Rocio de la Grana is an Argentinian actress who came to Los Angeles in 2017 to pursue her acting career.

Let’s start with some questions related to your personal life first, just to break the ice….

I understand you were born and raised in Argentina, what made you get out of your comfort zone and make the decision to move to L.A.? 

What made me move to L.A. was acting mainly. I wanted to start my professional career as an actress here in Hollywood since it always caught my attention so I came to find out the reason why basically. Back in Argentina I didn’t have the chance to pursue my dream. I finished my studies at the filmmaking university, which made me realize what I really wanted to do, I spent one year looking for jobs but it was so hard. I knew it was the right time to make up my mind and follow what my heart always told me. So my next step was rolling the dice in Hollywood.

How hard was for you to adapt to a new culture and why?

It wasn’t that hard. At first, I was delighted by every little thing, I mean Hollywood, Los Angeles, celebrities, the fascinating industry. At that point I already knew this was gonna be the place to stay forever. Then, after the first 6 months I would say, I happened to be more established, learning more about the natives, habits that they have and I could tell how different the culture is from mine but adapted myself really well. That made me realize how easily I suit myself to unknown circumstances and places.

Besides family, what you miss the most of Argentina?

Well, besides family and friends I miss the food!, homemade food smell, partying with my friends, cousins, the “mates” in the afternoon (Argentinian beverage), Sundays with family and friends, my social life over there. I’m so close to all of them and I’m lucky to have every person who is in my life, always supporting me. I also miss the fast public transportation and short distances! Anyone who knows L.A. will understand what I’m talking about.

Would you ever consider ever going back forever?

Today I would say I won’t. I’m still discovering this world and I have a very long run ahead. I love this place, I have a special affection because I found myself here, I found who I am and what I wanna do for the rest of my life. I will always go back to Argentina, no need to say that, but not permanently. That’s what I think today.

What made you be interested in acting? Did you have any experience in Argentina that made you decide to seriously pursue an acting career?

I’ve never done acting in Argentina, just a little bit of theatre at the end of my career. I studied filmmaking, screenwriting, production, but I never dared to put myself into acting, I was so shy even though I loved it. As a filmmaking students, me and my classmates got cancellations from actors every time we were about to shoot so we used to force ourselves to go in front of the camera and do the job. At the beginning it felt a little weird but soon it happened to be my comfort zone and that’s how that feeling became strong enough to push myself to where I am today.

I know some people might find it difficult to cry in front of a camera, What is the most challenging thing for you when doing a role?

I would say to build the character because it takes time. I always want to know the background of the character because everything my character went through made the person that it is today and I need to embrace that to make it part of me and create a solid character. That takes a lot of extra hours and you really have to spend time exploring, all alone, putting yourself under the skin of the character.

I’ve seen some of your work, what would you say is the project that you enjoyed doing and why? 

Luckily, all the projects I’ve worked on so far were very fun and new experiences. The most important thing, all of them covered different themes. But with The Game Master I found a new genre I want to dig deeper in, which are action and sci-fi. It’s so much fun, we really had to commit ourselves physically and mentally in terms of acting. Usually the stories and characters for those movies are very strong and emotional because you have to fight for your life, your family or whichever your deepest desire is. And I love working on this project because it touches subjects that are really present today but we won’t talk about or we just avoid them.

What’s scares you the most about your career?

To be honest this’s a roller coaster career, full of ups and downs, no one assures you anything until you are in a very high position, yet not even. That’s what scares me the most. But as long as I’m acting and making a living out of it, I won’t complain.

What are you working on currently? And what is next for Rocio de la Grana?

We just wrapped with Don’t Let Me Die, a horror film. We shot in Victorville and here in LA. It’ll come out in January/ February I believe. And then I have a few offers that I still have to talk about, but I’m so looking forward to 2020.

Now let’s ask you some more fun questions….

I’m curious… if you ever had to chose to portray a role from a well known project either a movie or a tv show which role would it be and why?

Whichever that requires a lot of commitment and challenge for me. I’d love to do more action, also my dream role is in a musical film. I love dancing and singing so combining all of that together must be so pleasing and fun. I’d love to do a true-story film, personifying a human being with an interesting story. I always want to play in movies that have something to tell, to teach, to be aware of and can remain in history.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

That makes me smile because I think about that and visualize it everyday. I see myself doing what all these years I’m pursuing and fighting for. Working on stories that must to be told, working with respectful and professional people. I also want to do charity work so hopefully I have the chance to do that in ten years. Helping my parents, family and friend. And maybe getting started with my own family? But this last one will come at the right time, it’s another dream that I have and I want to make it well.

Any advice to those who are looking to start a career in acting?

Get ready to fight every day for it and become a friend of the NO word. You’ll get to see it more often than you thought but the YES will come if you stay positive and persistent. And also if you have one day where you wake up doubting if you want to do this for the rest of your life, just get out. It requires too much work to hesitate