For Armando Valdés, known for his character Chala, the film Conducta marked a turning point in his life, especially since at the age of 12 he had no connection to acting.
In an interview for Yuliet Cruz's podcast, with whom he shared the screen in this film as she played his mother, Armando confessed how this work of Cuban cinema transformed his life.
When his mother took him to audition for the movie, more than 7,000 children had already come through, and he didn't even know for sure what it was all about or who Ernesto Daranas, the director of the film, was.
Against all odds and contrary to the opinions of his team, Daranas cast him for the role, even though he did not fit the prototype of Chala, particularly because he came from a humble background, yet was well-educated.
When Yuliet asks him how he managed to fit into this character, Armando confesses that he doesn’t know: “I just went with the flow; I was playing the whole time.” The lack of formal acting training made the entire process even more complex.
Yuliet remembered that the scenes in the movie with Chala were very difficult and intense, and many times she ended up in tears: “I lived with a heavy heart.”
After the movie, he even started having problems at his high school, and his parents had to change his school.
"I, Armando, neither like people talking about me, nor do I enjoy being the topic of conversation or being the center of attention," confesses the 24-year-old, recalling that when the movie premiered in 2014, he had no life. "The fact that acting is no longer my passion is a result of this very thing, the oversaturation."
After the film, he entered the National School of Art and studied acting for four years. However, having been Chala and winning so many awards, including a Coral, brought him many problems, especially in an environment where many, including teachers, had not received as much recognition as he did at such a young age.
Although he was approached for many projects at that time due to his appealing image to many directors, the school did not allow him to participate, and he could only start doing minor roles from his third year in the program.
Disappointments in Cuba have led him to feel and state, even today, that he has no interest in acting, and it's not because building a career in the United States is difficult.
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