Camila Mendes and Rudy Mancuso are highlighting the importance of Brazilian representation in Hollywood, with their new movie ‘Música.’ The two stars talked to HOLA! about their on-screen chemistry, and detailed the first time they met on the set of the project, which would later develop into a real-life romance.
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The pair shared their experience growing up in the United States while being proud of their Brazilian heritage, and being part of their community, with Camila growing up in South Florida and Rudy in New Jersey. ‘Música’ explores Rudy’s neurological condition, synesthesia, which causes him to “feel shapes and see music.” Paired with a unique experience with music, this romantic comedy is a one-of-a-kind love story, now streaming on Prime Video. Watch our exclusive interview with the two stars!
“We felt like we had known each other for years. We were very culturally aligned. We have similar upbringings, we have similar creative taste, and it became our project. Up until we met, it was my project and then it became ours.”
How was the moment when you first met? Were you nervous?
Camila:
I mean, I kind of already felt the connection over Zoom... Months leading up to the film. And then once we met in person, it was very clear that the chemistry physically was there too. And we shot a screen test the first day that we met. Right after we shook hands, we just went and did the screen test and we still this two minute clip of the two of us talking for the first time, but there’s no audio. And now when I look back and watch it, I’m like, “Yeah, no, it makes sense.”
Rudy:
It was an immediate familiarity. We felt like we had known each other for years. We were very culturally aligned. We have similar upbringings, we have similar creative taste, and it became our project. Up until we met, it was my project and then it became ours.
So you were suggesting maybe some changes or ideas?
Rudy:
Oh, yeah. She had a lot of mostly dialogue and character changes and backstories.
Camila:
Yeah, very dialogue and character driven mainly just with the female roles. I just wanted to be that female voice. And Rudy was very, he was like, “Look, I’m not a woman. I can’t necessarily speak to the female experience, so please, by all means, let me know what we should change here.” So yeah, I was mainly focused on developing Isabella and Haley in particular.
During the shooting process, what did you learn about each other the most?
Camila:
I think I was just so impressed by you.
Rudy:
And likewise, honestly. I’d known her as an actor, but not as a producer, as a creator. So when we went page by page making changes together, at first I was worried because what if we didn’t agree? What if her ideas and notes didn’t align with mine? But every single one, not only did I agree with, I was challenged by them and they elevated the material, the characters, the film.
Do you know about his brain condition when you started filmng or were you surprised?
I mean, I only knew it because of the script. Yeah. I don’t know. I relate to Rudy in a lot of ways. I obviously don’t have synesthesia, but I have ADHD, which I feel like is my way of understanding that sort of scatteredness. So I’ve always empathized and understood his condition even though I don’t experience it myself.
You both have a Brazilian background, so how important was to have that flavor and to show that through the film?
Camila:
Very important. I mean, it’s so underrepresented in Hollywood. You never see stories about Brazilians, you never see Brazilian characters even. I’ve auditioned and been offered roles that are mainly Spanish speakers only, exclusively Spanish speakers. And I constantly have to remind people that I don’t speak Spanish and that that’s not my dominant language. So I think this movie feels like such a beautiful magical step in the right direction where we’re finally introducing this whole other nuance to our culture that nobody’s aware of.
Rudy:
And Brazilian culture is almost a character. It’s personified in a lot of the set pieces in the film, which was always a part of the vision.
Camila:
And through the musical styles as well.
Now your mom, your real mom is your mom in the film too. How was that experience?
Camila:
Do you want to go first?
Rudy:
No, you.
Camila:
I loved working with María and I feel like we quickly bonded. Maria is like she is in the movie where she has always wanted Rudy to date a Brazilian so...
Rudy:
My mom’s not acting in the movie.
Camila:
No. So I think she was very, very happy to meet me.
Now talking about your upbringing, tell me how it was in your house, the food that you ate, what language you used to speak.
Camila:
I think both of us grew up speaking Portuguese at home.
Rudy:
It’s my first language.
Camila:
It’s my first language as well. When I started going to school and I was living in the south in Georgia and Virginia, which is where I was born, or Virginia is where I was born, but I was surrounded by Americans. So I think I quickly adapted that language and that became my dominant language. And then when I moved to South Florida and grew up in Miami, I started to speak Portuguese with friends, not just family members. So that’s when my Portuguese started to get better. I also lived there when I was 11 years old, in Brasília, with my extended family. So I feel like now it’s like this whole other chapter of my latinidade where I get to embrace being Brazilian in a whole new way.
Rudy:
Growing up in Jersey, it felt like a mini Brazil because we spent a lot of time in this tight-knit neighborhood in Newark called the Ironbound. My mother and I spent a lot of time together growing up that’s why Portuguese was my first language. She almost single-handedly raised my sister and I. So Brazilian culture, film, music, food was around us much more than American or any other cultural values. She was constantly cooking, she was constantly speaking Portuguese. And she was constantly playing Brazilian music. So I knew more about Brazilian culture in my youth than I did any other.
And what about now? Is it still the same? You speak Portuguese between you?
Camila:
We speak Portuguese as each other pretty often.
Rudy:
It’s a mix of English and Portuguese. I speak Portuguese with my mother to this day mostly. But I’ve diversified. I learned a lot more about American culture through friends in school. I learned more about Italian culture through my father. And today, now we’re just a product of a cultural clash, at least I am.
Camila:
Yeah. I also speak Portuguese with my mom and my dad. My mom always jokes that, when we’re fighting, she’s like, “I’d rather you. Speak to me in Portuguese when we’re fighting because when you speak in English, you sound like a robot.” I thought that was really interesting because when I speak Portuguese, there’s more emotion in my voice and there’s more of a warm tone there that feels familiar to her. But yeah, also grew up eating rice and beans at home, and going to churrascarias and there was definitely a very heavy Brazilian influence. Brazilians are very proud. So I think my mom and dad, and I’m sure same thing with your mom, there was no chance she wasn’t going to let me inherit the Brazilian culture. She needed to make sure that I felt as Brazilian as possible.
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