Mario Alarcon He is an actor endowed with an extraordinary capacity, that of being loved, admired and respected by both the public and his peers. Something similar happened to his remembered partner Alfredo Alcón and, like him, he has faced any acting challenge with enviable grace. He starred in countless classics and also that great phenomenon of contemporary independent theater that is “The Comic Vis”by Mauricio Kartun, gave us an unforgettable character in “El secreto de sus ojos”, starred in one of the most applauded episodes of “Los Simuladores” and gave an endearing performance in “Entre Caníbales”.
Don Mario knows how to play any chord with the elegance of a Rosario Lord and move from the national comedy to the Newells court or mark territory on the set with that unmistakable tone of voice that we were able to enjoy in “The portal”the terrifying film by Mariano Argento where he plays a sinuous consortium owner, owner of a Mephistophelean calm. How can you embody any character? Mandinka thing.
News: After seeing it in “El portal” I had a doubt. Should we be more afraid of the devil or the president of the consortium?
Mario Alarcón: Look, I would tell you, be careful with the president of the consortium, it is always a good idea to keep him in your sights (laughs). My character is based on those neighbors who are polite, but always appear out of nowhere and know everything about the others, they move calmly and with a certain strangeness. One sees them as mysterious, not because they do anything out of the ordinary, they are absolutely normal, but they always appear in strange circumstances. So you start to wonder, “What does he do?” Impossible to know! If you enter the elevator or go down the stairs they are there, stealthy and at all hours, always arriving or leaving, they are like those guys who are a constant presence at premieres, you know that they are not actors or journalists and you think about what they do (laughs). As a performer it is very attractive to participate in genre films, characters like the one in “El Portal” or the ones I did with the Onetti brothers in “Los Olvidados” and “1978” have very interesting nuances and twists and turns.
News: Serú Girán said: “I never thought I would meet the Devil,” but you have already incarnated Satan twice. Is it true that Alfredo Alcón recommended you for the role at the first opportunity and you never told him?
Alarcon: It’s true and that was my first film, “The Hole in the Wall”, by David José Kohon, there I composed a native devil, more Buenos Aires. Alfredo was an exceptional guy, we were working together doing “Hamlet” at the San Martín and he could have calmly commented on his recommendation, but he didn’t say a word. I found out much later, that speaks of how great a person he was.
News: When Joaquín Furriel did “Hamlet” at the San Martín, that iconic performance with Alfredo Alcón that he mentioned was very reminiscent. What was it like sharing the stage with Alcón?
Alarcon: At first, when they told me that I was going to work with Alfredo, I got nervous, I was very young and we all knew what it meant to be on stage with him. After meeting him in rehearsals, he surprised me, he was an absolutely normal person, just another actor, he made jokes, we were there, we chatted, he behaved like a couple. I think he half unconsciously broke the mystique he had for everyone and chose to be one of us. Now I think about that way of relating and from a distance I see that it was absolutely unusual. No divisiveness, zero, as a partner he was wonderful, sometimes he would chat to you and say: “Wow, this drinking coffee, so naturally in a scene, is difficult for me. Marito, you know it is difficult for me.” I felt hard because he was confessing a difficulty that was his own, something that no actor does, no one exhibits their vulnerability. Alcón was, is and will be extraordinary.
News: As a good theater man, you go a lot to see the plays that your colleagues do. When you don’t like something too much, do you tell them the truth or in those cases do you always have to lie?
Alarcon: I like to see my colleagues, if they invite me to the premiere I go accompanied, but that night there is a very particular atmosphere, that is why in general I go back to see the play alone after several performances to form my own opinion, I do that personal exercise. The same with cinema, I like to calmly analyze what I liked or what I didn’t like and why, then I can have a coffee with someone who thinks differently and often discover other points of view that I missed. When I see something that doesn’t convince me, I avoid lying. I prefer to say hello out of respect and tell the colleague that we spoke during the week to express my opinion. Going to the dressing room and giving yourself praise just to look good is not for me, what am I going to do, I don’t like lying.
News: We know that you have always been a movie buff. Does that healthy habit of going to the movies still remain in you?
Alarcon: Yes, because I like it a lot! I’m going to confess something to you, it seems that cinema awakens childhood vices in me because before watching a movie I always stop by a kiosk, buy two chocolates and eat them in the living room. I go to Lugones a lot, they give super interesting cycles of Norwegian and Polish cinema, by great directors who no longer make it to Argentine cinemas. I discover a lot of gems that are not exhibited in the complexes, because you saw that Hollywood has invaded everything…what are you going to do? It’s like that. I like to follow the most unusual cinema, I also love to think about what I saw and make a personal critique, just for me.
News: The premiere season began with Oscar aspirations. He is always remembered for the role of judge he played in “The Secret in Their Eyes,” the last Argentine winner of the Best International Film category. Are you one of those who see potential candidates and predict nominations?
Alarcon: Do you know what I do? I have a whole preparation to go to the movies, I’m throbbing what to see. I’m not talking to you about my parents’ time, in Rosario in the fifties, when they said: “Let’s go to the center” and you had to dress up in white because it was THE exit, but in my case there is still a certain ceremony. For example, I watch the programming and mark the movies. I plan a circuit, on Monday I see this, on Tuesday that thing, on Wednesday that thing, I write it down and prepare. I don’t know if I’m here to predict, but I tell you that I take it very seriously (laughs).
News: Speaking of planning, you worked with two of the most important living Argentine directors, Juan José Campanella and Damián Szifron. It is always said that both of you have each take clear from the start of filming, is that true?
Alarcon: Yes, they are very meticulous, extraordinary directors, it is serious to work with them. I don’t like the technique of cinema, I don’t get involved with the technical aspects of anything in life, if the director tells me: “Stand here, it’s a close-up, count to five and talk”, I do it, I don’t ask anything. But Szifron and Campanella have something very special that helps me a lot, they are absolutely precise in the instructions they give you and they do it with few words. One understands everything and has that feeling that they already know the text, the plans and the intentions well, it is not that they arrive there and are figuring out how to handle themselves. They already come in with the idea, the script has been re-studied, they know perfectly what they want, so, for the actor, the indication is short and simple, its effectiveness has already been proven in their head. Not everyone works in Hollywood, it is very complex to get to the industry, that’s when you realize why they made it.
News: I thought that you played countless characters in film, theater and television, but that single scene from “The Secret in Their Eyes” that you starred in remained engraved in popular culture. Does it confirm the maxim that a great supporting role in a memorable film is better than a leading role in a common product?
Alarcon: I must tell you yes, that character proves it. At the time they called me and asked me if I had any problem casting, it was for Campanella. Imagine, what problem was I going to have? Many actors resist, but casting is a normal thing, it’s not that they test you to see if you’re good or bad, cinema is image, the director wants to see if you can show your face, the tone, in short, a lot of things. We already know that I stayed and everything that happened afterward was a phenomenon that I did not see coming. When I did theater at the Cervantes I would cross the Plaza de Tribunales and the lawyers would stop me to congratulate me, it was something incredible. To this day they remember me for the scene in “The Secret in Their Eyes” and more than 15 years have passed. Cinema is like roulette, you never know if you are going to win or lose, it is the audience who decides and sometimes, luckily, it gives you a surprise.
