I saw on Instagram that you were reading Anthony Bourdain’s book, “Confessions of a Chef.” Were you interested in the topic of gastronomy or more in the character?
Lamothe: Ugh yes, what a blast! I was interested in Bourdain, I am a big fan of his, I like his show “No Reservations”, I fell a little in love with that character who was Anthony Bourdain and that is also why I saw the documentary about his life on HBO. I am fascinated by him and I also like cooking, I worked for twenty years as a waiter, including the time I worked with my mother and the decade I was a waiter in Puerto Madero. There is something familiar in gastronomy that the book “Confessions of a Chef” revives on another scale.
News: Do you think it’s true that people are known a lot based on how they treat waiters?
Lamothe: Yes, one hundred percent. I believe that a person who mistreats waiters deserves a place in hell. And there is a breed of abusers of waiters, I have a problem with those people, they are not my friends (laughs).
News: Let’s move on to something more relaxed. When you drive, do you listen to music?
Lamothe: Yes, now I listened a lot again to some albums by The Cure, the latest by Bad Bunny and also Coleman Hawkins to change it up and add some jazz to it. I’m changing, I also came back to the Ramones, it’s been a long time since I listened to them and now I’m able to play an entire album in one sitting. I’m quite a music lover.
News: His son’s name is Luis Ernesto. Is Luis for Spinetta and Ernesto for Che?
Lamothe: No (laughs). Luis is because I liked the name, because I love a cousin called Luis Pedro and I also met several Luis that I like very much. His grandfather’s name was Ernesto, Julieta’s father (Zylberberg) and I’m attracted to novel names. Viste, Luis Ernesto, Gabriel Jesús, Roberto Carlos (laughs). His name is almost Roberto Carlos! Not because of the singer but because I really like that combination.
News: You made many films but in “Two Brothers” you worked alongside Graciela Borges, what was that experience like?
Lamothe: Very good! I worked only one day on the shoot, in fact it was mid-morning and it was beautiful. She is a fascinating woman and I love her, if you are not in love with Graciela Borges you don’t like women! (series). She is a woman who always causes me a lot of admiration and a great attraction as well. I was lucky to work with great actresses, I remember “Tomy’s Notebook” with great affection because one of my dreams was to act with Valeria Bertuccelli, and Carlos Sorín is a genius, I loved him. I think I worked with almost all the greatest Argentine actresses: Pilar Gamboa, Griselda Siciliani, Julieta Zylberberg, Érica Rivas, with Vero Llinás who we had shared “Educando a Nina”, “La Patota” and she was also the voice of my story in “Extraordinary Stories”, but we did not cross paths until now and I could go on. I never imagined that could happen.
News: If I go to Catamarca, do you have any place to recommend?
Lamothe: A lot. There is a very nice pumice field that is not in the advertising we did. There we went ziplining, Catamarca has some incredible places, it is a province with enormous potential, it has jungle, countryside, desert, everything. I already knew before doing the advertising because I had gone to work at a bowling alley a long time ago, when it was time for soap operas, now YouTubers go. Then I came back last year with “Desnudos”, you know what? Catamarca wines are very rich and are not as on the map as those from Salta or Mendoza, but they have two or three impressive wineries.
News: I read that you greatly admire Leonardo Favio, what are your favorite films?
Lamothe: “Dreaming, Dreaming”, “Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf”, “The Dependent”, I like them all, but I think those three are my favorites.
News: You had a project to debut as a director, is it still on track?
Lamothe: Yes, I’m working on it, I’m still working on the script, having meetings and looking for producers. I don’t have any concrete news yet, but I’m behind on that project. So either I will make the film or I will die trying to film it, I will never abandon it. I hope it happens before I die, I’m 46, I think I can still do more than one, it’s a wish.
News: He starred in the movie “The Locksmith”. If you had a special key and could open any door, what would you use it for?
Lamothe: I would like to open the door to The Cure’s rehearsal room and see them rehearse a show
