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Izabella Alvarez has a certain maturity about her that seasoned actors usually only possess. The Irvine teen is already taking the acting world by storm with a stacked resume at only 17-years-old.
Alvarez had her first acting gig in a retail commercial with her family and since then she has landed roles in Showtime’s Shameless and HBO’s Westworld. Currently, she is starring in The CW drama, The Republic of Sarah, and is voicing the role of Ronnie Anne in Nickelodeon’s Daytime Emmy Award Winning series The Casagrandes.
Alvarez is a proud Latina who is honored to be leading the way for younger generations and is grateful to have opportunities to tell different stories about her community. With all of the projects on her plate, we were thrilled to be able to chat with Alvarez about her latest ventures and how she unwinds after a long day of work.
You‘re a lead on the the CW drama The Republic of Sarah, what was it about the storyline that drew you in to take on this role?
I got the pilot script sent back to me last pilot season and I just fell in love with the idea of what could you do if you could start your own country? I think there’s so many different angles, cool characters, and story lines and that’s what the whole show is about. What would you do if you could start a country from scratch? And there’s so many different outlets and brilliant mistakes that these characters could make and they’re all flawed and that’s what makes them so relatable and that’s what makes my character relatable as well. Maya is from Los Angeles and gets forced to move with her father, Louise, to Grey Lock because her mom gets sent to prison and that’s a really relatable thing - you’re a fish out of water in a brand new town, you don’t know anyone and I was just excited to play a lonely outsider that ends up being really outspoken, funny, and quirky. That’s honestly what really drew me to the story is just flawed characters that are really relatable.
Do you have a favorite memory from filming the show?
I have so many and we were there for seven months, so I have endless stories. The entire cast loves playing this game called ‘Celebrity,” it’s kind of like charades. We were all playing it one night and my cast mate Luke Mitchell got so mad because he’s so competitive, he goes “I’m done” and gets up and was pissed. Everyone became brothers and sisters so fast, we were stuck in Canada during the pandemic and we were getting tested three times a week and in a bubble. All you do is bond really quickly, you trauma bond so it was obviously great for the chemistry of some of the other characters that have grown up together. It was just such a magical and incredible experience especially for me, I was the youngest so being a 17-year-old with all of these older people, I was like ‘This is so fun, they’re like my brothers and sisters now.’ I learned a lot from them teaching me and about myself, my self-worth and so many other things so it was by far one of my favorite experiences.
How was it been working on the animated show, The Casagrandes and doing voice work?
It’s been really great, I just stumbled into it when I was 15. Part of my agency had a voice over department and I got sent one day, this character that is a strong Latina 12-year-old girl. I was like ‘This is great, I’d love to do something like this.’ And then I booked it and I’ve never done voiceover work before. It’s such a different world, it’s completely different. You have to know all of the little techniques from just being in front of a mic and it’s obviously not what I normally do. So it was so fun and I learned so much. I’ve been doing the show for three years now which is insane to me. Then we won a daytime Emmy for the theme song which I got to rap in. It’s just been such a cool experience and really inspiring too that we’re one of the first multigenerational Mexican-American Latino families in animation for kids which is insane because it’s so overdue but I’m also so happy that I get to be a part of making history even on Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon even allowing us to do something like this. We have some of the people from Coco a part of the show, and Miguel Puga, who is the creator of it and everyone a part of it has been so incredible. They just want to tell really important stories and I love that.
You were declared a “rising Latina star and promising young actress in Hollywood” by The Los Angeles Times. What does that title mean to you and do you feel you have a sense of responsibility representing the Latina community in Hollywood?
I feel really grateful that I have this opportunity to tell different stories about my community. I did Collisions and I got to tell an incredible story about deportation and stuff like that is what I want to continue to do. If I have the opportunity to use my voice, I want to use it and stuff that are going to do good for my community and tell important stories. I have so many things that I want to work on, produce, I’d love to direct so I’m so young and I want to dabble into all of it but in the midst of doing all of that, I want to be paired up with people that are Latin X and that are female-driven stories so it’s not even a sense of responsibility, I just want to do it as well which I think is so important because not only are you responsible for your community, it needs to also be something that you want to do and I do want to do that. I want to tell stories that are important in my community and honor people in my life that have had a big impact on me or my grandparents, there are so many different angles and I’m really excited to see what this generation is going to be able to accomplish, it’s exciting.
Who are your biggest influences in the acting field?
I worked with Evan Rachel Wood on Westwood and she’s someone I really look up to and I think she just does this industry incredibly and she’s very classy and she doesn’t take bull*** and sticks up for what she really believes in. I love Danny Trejo, I think he’s just effortlessly a bad***. I worked with him a couple of months ago for something on HBO Max and just the stories he has and how he is. And Jesse Garcia, he’s really rising right now. He’s actually filming the new Flaming Hot Cheetos biopic with Eva Longoria and I worked with him on Collisions and he’s just someone that I will literally call up for advice on the industry or anything and be like “Dude, I need you to help me out with this.” So I think those three people are really people I look up to and I think they’re great in general, specifically Jesse is someone who I’ve always looked up to even before I worked with him on something.
What is next for Izabella?
I have a couple of things that I’m trying to develop. Stories that I just want to tell, I’m working on The Casagrandes season three currently. I’ve been doing that and just trying to be as hands on as possible and I’m reoccurring on Craig of the Creek on Cartoon Network so I’ve been doing that as well. And just reading a lot of content, I’ve just been getting sent scripts that have incredible stories. There’s a lot of great material out right now and so much to watch. It’s just a matter of getting the right opportunity and right story I want to do. I would love to dabble into directing. I’ve always wanted to do that since I was little. So slowly but surely I would love to shadow some directors and just get into that world as well. It’s hard but it’s incredible.
You’re extremely busy with your craft, how do you unwind after a long day?
Well if anyone knows me, they know that I love a good Epsom salt bath so that is my one thing. I always have Epsom salt with me. I could be anywhere and I will literally have a bag of it with me. I love taking a bath it’s just so relaxing for me. I really enjoy reading, I also love good company and good food to decompress. Invite a couple of friends over and just cook a meal, I love making charcuterie boards so that’s my guilty pleasure to do and just decompress from the entire day and even decompress from the character that you’re playing which I feel like can get caught up in you so taking a shower, taking a bath, and putting your phone away and being with the people you love is what I genuinely love to do on my days off.