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By Suzanne

Interview with Cristián de la Fuente of "Haven" on Syfy 8/29/11

Syfy Conference Call
Haven
Cristian de la Fuente
August 29, 2011
1:00 pm CT

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome the Haven conference call.

During the presentation all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. At that time if you have a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. If at any time you need to reach the operator, please press star 0. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded on Monday, August 29, 2011.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Erica Rubin, from Syfy. Please go ahead.

Erica Rubin: Hi, everybody. Thank you so much for joining today. We are joined by Cristian de la Fuente who is guest starring on this Friday’s episode of Haven.

If anyone would like a transcript of this call, please let me know and it should be available 24 hours after the call is completed.

And without further adieu, I’ll turn it back over to the moderator who will take the first question and thanks again everybody for joining.

Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to register for a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. You’ll hear a three-toned prompt to acknowledge your request. If your question has been answered and you would like to withdraw your registration, please press the 1 followed by the three. If you’re using a speakerphone, please lift your handset before entering your request

And our first question comes from the line of Jamie Ruby from Sci-FiVision. Please proceed.

Jamie Ruby: Hi. Thanks for taking the call today. Hello?

Cristián de la Fuente: Hello, yes.

Jamie Ruby: Hi, thanks for taking the call.

Cristián de la Fuente: Oh, no, thank you.

Jamie Ruby: So, can you just kind of talk about your character tonight? I mean, it seems like definitely a strange one to play.

Cristián de la Fuente: Yeah, it was a great challenge and I don’t want to give too much about the character because there’s going to be a lot of surprises that you’re going to find out during the episode. But, it’s not your evil twin, but it’s that incarnation of all your bad thoughts that one day you wake up and you’re facing them. All your thoughts are materialized in a person that looks exactly like you and you’re confronted to them.

Jamie Ruby: Okay, it sounds very interesting. So, how did you start working on Haven? How did that all happen?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, I met the producers of the show a while ago and we were working on other stuff with them, and then one day we were talking and they say, “Oh, we have this idea of this character that would be great for you to play.” And when they described the character to me it was a great challenge and I was like, “Oh, let’s do it right now.”

I’ve never played myself twice and it’s a great challenge.

Jamie Ruby: Okay. And then lastly, how would you compare this to your role in In Plain Sight? What’s like different, challenge-wise and everything?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, the biggest challenge is, in In Plain Sight I had to act with Mary McCormack and here I was acting with myself, so talking to yourself is kind of a challenge. And doing all the scenes more than twice, because you do it all from one character and then you do it from the other character.

And then, always have in mind and being very careful that you’re not confusing them, especially in Haven as they both were raised the same way and they were almost twins. To be able to understand, “Okay, now I’m playing one Cornell, and now I’m playing the other version of Cornell,” so being very focused in trying to not confuse the characters.

Jamie Ruby: All right. Well, thank you so much.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Tiffany Vogt with the TV Addict. Please proceed.

Tiffany Vogt: Hi, Cristian.

Cristián de la Fuente: Hi, how are you?

Tiffany Vogt: I’m doing very well. Thank you for taking our call.

Cristián de la Fuente: No, thank you.

Tiffany Vogt: So, at the end of the last episode of Haven they gave us a sneak peek into your episode tonight, and we saw that Cornell was actually, it looked like, he’s about to kill himself. So is what bad Cornell is doing to good Cornell, is that really happening?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, yeah. As you know, we call them in order to make a difference that it’s easier, like the good Cornell or the bad Cornell. But at the end we realize that the good Cornell is not that good, but let’s try to keep it simple so the good Cornell and the bad Cornell.

When the good Cornell wakes up and realizes that the bad Cornell is trying to do something that he doesn’t want to happen because it’s something that he’s been keeping as a secret, and he doesn’t want that secret to go out or to really deal with it.

Many, many times in life we have things that we don’t deal with, but all of a sudden this good Cornell one day wakes and he has this version of him that wants to do all the things that he hasn’t done and wants to really face all the problems that he hasn’t been able to face. So, that’s when he gets scared and he starts to kill his versions.

Tiffany Vogt: Okay. And what inspired you to take on such a controversial role on Haven?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, as an actor you always want challenges. My first challenge was to come all the way from Chile and start acting in a different language. That was my first challenge. When I did that then I started doing drama. When I did drama then I wanted to do sitcoms. And then, do different roles and then go back to Spanish, go back to English.

And then, when this character was presented to me and they told me about it, it was a great challenge. It was something that I’ve never done. I’ve never been able to play two characters at the same time and acting with myself, which is something that is, thanks to technology now, it’s very easy to do. But, it’s something that you don’t get to do very often unless you’re living with a mirror.

So, it was a great idea and a great experience, and I’m very happy I was able to do it.

Tiffany Vogt: Good. Good. Well, thank you.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Jamie Steinberg with Starry Constellation Magazine. Please proceed.

Jamie Steinberg: Hi. It’s a pleasure to speak with you again.

Cristián de la Fuente: Hi. How are you?

Jamie Steinberg: Good. You’re joining a cast that’s pretty well established already; did you find there was chemistry right away though with the cast members?

Cristián de la Fuente: Yeah, I met Eric (Balfour) a while ago, a couple of years. I met him in another set that he was visiting, so when I arrived to the set he wasn’t a complete stranger. But as you said, it’s a cast that has a chemistry between them; they’re all friends.

The fact that they’re all living far away from Los Angeles in Nova Scotia, it’s something that, you know, you all create like kind of a new family out there, and everybody was really nice. I was very happy, not only with the cast, but the crew and everybody. The first day, of course, you feel like the new guy, but then after a week I was like part of them and I didn’t want to leave.

Jamie Steinberg: And you’re a part of the social networking site, Twitter, why is that such an important place for you to talk about new roles like yours on Haven?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, I realized that as an actor, unless you do theater you don’t have feedback or you don’t have a relationship with the audience, because you know everything you do is on the screen and people see it and you don’t get feedback.

With Twitter and with all the social tools that now are on the Internet, it’s a great way to keep in touch with people that see your work, and get their feedback, and have this kind of virtual friends that they follow you through your life and you follow them. And it’s kind of cool because in the journey in life you’re doing it with a group of people that are going with you, so it’s a lot of fun.

Jamie Steinberg: What do you think it is about Haven that keeps people tuning in?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, when I saw the sneak peek of this weeks’ episode and the promos that they have, you realize that Haven taps into that magic and unknown world that we never see, but it may exist or it may not, but it’s always a surprising world. Everything has a surprising twist and everything is unpredictable. In life, many times things are very predictable, but in Haven nothing is predictable.

Jamie Steinberg: Great. Thank you.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Troy Rogers with Deadbolt.com. Please proceed.

Troy Rogers: Hi, Cristián.

Cristián de la Fuente: Hey, how are you?

Troy Rogers: Good. How was the experience of Haven different than what you envisioned before you go on set?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, I’ve never been in a set like that. When you are working with green screens and you are working with somebody that is supposed to be you, and then you’re going to replace that somebody. The whole mechanics of how the show had to happen in order for us to see what ended up in the screen, that I’m doing both characters and they’re both interacting, that was completely different from anything that I’ve done in my life.

Troy Rogers: Okay. Well, with that being said, in what ways did you relate to Cornell in order to play him effectively?

Cristián de la Fuente: I’ve always said that we as human beings, we are a mix of many characteristics. We all have our crazy side, which in a way for us, let’s say, so 10%, for other people it is 90%. You all have that mix of personalities and that mix of characteristics that make your personality unique and different from somebody else.

So, when I played one Cornell my - the mix of characteristics was in one way, and then when I played the other Cornell it was the complete opposite. So, all the craziness that I have, all the things that, sometimes you think about doing and you never do, all the personalities that you are not you play them.

Troy Rogers: Sounds like fun.

Cristián de la Fuente: Yeah.

Troy Rogers: One other quick thing and I’ll let somebody else jump in; can you talk about what it was like to travel to Nova Scotia to be in Haven?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, Nova Scotia I’ve never been there and it was great. I never ate so much lobster, because they eat lobsters morning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the place reminded me of the South of Chile, where I’m from. It’s a very beautiful place and people are very friendly, and it’s a very beautiful place to travel to.

Troy Rogers: Excellent. Thanks again.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Patricia Prieto with La Opinión Newspaper. Please proceed.

Patricia Prieto: Hi, Cristián. How are you? This is...

Cristián de la Fuente: Hey, good. How are you?

Patricia Prieto: ...Patricia Prieto from La Opinión. It’s funny that you mentioned Chile. I was thinking about that. My question is, how do you feel to be (one of the) Latino actors in this popular (series)?

Cristián de la Fuente: Every time that they put a, especially in this show with Cornell, it’s not Gonzales and it could have been played by anybody. I’m very happy because that means that TV and film is opening to really embrace Latinos, not as the Latino character. “Okay, I’m going to play the Latino drug dealer. I’m going to play the bass boy. I’m going to play the gardener. I’m going to,” no. All the characters that people always think, “Oh, that’s the Latino,” or to play the Latino because he speaks Spanish.

No, I’m happy when on TV you see a cop, you see a business man, a killer, a serial killer or any character that could have been played by a Latino, by an American, by European, or by an Asian. That means that TV is opening to embrace Latinos as we really are, because here Latinos come in different shapes, forms, and careers.

Patricia Prieto: Yeah, (definitely). In your personal life, do you believe in sort of natural phenomenons? Do you have any experience...

Cristián de la Fuente: You know, I’ve...

Patricia Prieto: ...or something like that?

Cristián de la Fuente: ...never had a supernatural experience. My wife had had a couple and instead of believing that my wife is crazy, I’d rather believe that they exist.

Patricia Prieto: But in Chile, they say in (unintelligible) - they say in (unintelligible) the front (unintelligible) that you are - they have like (these long histories) and (it’s on a)...

Cristián de la Fuente: Oh, no. In Chile there’s many histories and there’s many things that happen and I’ve never had one but if many people had experienced them I tend to believe that they exist.

Patricia Prieto: Yeah. Okay, thank you so much for your time.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Patricia Prieto: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Once again to register for a question or a comment, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone.

And our follow-up question comes from the line of Jamie Ruby from Sci-FiVision. Please proceed.

Jamie Ruby: Hi again. So, how did you get started in acting?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, I started acting when I was 18. Wow, so that’s 19 years ago, in Chile. Since I was a kid I always wanted to be an actor and growing up in a very traditional family my dad wanted me to be an engineer, because they always say that if you have a degree you can be somebody in your life. If you don’t have a degree you’re nobody, that’s how my father’s mentality was.

So, I went to college to be an engineer, and then one day I woke up and I say, “Why do I want to spend five years of my life to earn a degree that I’m never going to work. That I’m never going to us it,” you know? It’s going to be hanging on the wall and - so then I had a conversation with my dad. He wasn’t very happy about me being an actor, but he, and especially my mom, supported me.

And then, that’s when I started following my dream when I was 18, and thank God now 19 years later I’m still working as an actor. So, I haven’t had to go...

Jamie Ruby: Well, good.

Cristián de la Fuente: ...back to study to be an engineer and work as an engineer.

Jamie Ruby: Yeah, that’s good. All right, what’s something that your fans would be surprised to know about you?

Cristián de la Fuente: That’s an interesting question. I think probably what people don’t know is I’m addicted to adrenaline. When I was living in Chile I was a firefighter. Now, I’m a Lieutenant to the Chilean Air Force and I fly with a (robotic) team. I do water ski and I do a lot of sports that, require a lot of adrenaline, so that’s kind of something that moves me. And probably the adrenaline comes from also every day trying to face a challenge and always trying to challenge myself, and not being comfortable in a way that life gets boring because it gets in the routine of daily routine.

Jamie Ruby: All right. Do you have any other projects coming out besides Haven?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, there’s a series for HBO Latin America that premieres September 4 that we produced in Chile with my production company. It’s a series done in Spanish, but for all Latin America and for the U.S., and I’m very proud because there also I have a role that I play. I play a politician, but what’s really made us proud is it was the first action series produced in Chile for HBO Latin America. So, we’re happy that they’re producing stuff in my country also.

Jamie Ruby: And what’s the name of it, I’m sorry?

Cristián de la Fuente: It’s called Profugos.

Jamie Ruby: Okay, thank you so much.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you and we have another follow-up question from the line of Tiffany Vogt with the TV Addict. Please proceed.

Tiffany Vogt: Hi again, Cristián.

Cristián de la Fuente: Hey.

Tiffany Vogt: So, how would you feel if you’re offered a reoccurring role on Haven? Would that be something you’re interested in or are you committed to other projects?

Cristián de la Fuente: No, right now I’m not committed to anything and the only one that I’m committed to is my wife because if not she will kill me. And work-related I’m always open to new challenges and new things, and Haven would be great because it’s a great set and a great crew and I really liked everybody working there.

Tiffany Vogt: Yeah. Yeah. And what will you remember most from working on the Nova Scotia on the show?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, I remember how we celebrated the day. I was there ten days and it was one day that it was sunny, but we were all celebrating. And I think it was a day and a half so that was in the winter, and in the winter...

Tiffany Vogt: Yeah.

Cristián de la Fuente: ...most of the time it’s raining or cloudy, but we had that day of sun and we were all dancing and happy.

Tiffany Vogt: And so, do you prefer that weather or would you like to stick with the Chilean warm weather?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, I like warm, I like sun, and California is nice.

Tiffany Vogt: Yes. Yes. Okay, great. Thank you very much.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next follow-up question is from the line of Jamie Ruby from Sci-FiVision. Please proceed.

Jamie Ruby: Hi, again. Maybe this - you might have just answered it, I was going to ask what kind of was your favorite moment working on the show, and you sort of just talked about that. So, how about - what was your like favorite scene that you filmed?

Cristián de la Fuente: Favorite scene is probably the last scene that I had that, I’m not going to spoil what happened at the end, but it’s a great scene where between me and myself, which just sounds crazy to say, but it was a scene with me and how the twist of what the decision that both Cornells have to make and what’s the result of that decision.

Jamie Ruby: All right. And then, what do you think you’ve learned about yourself since you worked on Haven?

Cristián de la Fuente: That probably there’s a bipolar part of me that I didn’t know, because it was easy...

Jamie Ruby: Okay.

Cristián de la Fuente: ...to talk to me.

Jamie Ruby: All right. Well...

Cristián de la Fuente: Yeah.

Jamie Ruby: ...thanks so much.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And we have another follow-up question from the line of Tiffany Vogt with the TV Addict. Please proceed.

Tiffany Vogt: Thank you. Cristián, who - what other character did you interact with the most on Haven, besides just your two characters of yourself?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, everybody of the show with Emily, with Lucas, with Eric, but Emily probably there - I had a little more scenes than with the rest.

Tiffany Vogt: Okay. And can you tell us a bit about which part you enjoyed playing more? Did you - I mean, you mentioned the bit about...

Cristián de la Fuente: Of course, the...

Tiffany Vogt: ...(how the good one would play the bad).

Cristián de la Fuente: ...bad Cornell. We...

Tiffany Vogt: You enjoyed playing the bad character.

Cristián de la Fuente: Of course. We always have to be good in life. You can’t run a stop light. You can’t speed. You can’t eat too much of anything. You always need to measure, and because you have to interact with society with yourself there’s a lot of rules that we have.

But Cornell, the bad version of Cornell, doesn’t have any rules, so it’s great to play that little craziness that we have and do things that you would never do.

Tiffany Vogt: Okay. And beyond the police force of Haven, were you interacting with any of the other characters on the show, the Reverend, or any of those characters?

Cristián de la Fuente: No.

Tiffany Vogt: No, okay.

Cristián de la Fuente: No. Just with myself, that was a lot.

Tiffany Vogt: Okay, and was the storyline mainly based on your character? There weren’t any other storyline plots going through this episode?

Cristián de la Fuente: Well, there’s also something that happens with a kid, but that kid is kind of related with me.

Tiffany Vogt: Okay. Okay, great. Thank you.

Cristián de la Fuente: Thank you very much.

Operator: Thank you and there are no further questions at this time.

Erica Rubin: I want to thank everybody so much for joining today. Thanks especially for Cristián - to Cristián de la Fuente. Please remember to tune in to Haven this Friday.

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