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Adria Arjona and Jared Leto Still Have Hope for the Future of Movies

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• Photoshoots > Outtakes > Session 021

Adria Arjona can keep a secret, kind of. When it was revealed last summer that she had been cast opposite Diego Luna in the Star Wars spin-off series Andor, the 28-year-old actor danced around the report, not exactly confirming it, but not denying it either. Ditto for her role in the upcoming Marvel thriller Morbius. When asked who she plays opposite Jared Leto’s scientist-turned-vampire at the center of the story, Arjona remained purposely vague. (The answer is Martine Bancroft, Morbius’s girlfriend and a scientist in her own right.) Morbius was set to hit theaters last July, but was delayed to later this year after most theaters shut down. The pandemic also forced Arjona to hit pause for the first time in her life. As the daughter of the Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona, she spent her youth criss-crossing Latin America as a de facto member of her father’s traveling road-show, selling merchandise and even stage managing as she watched him play to bigger and bigger crowds. That early exposure to a transient lifestyle suited her well when, after studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York, she began appearing in projects such as the second season of HBO’s True Detective, and, more recently, Michael Bay’s full-blast action extravaganza 6 Underground. Now, with a return to pre-pandemic productivity in sight, Arjona is gearing up to pick up where she left off—with, as she tells Leto, a renewed sense of purpose.

JARED LETO: Where are you right now?
ADRIA ARJONA: I’m in Guatemala, at my dad’s recording studio.

LETO: I literally just left the recording studio. How’s your dad doing?
ARJONA: He’s good. I think he misses his people and his audience, but otherwise, he’s doing great. It’s the only year off he’s ever had.

LETO: Did you grow up on the road, or did he keep you away from that?
ARJONA: I was in the middle of it. I’ve lived on a tour bus for the majority of my life. He was playing really small gigs and he would just string us along.

LETO: I can relate, because I’ve spent so much time on tour buses, but thinking of a little kid running around out there on tour is awesome. And your dad is a legend. Does having this self-made icon as a father ever weigh on you?
ARJONA: Yes and no. When I’m with him he’s my dad, and when I’m away from him and hear the way people talk about him, and when I hear his music, I really feel it, like, “Holy shit, that’s my dad.” My last name does weigh on me sometimes, but I carry it with pride. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach his standards, but I’ll try.

Read the rest of the interview over at Interview Magazine’s website.

Adria Arjona Shares Her Beauty Secrets

The rising star made waves in True Detective and the Netflix movie 6 Underground. Next up: a new Marvel film and a spell in the spotlight in Giorgio Armani’s campaign for My Way, a carbon-neutral, sustainable fragrance.

I like to be alone in the morning, and even if I’m working, I’ll take an hour to myself. I brush my teeth, then run to the kitchen to start brewing my coffee as I make my celery juice. I’ll meditate or I’ll do some Morning Pages. And then after an hour, I pick up my phone for the first time and start seeing what’s going on in the world.

In the morning, I usually just ice my face. It depuffs it. I feel like it’s firmer and the ice brings back circulation to my face – and it’s also super cheap. Then I put Mario Badescu’s rosewater spray on my face to freshen up. I love the smell of it. Finally, I follow with sunscreen.

I do a lot of running and HIIT workouts. But boxing is usually my go-to. I feel like I expel everything and leave it on the bag. After a workout, I have a shake with chia, ground flaxseed, maca powder, Vital Proteins and blueberries.

A bath for me is a [self-care] moment. I light a candle and decorate the whole thing. I do bath salts, lavender and essential oils. And get a good book. [But] I live in California and [to conserve water] I cannot be taking a bath every day. I mean, I could, but I would be a total asshole.

Check out the rest of Adria’s routine and info/links at the Marie Claire website!

Jared Leto’s ‘Morbius’ Pushed Back 7 Months to October

From The Hollywood Reporter:

The Sony and Marvel film hits Oct. 8.
Jared Leto’s Morbius will not be haunting audiences in March. The Sony and Marvel film has moved its release date to Oct. 8. It previously had been set for March 18.

The move comes as theatergoing remains uncertain amid the coronavirus pandemic. The film was previously slated for last July before the pandemic delayed it.

Video: “Andor” Sizzle Reel

Adria Arjona – Front, Center, and Rid of the Mask

When you ask Adria Arjona how she’s coped with lockdown, her answer is unflinchingly honest. “Lockdown? Oh, it fucked me up,” the 28-year-old actor admits candidly. “It’s been so harsh. I’ve never spent this amount of time at home, never.” Since childhood, Arjona has rarely stayed in one place for long. After living a nomadic childhood on account of her father’s job (he is renowned, award-winning singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona) and traveling frequently from set-to-set as an adult with roles in True Detective, Emerald City, and Pacific Rim: Uprising—to name a mere few—Arjona has struggled spending months-on-end in the same place for the first time in her life.

“It’s messed me up,” Arjona adds, speaking from her L.A. home over Zoom about adjusting during lockdown’s early stages. “I felt a bit trapped, but I also understood everyone else was going through the same thing. If it weren’t for quarantine, and I was trapped because I was trapped, I would be going manic: because I knew and I understood that everyone had to stay put for the safety of everyone else, it made it bearable.”

There were further struggles too. As Arjona saw the detriment the pandemic inflicted, her thoughts turned to a vulnerable friend shielding to keep safe. Even after restrictions eased, she was still fearful to see them. “Because I’m human,” she shares, “I really cannot deal with the responsibility of potentially giving it to someone else. I have a friend who has an autoimmune disease. I don’t want to see them just in case… I became that paranoid person. I’m always wearing a mask and gloves; I still wear a face shield. People look at me like I’m crazy, but I don’t care. If I have it, I don’t want to give it to you and I don’t want you to give it to me… I go the whole shebang. I’m Miss Covid Cop,” she laughs, “That’s what my friends call me now.”

The process took an emotional toll, Arjona says, explaining that while everyone else was seemingly keeping busy and active during the start of lockdown, she was the opposite, unable to focus on anything at all. “Towards the beginning, I was so unproductive,” she recalls. “On social media, I kept seeing workout routines, meditation, all of that. It made me feel bad about myself because I was like, ‘All I’m doing is watching Friends!’ I always say I need time, but when I had it, I wasn’t doing much with it… I think at the beginning, it hit me more. I was sad for what people were going through.”

Eventually, she found some solace. Arjona read the works of Haruki Murakami and started to write herself, something that proved a timely distraction. It also helped her to cope with missing her family at home in Puerto Rico (she was born in San Juan) and in passing the time before she could return to work once more. “I got really lucky that right before quarantine, I got my next job,” she continues. “That gave me peace of mind. I didn’t have to look for another job in the middle of a pandemic: I got very lucky there. I know a lot of people can’t say that, so I feel very grateful for that.”

Head over to the Flaunt Magazine website to read the rest of the article!

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• Photoshoots > Outtakes > Session 020