After an intense trial period, Esther Goris feel the satisfaction of having reached the goal, the joy of reaching the premiere date. Since May 19, he has been a member of one of the pairs of “Plagiarism, four versions of the same love”by Mariela Asensio and José María Muscari.
The viewer chooses who to watch and will find the same story told from different points of view. The cast includes “Ellas”, played by Inés Estévez and Malena Solda, “Ellos”, played by Diego Ramos and Nicolás Pauls, while “He and She” feature the acting duel of Thelma Fardín and César Bordón. Esther Goris is lucky to be part of “Ella y él” along with Nicolpas Riera.
Goris will always be remembered for her unforgettable portrayal of Eva Perón in Juan Carlos Desanzo’s film of the same name. Released twenty-eight years ago, it continues to be an inescapable story when it comes to reviewing the best approaches to such an iconic figure in the history of Argentine cinema.
Student of Letters at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the UBA, Esther Goris has stood out as an actress but she is also a writer, director and screenwriter. She acted in theater in a memorable setting of “Blood Wedding” and was also encouraged in a recreation of “Fatal Attraction”.
On television, he was able to stand out in novels by Alberto Migré, he was part of cult cycles such as “Zona de risso” and “La leona”, one of the most emblematic soap operas in recent history.
In a comfortable residence located in the heart of Buenos Aires, near the historic grills and traditional cafes that inhabit the pedestrian section of Lavalle, Esther Goris receives NEWS.
News: What motivated you to say yes to “Plagiarism”?
Goris: The proposal was very different from all of them. There are four real-time versions of what happens in a couple. It is a love story, but above all one of desire, because it has a lot of eroticism and deals with the relationship between a candidate for president of the Nation and her lover, who in the case of the duo we make with Nicolás Riera also has a difference of age, which adds an interesting element to it. It is a different experience to represent a play by different casts simultaneously throughout the week. We have Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and our colleagues are at other times. The public can choose to see one version, two, three or all four. As a viewer I would like to see all those variables. I think Muscari is a very good director and we have an excellent relationship, both things are essential to embark on a project.
News: Did you have to make some changes? Because at the time there was talk of plagiarism and that there were too many similarities with Malcolm and Marie, the Sam Levinson film…
Goris: What happened was the following, they began to rehearse because the rights to the film were there and finally at the last minute the transfer of rights failed when it was necessary to sign, so the work was changed, that is the reality. On the other hand, there is a particular game on stage because the lover writes the speeches that this candidate repeats and the issue that arises is to what extent is her voice or is she a construction made by him, a plagiarism of what he writes.
News: Does the fact that there are four pairs and the viewer can choose how many versions to see generates a certain competitiveness between the actors?
Goris: It is something that had not occurred to me to think about on that side, it will be that close to the premiere one is quite desperate to see if the work turns out or not, generally before that moment you have an apocalyptic feeling, at least for me! (series). Then everything improves and things go well, but I experience it as if it were the first time, so I don’t have time to think about other things. But I know I’m going to see all my teammates, that from now on.
News: Moving on, how did you ever come to work for the celebrated designer Thierry Mugler?
Goris: Therry Mugler is simply one of my favorite designers, for me he is one of the best of the 20th century. His creations have astronomical prices and also, even if they wanted to buy his most emblematic pieces, it is impossible because they are part of the heritage of different museums. The thing was like this, one day I came home and I found Mugler’s invitation to a fashion show and I thought it was a joke, because I liked him so much, and an invitation to a fashion show in Paris arrived in Buenos Aires! ! It was something unusual, but that’s where I went. He had seen me in the movies in the movie Eva Perón, he summoned me and when I arrived I found several bags of his products, like the famous Angel perfume, for example. Mugler wanted to settle in Argentina, something that finally did not happen and at that moment he thought that I would be the face of the brand here, that’s why he invited me to his show, he showered me with gifts and I was there modeling for graphics, no on catwalk. I had the privilege of wearing those suits. It was also a time when I had almost no work in Argentina, I’m not telling you that there wasn’t enough to pay for electricity, but more or less. While in Paris they also asked me to be a representative of the black pearl in Argentina, there was a book called “Stars in pearls” where figures like Isabella Rossellini, Michelle Pfeiffer appeared, and suddenly, The Argentine representative was me! Esther from Banfield to Place Vendôme (series).
News: When Santa Evita premiered, NEWS did a survey on who had been the best Eva in history and you won by a wide margin. Why do you think she was so identified with Evita?
Goris: As they told me it is one of the most broadcast films in the history of national cinema, that contributes a lot to presenting. Later it seems to me that José Pablo Feinmann’s script was excellent and Desanzo’s direction also did his thing. The script painted a flesh-and-blood Eva, not just the mythical figure. It is not easy to make Eva speak, I mean beyond the speeches, in its most intimate aspect and José Pablo Feinmann achieved it insurmountably.
News: Another great figure with whom he worked on countless novels was Alberto Migré. What was it like working with him?
Goris: It was quite a challenge because the book was written from one day to the next, we recorded today and the chapter came out tomorrow, it was a frenetic pace, we were ten hours or more on the channel, the book arrived before recording and perhaps you had fifteen pages of text.
News: You were part of an emblematic novel like “La leona”, was that the best thing you did on television?
Goris: I think so, and that it is the best soap opera of recent years. The cast was wonderful, Susú Pecoraro, Miguel Ángel Solá, Lito Cruz, Pablo Echarri, Nancy Dupláa, Juan Gil Navarro, Peter Lanzani… They were all leading figures. It also told a very particular story with great social impact because it revolved around a factory that, after suffering massive layoffs, was taken over by the workers in a cooperative. It is not common for a novel to address that topic.
News: Since you mention Lanzani, did you see him in “Argentina, 1985” where he does a great job? Did you imagine when you were with him in “The Lioness” that you could grow that way as an actor?
Goris: Yes, I saw the movie and it went where almost no one could imagine. But Peter is not only an excellent actor, but he was also very clear about where he wanted to go, he did not stay in the role of a gal, he advanced towards very risky projects. When we were recording the novel he had already produced a staging of “Equus”, the work that at the time consecrated Miguel Ángel Solá. Any boy his age would have chosen something more commercial, he didn’t, and he put his money into it. He was always very clear about his path.
News: Speaking of great figures, how certain is it that you could have been very close to Robert de Niro?
Goris: No, no, no (laughs). It happened that we were at a party and De Niro had gone, but I had no idea, I didn’t know he was in the country. It was a meeting of twenty people, so imagine my surprise when I found his presence. I arrived late, he was already there and it took me I don’t know how long to greet him because I couldn’t believe it, I thought it was a mirage. He was at the zenith of his career, it was in the late 80s… when I saw him I spoke to him in I don’t know what language because I was even worse at English than now (laughs). But I greeted him and when he was leaving, Lito Cruz made a sign to me and said: “Esther, De Niro wants to have a coffee with you.” It seemed so bad that he didn’t ask me that I replied to Lito: “Tell him not to get upset if he had the bad idea of sending you.” Why did I do that! (laughs). The next day she was already sorry, but it was late.
by Leonardo Martinelli
