An interview with Majandra and Marieh Delfino can be found in the February issue of the “Hispanic Magazine”:<\/p>\n
Double Take<\/strong><\/p>\n
February 2006
\nby Idy Fernandez<\/p>\nOne got her big screen break alongside Benicio Del Toro in Traffic, while the other fought off a flesh-eating creature in Jeepers Creepers 2. Now, for the first time in their careers Majandra and Marieh Delfino grace the screen together, playing sisters in Sam Shepard\u2019s upcoming Don\u2019t Come Knocking.<\/p>\n
HISPANIC: What are your roles in Don\u2019t Come Knocking and why did you two decide to be a part of it?<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA DELFINO: Just by reading the script we knew instantly that it would be a great project. Besides, it\u2019s such a heavy film but we\u2019re the fun part of the script, we\u2019re the party. (laughs)<\/p>\n
MARIEH DELFINO: Sam Shepard\u2019s character was once a big movie star, but ruined his life with drugs and alcohol. He decides to find himself, but we play a part in his breakdown. We\u2019re these two crazy Cuban sisters who help him bring on the debauchery. It was also really attractive for us to play sisters since we\u2019ve never been able to work together before.<\/p>\n
H: Why was it important for the two of you to work together?<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: When we first started acting we wanted to do stuff together and people would say \u201cyou don\u2019t want to be known as the Delfino sisters because it\u2019ll be cheesy.\u201d But I think we\u2019re both up to the challenge of making it work, and not turning it into something that will later backfire. I\u2019m sure the Weinstein brothers aren\u2019t complaining.<\/p>\n
H: Why hadn\u2019t you girls been able to work together before?<\/p>\n
MARIEH: We\u2019ve tried but whenever we go in to test for a role or even the same roles, the casting team will ask us to test for something else, so it\u2019s just never played out.<\/p>\n
H: Do you girls ever worry that your relationship could become strained if one of you becomes a bigger name than the other?<\/p>\n
MARIEH: The bigger star thing has never been a concern because I think coming from a traditional Latin family you\u2019re taught that if my sister wins then I win. Who better to get a role that I didn\u2019t get than my sister?<\/p>\n
H: What problems, if any, have you two encountered when auditioning for roles either individually or as sisters?<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: In either situation the problem is that since we\u2019re half Venezuelan and half Cuban, whenever we want to play an ethnicity we\u2019re either not ethnic enough or we\u2019re too ethnic. If I want to appease what people want for a Latin role I need to put darker skin makeup on and darken my hair, but I\u2019m at a point where I\u2019m not willing to do that. It\u2019s really insulting to our culture.<\/p>\n
MARIEH: I think Los Angeles doesn\u2019t have enough Hispanic diversity the way Miami does, and people in Hollywood want things to be fed to them.<\/p>\n
H: How are the two of you alike and how are you different?<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: We\u2019re the same in that we\u2019re both very creative and sensitive to other people\u2019s feelings. Our personalities are different in that I want to be like Vince Vaughn. I come across as harsh while Marieh is very diplomatic. I\u2019ll just tell people: No, you\u2019re wrong. (laughs)<\/p>\n
MARIEH: I\u2019ll never forget something Majandra once said about us. She said: \u201cWe have a very similar look. We\u2019re like the same painting by two different artists.\u201d<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: Yeah, I think I made that profound statement when I was like 16, and then that was it, I peaked. (laugh in unison)<\/p>\n
H: What\u2019s something about each of you that people would be surprised to learn?<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: Well, we\u2019re not double-jointed or anything like that, but I\u2019m a perfect score on duck hunt. Any shooting game I\u2019m perfect, I had no idea until two days ago. (laughs)<\/p>\n
MARIEH: I worked at Fat Burger for a month. I\u2019ll do that, just take an odd job to have a different perspective and learn from people. It was a good exercise in reading people, and there\u2019s always a stereotype that fast-food employees are losers who spit in your food, but everyone there had goals and was very intelligent.<\/p>\n
H: We heard Majandra decided to become an actress first, but that there was a catch. What was the story behind that?<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: My mother gave me a six-month deadline to get an acting job. Because I was only 14 at the time and was already singing in a group, she was afraid I wouldn\u2019t be able to balance it with school. In Miami it\u2019s hard to get a job in six months. There\u2019s barely any theater down there. She said: \u201cIf you can do this after school, fine, but I\u2019m not going to become a stage mom.\u201d By the end of the third month I got my first job as Kathleen Quinlan\u2019s older daughter in Zeus and Roxanne.<\/p>\n
H: We heard that in 1999 you wrote and recorded an independent album called The Sicks. Who was your inspiration to delve into the music industry? Do you have plans for a follow-up album or to become a mainstream singer-actress?<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: I\u2019m obsessed with Portishead and Fiona Apple, I always try to go towards that with my sound. It\u2019s one of those things I just did for myself and hopefully people out there like it. There will be a follow-up album sold on Amazon this winter, but singing won\u2019t become my bread and butter.<\/p>\n
H: Finally, despite the problems you two encounter at auditions, what place do you think Hispanics hold right now in Hollywood?<\/p>\n
MARIEH: Now it\u2019s getting past the style or fad of Hispanics. We\u2019ve got more permanence now and have become part of mainstream American culture.<\/p>\n
MAJANDRA: It definitely needs to keep going. The creator of Desperate Housewives said he created the Solis family because they reminded him of a Latin family he knew who didn\u2019t look Latin. But he still cast people who look Latin because they thought otherwise people wouldn\u2019t get it. I\u2019m looking forward to the time in America when the audience doesn\u2019t need to be spoon-fed that kind of thing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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