Petra Martínez competes with Penélope Cruz, Blanca Portillo and Emma Suárez for ‘Life was that’, her third leading role in more than half a century of career: “I could work more, but I want to have time,” she defends
After more than half a century of profession, Petra Martínez (Linares, Jaén, 1944) regards her first Goya nomination as the “go-ahead” of the profession. At 77 years old, she will face Penelope Cruz, Blanca Portillo and Emma Suárez thanks to her character in ‘Life was that’, a woman who returns to Spain after years of emigration in Belgium to find herself. The debut of David Martín de los Santos, which hits theaters on December 10, is the third leading role in the career of Martínez, who has turned from the beginning in the independent theater with her husband and artistic accomplice, Juan Margallo. From ‘Barrio Sésamo’ to ‘La que se avecina’, from ‘Bad education’ to ‘La soledad’, Petra Martínez has always been clear that, above all, she wanted to be happy: «I really like my life, I could work more, but I want to have time.
-How is the first Goya nomination received at 77 years of age?
-The truth is that I thought I was not going to be nominated, and I’m not saying it out of modesty. There are so many wonderful movies and actresses! Years ago I starred in ‘La soledad’ by Jaime Rosales and I thought they were going to nominate me. And it did not happen. Then I reconsidered. I had not done so much cinema either, I have only had three protagonists: ‘Loneliness’, ‘Born to suffer’ and this one. At this point in life, I am very happy to be nominated with three actresses that I admire.
-The awards and tributes, such as the one they offered at the last Malaga Festival, feel good.
-The award is that my husband and I have spent 53 years working and living from theater, television and cinema. It is a joy to think that we have been able to live off this. The Goya nomination is as if they had given me the go-ahead, as if they had placed me somewhere else. I’m not stupid, I know who I am. An actress who has worked with pleasure and who is now congratulated because I have passed the pending master’s degree.
-Do you regret not having made more movies?
-No. Independent theater has made me very happy. Years ago it was very difficult for me to shoot a movie in which I got very bored. I could have insisted more on the cinema, making a movie if I had proposed it, but I am happy to have done what I wanted in my career. I have not been offered many movies nor have I looked for them. I have never been heavy and I have done few casting.
Petra Martínez and Anna Castillo in ‘Life was that’.
-Anna Castillo, your partner in ‘Life was that’, assured me that she had learned from you to give the right importance to work, which makes no sense if it does not make us happy.
– I was 18 years old working in the American Embassy earning more than my father, in a department to introduce soybean oil. I spoke English having been an ‘au pair’ in England, where my parents sent us: they were very clever because they did not have the money to send their seven children to university. I could have continued, but I preferred the theater. Anna is such a smart aunt and such a good actress that she has it much clearer than I do.
-He has been with Juan Margallo for 53 years as an affective and professional accomplice. How do you do that?
-Juan and I have argued a lot since we met. We have argued so much to agree on everything. I no longer know if what I think is my thing or Juan has thought about it before. We have a lot of complicity and a sense of humor, which is very important. And we admire each other professionally. We give work a measure, the most important thing is our life, our children and grandchildren. I really like my life, I could work more, but I want to have time.
-Sure that during the confinement he realized that he was older.
-Yes. I stopped dyeing my hair, I had recently had cataract surgery … It gave me the joy of knowing that I was an older person. I would like to be 50 years old, but no less. It is wonderful as an actress not to worry about whether you have a pimple or if you have slept badly and have dark circles. I like that feeling of relative fullness because of the ailments. I’m much happier with myself, although you get on Facebook and Instagram and suddenly you see that many friends are dying.
-‘Life was that ‘addresses, among other topics, the taboo of sexuality in older people.
-When reading the script I told the director that I was not going to do the masturbation scene. I am quite uninhibited, but something so intimate gave me modesty. Talking to David, I knew he wasn’t going to be rude. It is very good that the sexuality of the elderly is discussed and an old woman is seen masturbating.
-He has four grandchildren. Is she the typical hippie grandmother?
-I think so. I am lucky that my children have raised them quite well. I do things that I know they like. From my years as a hippie, from making love and not war, I have been left to make the one next to you happy.
Petra Martínez in ‘Life was that’.
-Have you already thought about the dedication of the Goya?
-I have always come up with an empty head when I have collected an award. I imagine that I will thank David, the principal, my family and the academics. I promise you that I don’t want to write or think about it, I hope I will be successful and that no one bothers.
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