Interviewing actress Rafaela Covas

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you started your acting career?

I’m a Portuguese actor, now working between Portugal, Mexico and the U.S. I started in amateur theatre in Lisbon when I was 15. Then I did the sensible thing and got my Law degree… before realizing I was apparently determined to make my life much less sensible. So I went back to acting, studied performing arts, trained in Madrid, and never really stopped.

2. What inspired you to become an actress?

People. I’ve always been fascinated by why we love, lie, hurt each other, forgive each other, repeat the same mistakes. Acting became my way of exploring all of that — of making the invisible parts of being human somehow visible.

3. Which role has been the most challenging for you so far, and why?

May in Loco Amor (Fool For Love), by Sam Shepard, in Mexico City. It was my first professional stage role entirely in Spanish, in a new country, with a new theatre culture. Terrifying — which is usually a good sign.

4. How do you prepare for a new character?

I start with very simple questions: Where does she come from? Where is she going? And what does she want at each of those points in time and space? Then I allow the body to be crossed by whatever space and time bring to it. And finally — probably the most important and hardest part — I try to risk a lot and be very happy with mistakes. I’m still working on that last one.

5. Is there a particular performance that you are especially proud of?

The theatre show Desculpa, Não Percebi. I created it with Diana Costa e Silva and Isabel Medina, and the three of us wrote, staged and directed it together. We had creative power over absolutely everything, from beginning to end. There’s something very special about not just being invited into someone else’s world, but actually building the world yourself.

6. What have been some of the biggest challenges you have faced in the entertainment industry?

Uncertainty. Rejection. Money. Waiting. More rejection. And somehow continuing to believe you have chosen a perfectly reasonable profession. The biggest challenge is probably learning not to let the industry decide how valuable you are as an artist.

7. How do you balance your personal life with your professional career?

Badly, then better, then badly again. I’ve lived and worked in different countries, so I’ve learned that balance isn’t really a permanent state. For me it’s about having people I love, my dog, a sense of home — and then being crazy enough to leave home again for the next adventure.

8. Have you ever learned a valuable lesson from a character you portrayed?

Every character reminds me that we are much more the cause of our reality than we like to admit. I’ve learned to look at myself almost as if I were a character I was watching: What would I tell her to do now? Usually the answer is: more courage, never less. Ask for what you want and go for it. Don’t accept circumstances simply because they happen to be there.

9. Who are some actors or actresses that have inspired you throughout your career?

I love actors who are experiences rather than performers. Actors who feel like antennas for this endless human emotional world — they catch something and let it pass through them. Right now, I’m completely in love with Sarah Snook and Elisabeth Moss. I could watch them do absolutely nothing and still wonder what just happened to me.

10. What do you enjoy most about working in film and television?

The intimacy. A camera is basically an extremely expensive lie detector. I love that. One thought can change an entire close-up.

11. How has the industry changed since you began your career?

Completely. When I started, my career was much more attached to one country, one language, one industry. Now I can be Portuguese, have worked in Mexico in Spanish, audition in English and build a career in Los Angeles. The borders are becoming much more subtle — and thankfully my accent has become an asset instead of something I’m supposed to lose.

12. What advice would you give to young people who dream of becoming actors?

Don’t wait to be chosen. Train, read, watch great work, make things, meet people, live a real life. And get very comfortable with hearing “no.” A career is basically a very long collection of no’s interrupted by some spectacular yeses.

13. Are there any upcoming projects that you are excited to share with your fans?

Yes — I’ve just received my O-1 visa (Extraordinary Ability Visa) and I’m moving into the next chapter of my career in Los Angeles. I also have theatre projects developing in the U.S., including work with Por Piedad Teatro and Manhattan Place TV, and several projects connecting my Portuguese roots with an increasingly international career. Right now it feels like everything I’ve done in Portugal, Mexico and elsewhere is suddenly meeting in the same place. That’s exciting — and mildly terrifying.

14. What would you like your legacy to be as an actress?

I think I’m just someone testing her limits — especially the limits of her own belief system. So maybe my legacy is simply the example I put out there: question yourself constantly, be brave enough to confront what you want to change, crazy enough to say your wildest dreams out loud, and then actually go after them.

And ultimately, contribute with a little more kindness to the world. I want my nephews to remember me as that kind of inspiration. I’m here to learn, to grow, to test what I think is possible, and to connect with other people more and more. If I manage to do that through acting, I think I’ll have done something worthwhile.