Be sure to read the whole interview at THE LATERALS website!

Being in the Marvel and Star Wars universes is an accolade not many actors can tout, but when you see Adria Arjona’s resume, it all makes sense. She cut her teeth on Narcos, True Detective, and Good Omens, among other hit series, by leaving an indelible mark on fans who enjoy depth and storytelling.

Adria Arjona’s tale is just as interesting as her childhood, which allowed her to travel the world. Her father is the famous singer-songwriter, Ricardo Arjona, and Adria tagged along on his tours around the globe. The different cultures have given her a profound insight that allows the range to be any character—not just a Latin one.

Arjona’s warm-hearted nature radiates across the screen in the highly anticipated Marvel movie, Morbius. She stars opposite the titular, Dr. Morbius, played by Jared Leto, and brings forth humanity in the foreboding monster.

Most will rest on the laurels of a Marvel movie, but Adria is not done with 2022 just yet. She will be starring in Andor on Disney+, and she is set to put a Latin twist on the classic Father of the Bride. Adria Arjona is managing to stay busy, and it is easy to see why.

I had the privilege of interviewing Jack Whitehall. I just thought your relationship with him in Good Omens was so fun and natural. Was that chemistry natural from the onset?
To be honest, I think Jack is such a fun and welcoming person, and I feel like he just shows you exactly who he is, so it was easy for us. Within two minutes, we were dying laughing and just having a good time, and it was pretty natural. We talked about the relationship, talking about our lives and catching up, and then we just got on set and followed through with what we had!

Good Omens is a really fun show, and I like how involved Neil Gaiman was. Were you able to bounce ideas off of him? Because everything about the show seemed so well executed.
Yes! To both our director and Neil. I would say Neil was there for every single scene that I shot, with the exception of maybe one. It’s such an honor and a privilege to have the person who created this. I mean, obviously we didn’t have Terry Pratchett, unfortunately, but he created the world with Terry and he understood it. If I had a question, sometimes even the director would be like, “Go to Neil, that’s a Neil question.” The way Neil talks is very calm and poised, and he would give me like a 20-minute answer. With everything that I thought or was planning on doing, he would turn it around and something better would come out of it. It really was a privilege to have him on set, and until today, it’s probably one of my favorite things I’ve ever done.

It was really fun, and it was also the first role that I was ever offered. Neil sort of wrote it with me in mind, and I couldn’t comprehend that. I was like, “Wait, I need to audition, I can’t! I can’t just accept this!” I was a really big Neil Gaiman fan, so I was very scared going into it. I think I almost quit, like twice, but Neil said, “You got this. This was for you and I believe in you.” I remember after the first week, he looked at me and was like, “well, I guess, we can’t fire you now.” I was like, “I know you can’t fire me, but oh my god, I made a mistake.” I was very scared. Neil was a big pioneer for me in not putting me in a box or stereotyping me for something. He gave me material that a lot of people wouldn’t have given a Latin American actor. I thank him for that, and I learned a lot from him.

In addition to Good Omens, you were in some fantastic television shows such as Narcos and True Detective. Both of which are known for building a fantastic world. Who has the better crafts table: Netflix or HBO?
Oh, don’t ask me that! They both employ me all the time, and I can’t answer that! I think they are both incredible. They have a wide range of content and materials. I literally just worked with HBO and I love them over there. I also love the Netflix family. They have both been such good homes, and they’ve been so kind, nice, and welcoming to me that I wouldn’t be able to answer this both as a consumer and as an actor.

With your experience in both movies and miniseries, do you prefer the storytelling of one method over another?
I think they’re both great and very different. For example, I like the fact that you get to tell a story from beginning to end in an hour or two hours with movies, but I also really like exploring the method of a mini series through multiple seasons. I haven’t done that yet, as opposed to a miniseries where you only have like six or eight hours to really explore this character and tell the journey of this character. Both have their own challenges, but I always gravitate a little bit more towards movies. Miniseries and TV shows are challenging as there’s a lot to tackle, a lot to take in, and a lot of stories to tell. If it’s not the right character, you can be in trouble, so I always gravitate more towards movies. But in Andor, I love my character. I fell in love with my character, and I could tell you about it for another ten hours. I got lucky in that sense. Even if you put theater into the equation, that is completely different as well. You have the reinforcement of your audience, and you get the applause right then and there. I think they’re all different, and I like to play with all of them!

You star alongside Jared Leto as the female lead in Marvel’s Morbius. Are you prepared to be enshrined in Marvel history and lore?
I was really excited. I remember being so nervous but also so eager to work with the director, talking to Jared, and jumping in with the writers. All I wanted was to get started! I was like, “I can’t have a month of me waiting to be on set.” That was honestly horrible, because you just want to get there. Daniel did such a good job of making us forget that it was a Marvel movie. He kept reminding us that it was just a movie and that a lot of people are going to watch it, but to not focus only on that, so we could just tell the best version of the story. I really enjoyed that. There was no pressure. We supported ourselves on the script, and Jared also set the tone for us and was in character the entire time. It was hard work, but it was so incredibly rewarding when you step back and you go, “holy shit, we are in a Marvel movie, the whole world’s going to watch this.” But if you go into a Marvel movie saying this to yourself, I mean, it’s just a lot of pressure. I don’t know how people do that. April 1st. I’m ready. I can’t wait to share this with the world. I think we’ve all waited so long that I just want people to share it.

Morbius has always been an enigma in the Marvel Universe, appearing as both a villain and a hero. As Martine, do you bring out the hero or villain in Morbius?
I would say I would bring out the hero in Morbius. I think Martine is the compass of good. Morbius is battling through something that I think a lot of us forget: we battle with ourselves. Like Jekyll and Hyde, we all have a good side, and we all have a bad side. Morbius is battling through it, and I think Martine is extremely helpful, supportive, and loyal to him. She is willing to help him and really still believes that inside of all of this, a great Dr. Morbius still exists.