Eva Jarriau

Born: Paris, France — 1991 / Living: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Interview by Speciwomen — Febuary 2017

Speciwomen: Tell us about yourself.

Eva Jarriau: My name is Eva. I am a French actress, and also a young producer, theatre director, and translator. I was born in Paris where I lived until I was 23. Now I am living in Buenos Aires, Argentina and I am about to turn 26. I have Spanish origins, my grandmother is Catalan and I have always been fascinated with languages. When I came back to Paris from my first journey in Argentina, I was completely changed, and friends and family were kind of surprised of how much the country fascinated me. 

Now, I am acting here, in feature films, short movies, commercials, and theatre pieces in Spanish, French and English.

S: How did you get into theater?

EJ: I might have been 10 years old when I started playing. I have always been surrounded by cinema. My mum is a make up artist and my dad is a prop man. So, growing up the baby sitter for me and my little brother were the sets! 

I have always felt good there. Great people and good vibes. When I was young I used to look at all the people working, guessing what were their jobs on the set. I began theatre in a tiny school called "Le Pocket Théâtre." My first family theatre. I spent almost 10 years acting there with my teachers Caroline, and Giovanni. They kind of drew what is now my actress brain, as well as my reality of acting. Once, I remember, we wrote a play in school and I played a journalist defending nature, and warning everyone from environmental disasters. I was really convincing! So, I kept acting because I realized I felt really comfortable and I could go beyond my timidity, the typical theatre motivation.

S: As an actress, what has been the hardest role to mentally prepare yourself for?

EJ: I think it was last year, in the beginning of 2016. I was the protagonist of a short movie directed by Roberto Barbery, a very talented Bolivian director, and actor. The short movie was about a young mother, drug addict, prostituting herself for drugs in Constitution, Buenos Aires' quarter. It was a large process, the most interesting and intense I ever had to undergo. Rehearsing a lot and filming more than 20 hours a day. Watching real drug addicts in the streets on Youtube, imitating them, listening to former drug addicts, learning how to make a pipe with a bottle and a pen, and smoking fake "paco" (a Latin American word for crack). Now that I think about it, I already had to act a drug addict, working a scene for L'école du Jeu, in a masterpiece called "Catégorie 3.1" by Lars Noren.

S: What is the biggest misconception about theatre?

EJ: That to be an actor you have to have a big ego. That your actor life ends if you don't enter a French National Dramatic Conservatory.

S: What is your favorite character you’ve played thus far? 

EJ: It's very hard to say. Each character is an adventure. In 2014, I was selected to act in a play called "Los Rubiecitos" (The Little Blonds), written by a Bolivian dramaturge, Laura Derpic. She won the 2016 Best Dramatic Text award in Bolivia. We made two awesome seasons in Buenos Aires's alternative scene. Then, our dreams came true and we went to Bolivia and performed in four different towns: Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, La Paz and Oruro. In December, they gave the play the “Best 2016 Play From Critic” award. I obviously had to play a "blond" Bolivian girl with a Bolivian accent. That was kind of a challenge. I could never imagine when I went to Argentina that I would end up acting in Bolivia, and having as much success as we had.

What I really enjoy too is guessing all the challenges you have while filming on set. Both as an actress and knowing how they film, with which camera, and what kind of shot. It stimulates me a lot. This is something you don't have in theatre, because I think you feel more protected there, rehearsing and knowing everybody for a long time. 

S: Where do you see yourself in three years?

EJ: Trying to keep doing what I want; traveling between French, and South American projects. Keep loving, and urging ourselves to never lose faith in humanity.

S: What have been your biggest challenges thus far?

EJ: Moving from Paris to Buenos Aires, beginning to act in Spanish, to write in Spanish, to think in Spanish, and to love in Spanish, in a society that fits me very well has been great — but being an expat is still a hard decision. Argentina is a great place to live.

I think for me it's always a big challenge to defend my own projects, and ideas as a woman. To reach my goals as a woman, trying to be strong, and find an answer to how to change the world on my way.