Lorenza Izzo

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Jacket by NANUSHKA, bra, underwear and socks by COS

Interview by Sydney Nash

You grew up in Chile before you moved to the United States to pursue acting. Tell me what it was like to grow up there. Does your upbringing in South America influence your roles?

Chile is a truly special country. Obviously I’m biased, but it is a very particularly placed country – because of its length and width, it has the driest desert in the world in the north (The Atacama Desert), to the Patagonia all the way in the south. It is visually spectacular with both its high Andes mountains and its long Pacific coast. My upbringing fully influences all of my roles and my growth as an actress. There are certain stories that speak louder to me because of the way I grew up, but I believe that is true for all actors in one way or another. I do feel a certain responsibility today more than ever before to highlight more of the Latino experience and, in my case, the South American experience.

What was your first introduction to performance? When did you know you wanted to be an actress?

I think by the time I was eight years old and putting on very annoying shows for my entire family at all times, they pretty much knew before I did that I would end up in show business. For me, it wasn’t really clear until I was about eighteen, and I decided that all the attention I had been craving had the perfect channel and outlet via acting. My ADHD personality finally made sense to me and it finally had a space, so to speak. Up until then, I had been modeling and wanting to pursue journalism. I ended up doing journalism for two years until my acting career took off in my country.

Many of your early roles were in horror films. Is there something about the genre that drew you to these projects? What kind of genres and roles are you interested in now?

I think it just kind of happened. I met Eli Roth when I was about 23 and we loved working together. We ended up doing many movies together (all of which were horror). In this moment, I would really like to do an action-packed, funny, bad-ass female-led movie. However, I’m really looking to explore every kind of genre eventually. I’m not set in one way or another. The career we pick is one, big, unknown journey, and I don’t have much control over where and how it is going to happen. So I may as well enjoy the ride.

You moved to L.A. in 2012 and starred in the horror film The Green Inferno and TV series Hemlock Grove the following year. This seems like it was a big year. What was this transition in your career like for you?

The biggest change was moving from Chile to L.A. and learning the business of Hollywood. It was such a massive change – the size of this industry alone is something to reckon with. I was so scared at the beginning and truly did not enjoy much of the process except for when I was on set and filming. Now it’s a bit different. I still get scared, but I think it has been a long six years of transitioning and really finding my home here.

Is there a specific moment in your career that you view as being pivotal? If so, what was it and why was it transformative for you?

More than a pivotal project moment, I think the biggest switch for me was when I changed the way I view auditioning. Once I started truly enjoying those ten minutes a day I get to perform for someone and I actually started having fun and removing a lot of the pressure that comes with it, it was a big eye opener for me. It changed the way I experienced the business aspect.

You play Francesca Capucci in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood opposite Leonardo di Caprio. Tell me how this role came about.

I auditioned with a self-tape like everyone else! I remember when I got the email it was such a big deal just to be in the mix of actresses auditioning for the role. I did not expect for one second that I would book it, so when I got the call the shock and tears flowed instantly.

The movie features a star-studded cast. Who was your favorite actor/actress to share the screen with?

That’s a really tough question. I got to share screen time with so many talented actors – this cast is just incredible from all angles. It was definitely a dream come true working with both Brad and Leonardo. It has been a pinching moment and quite surreal to this day. But also getting to work with Austin Butler, who happens to be a friend (I swear, you can ask him) was so special. He’s so incredibly talented and sweet, and I’m so excited to see his career explode as it is already.

You’ve been cast in the new series Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. What can you tell us about the show and your character, Santa Muerte?

I’m beyond excited to be part of such an awesome cast and project. John Logan is really masterful in his writing and the world he’s creating for this Penny Dreadful of 1940’s Los Angeles will reflect on so many issues that are happening today. It will be interesting to see the contrast in our characters and the political ambience of today.

What’s next for you? What are you looking forward to most in the next year?

I produced my first film earlier this year and I’m currently in post-production for it. I also starred in the film, alongside a truly special cast (Simu Liu, Bryan Craig, Chrissie Fit and Liza Weil). It is called Women is Losers and it’s based off of the true story of the director’s (Lissette Feliciano) family in 1960’s San Francisco. The film tells the story of a young, single mother and daughter of immigrants trying to make a life for herself and her son against all odds. It’s a very special, heart-wrenching film that I’m very excited about.