We’re just one day away from The Forever Purge hitting big screens everywhere around the country, and to get you ready for more cinematic mayhem, we have an interview featuring one of the film’s stars, Ana de la Reguera, who many fans may also recognize from her work on Narcos as well as Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead.
During the recent press day for The Forever Purge, Daily Dead spoke with de la Reguera about her involvement with the film, what she loved about her character, the importance of representing new viewpoints in the Purge series, and more.
So great to speak with you today, Ana. From your perspective, what was the initial appeal of being a part of The Forever Purge? Was it taking on your character, working with Everardo, or something else? And did you realize how much this story would parlay into a lot of the issues that we're dealing with in our country, but also collectively as a society as well?
Ana de la Reguera: Yeah. I thought it was a great character to play because as a woman, it's a type of woman that I really admire. These Mexican women have come here looking for a better life. So I think she's a very brave, ambitious, strong woman who is adapting to a new culture and a new language and a new country after having to leave everything behind. And I think that's important to see someone like that because I don't think anyone wants to leave their country and I don't think anyone wants to leave their loved ones, but sometimes you just have to.
So, just having that story in this Purge world, I think it is very important because it's the contrast of what we've seen with the other Purge stories, where it’s Americans feeling like they're the center of the world and it's everything seen through their eyes. And I think James [DeMonaco] and Jason [Blum] were very smart to have this different perspective in the movie, seen through the eyes of two immigrant Latinos. And I think that's very relevant. I think it's genius that they're doing that because it gives it another take on these stories, it gives this world another tone, and it makes it different from the other films. When you’re making films like these, you just want to deliver something new and exciting and different every time.
You and Tenoch’s [Huerta] characters are really the heart of The Forever Purge. I know that you have worked together previous to this, too. So, coming back together, did you two already have a shorthand then? Or did Everardo give you guys time to work on this relationship?
Ana de la Reguera: We didn't have much time, really. I remember that I got the movie on a Thursday, and then a week later I was working. But we did have like one or two readings before, and we did some readings and makeup tests, and had a dinner. But then, on Monday we were shooting. The dinner helped, though, just so we could have fun and have some drinks and loosen things up. We felt closer immediately. So yeah, it was quick, but Everardo is a great leader, too. And Tenoch and Everardo have known each other for years, too, and they've collaborated together before, so it was just easy between all of us. He's great, and I was very happy to be working with him again.
You're no stranger to doing physical acting and pushing yourself for a role. For this role in particular, was there anything special that you had to do beyond the things that you've had to do for projects like Narcos or Army of the Dead or things like that? Were there certain things you had to do to be in the mindset of what this character was going to have to endure throughout this story?
Ana de la Reguera: I don't know if there was anything really new, but I had to do a lot of yelling for this film for sure. My throat suffered a lot through the shoot, and I just had to be constantly scared for two months. It was a lot of work, and I haven't really experienced that before. In Army of the Dead I do, but I'm playing a military veteran who's done it before, and she was used to that life. And it's zombies, so it's an entirely different tone, where this was a little bit more realistic. But this role was this woman who's confronting the concept of The Purge for the first time, so I had to be scared. And then Everardo was very good at telling me, "Yeah, you're scared, but you have to be tough, too. So we don't want you to be playing the victim, either" and things like that. Because for me, the natural response would be like, "Please don't kill me." You know? But Everardo was very careful with taking me to another place. I just feel like sometimes it's cool to see someone who is afraid, but is also capable of killing somebody if they are in danger. But Everardo really wanted my character to stay calm and stay cool because my character had seen things like this before, so I should be used to the violence, just in a different way.
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ICYMI, read Heather Wixson's review of The Forever Purge!
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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