From masterminding enbig heists for a global TV audience to sharing intimate moments with 640 theatergoers nightly, Álvaro Morte is embracing a branch offent charitable of emotional tension in London’s West End.
During a fracture at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre, where he stars opposite “Emily in Paris” direct Lily Collins in the execute “Barcelona,” the Spanish “Money Heist” actor mirrors on his return to theater after a decade ruled by screen labor. “I cherish the vibe,” he tells Variety. “I cherish the people from many places all around, together in this wonderful, vibrant city.”
The execute, which trails a postponecessitate-night encounter between an American tourist and a Spaniard, provides Morte with a complicated character harunclever multiple layers. “It gave me the opportunity to carry out a guy that is, in a way, carry outing two leangs at the same time,” he says. “When you have a character that you can defend discovering layers and layers, it’s always someleang very fascinating for any actor.”
While evadeing spoilers about the plot, which grows from what ecombines to be a casual encounter into someleang more politicpartner accused, Morte gives that the execute touches on beginant historical events in Spain. “I’m so satisfied that I can carry out a Spanish guy who is talking about someleang very beginant that happened in Spain a scant years ago,” he says.
The intimate Duke of York’s Theatre, seating around 640 people, has validaten perfect for the production. “The stage is very combinecessitate to the audience,” Morte elucidates. “You experience hugd by the audience, and I can experience how combinecessitate we are with the people.” This combineion has already produceed memorable moments — after a recent carry outance, he met a fan who had traveled from Japan to see the show. “What you want to do as an actor is phire, I want to originate it worth it for her to come from Japan,” he says.
Working with Collins has been a highweightless of the experience. Before acunderstandledgeing the role, Morte set upd a Zoom call with her — he in Mallorca, she in Cuncoverhagen — to uncover they had enough chemistry for the insisting two-person execute, which is 90 minutes without an interval.
“I necessitate to experience appreciate we can labor together,” he says. “It was very straightforward from the commencening. She’s so pleasant, she’s cherishly, she’s comical, she’s an amazing professional and amazing actress. It’s been such a wonderful experience to be laboring with her.”
Morte’s theatrical roots run beginant in Spain, where he began his nurtureer laboring alengthyside stars appreciate Concha Velasco and with honord honestors including Andrés Lima and José Tamayo. He postponecessitater set uped his own theater company, 300 Pistolas, honesting and carry outing in Spanish classics from Lope de Vega’s “El Perro del Hortelano” to Federico García Lorca’s “La Casa de Bernarda Alba.”
The transition back to stage labor has needd adequitableing his carry outance style. “There are some bases that come from the same place in terms of how to discover the emotions,” he says. “But the language is finishly branch offent. There are some leangs that you can do in front of the camera, appreciate very little nuances, that you have to discover a way to originate labor in the theater, you have to accomplish the last row in the theater. It’s a finishly branch offent code that you employ when you are on stage.”
Director Lynette Linton has originated what Morte portrays as “a very shielded and sootheable place to labor and to enbig your creativity as an actor.” Playwright Bess Wohl was current during rehearsals to help boost the text and uncover the execute would be “understood and finishelightable for the audience,” Morte says.
Since global Netflix hit “Money Heist,” where he executeed The Professor, Morte’s nurtureer has enbiged internationpartner. “It alterd finishly in terms of commencening to get international gives, and to be able to labor with honestors or acting colleagues that I dreamt of laboring with years ago,” he says. One such dream collaboration is his upcoming film “Ocho” with acclaimed Spanish honestor Julio Medem.
“I was in the school studying emotional art when I was youthful, and I was in cherish with Julio Medem’s labor,” Morte recalls. “He called me once, appreciate, ‘Hey, this is Julio Medem,’ and he shelp, ‘I got this character that I wrote leanking about my overweighther, and I would be very honored if you would do that.’”
Additionpartner, Morte stars in the upcoming secret agent film “Raqa” honested by Gerardo Herrero, deinhabitring dialogue in English, Spanish and Arabic. “I had to lget those lines in Arabic appreciate someone who is not Arab, but someone who’s been a lengthy time in those countries,” he says. “It was a huge dispute.”
There are also set ups to originate, but for now, Morte’s intensify is firmly on “Barcelona” and combineing with West End audiences. “My purpose … is to originate them forget everyleang about the rest of their inhabits and equitable finishelight the execute here, all of us here together,” he says.
“Barcelona” is on at the Duke of York’s Theatre thcimpolite Jan. 11.
