Janm Ruben Kalderin claims that the boy from the first season had to forcefully grow up and turn around, as there was no place for sobriety in him. Author: rebellious youth
Janm Ruben Calderin is the actor who played Leonardo in Calendar. For him, the series, written by Amilcar Salatti and directed by the experienced Magda González Grau, was a school. Filming the first season entered his life just when he could not attend classes at the Higher Institute of Arts due to the quarantine imposed in the country by COVID-19; He took this as an opportunity to continue his studies, now on set turned acting class with new classmates who, according to Yanma himself, also became teachers.
“Calendar It allowed people to get to know me, to know about me. It gave me a very good audience experience that I will always cherish,” says the young actor we meet in the second part of the series; this time with another Leo marked by mourning, guilt and anxiety, a young man who saw the pillars of the family he thought was perfect crumble before his eyes.
How was your reunion with Leonardo? What has changed in the second season?
-Crazy. I remember Magda brought Anabel Arencibia, Karen Machado and me together to talk about our characters because they will grow a lot in the second part. I was seized with fear, I knew that in my hands were great opportunities and great responsibility within the rhythm of the project. The kid from the first season had to forcefully grow up and take turns, there was no place for sobriety. I had to jump, and that’s what I felt at first, dizziness, but as I glided, I became more and more convinced that the parachute would open.
— What elements did you use to characterize the character in the second part?
– I had to study a lot, there were many atmospheres that Leonardo experienced; First, the loss of a brother and practically the entire family, because their world is collapsing. I studied each of the stages of grief I was going to focus on, the anxiety and ways to escape from it, and what role I was to play in the divided family scheme.
“As a result of anxiety, the character turns to drugs; there I had many cinematic references, among them I remember seeing several times Rebel DiaryAnd trainspotting – recommended by my lovely Clarita Garcia, teacher Amalia – and some videos of people in a real state of addiction. When you start to juxtapose these references, you realize that reality is much more stunning than fiction, much more horrific and shocking.
“I tried to keep the character in a constant internal rhythm that did not give him rest, so that from time to time he broke out of his inner world in repetitive and unconscious movements. I tried to hide him in his world, always with headphones, with myself.
“One of the most difficult scenes was the scene at the funeral home, which marks the beginning of this conflict with Leonardo. I tried to live it, and I was lucky that it was one of the last scenes I recorded and I already had all the accumulated experience of the season, I just had to go through them in my mind and remember everything. On the other hand, I had very talented colleagues, but above all very generous ones, who gave themselves body and soul so that I felt as much a part of them as possible; That’s how it flowed between what I had and what I was given. It has been busy months and a constant search for resources that bring out the most sincere in me. It’s a hard work”.
Drug addiction is one of the hottest topics covered this season, especially through your character, what importance do you attach to it?
“Drugs for Leo were a lifesaver, a quick fix. I think it is very important that this happened, and above all for the hero Leonardo, who was so striving for perfection. I don’t like sugarcoating things and I think it’s good for the public to see that good things don’t always happen to good people and that they can end up very badly or very well, but it’s up to us how we face the problems and the paths, which we decide to travel. It seems that Leo has no way out, but there is always another way out, you just need to be able to look for it.
– The role of the family in resolving this conflict is fundamental, will Leonardo be able to find this support?
– Family is, of course, the main trigger of everything. The family that is absent, the one that is no more, his brother, and the one that decided not to be, his parents. Undoubtedly, the only ones who can help Leo are his family and himself. I can’t expect anything else, you should keep watching the series.
Are you satisfied with what you have achieved? What would you do differently?
“That remains to be seen, but yes, I feel that Leo’s story has reached people and has had a big impact on them. I am an insatiable soul, there are many scenes that I like, but whenever I see myself, I evaluate myself, not sabotage. The result so far has been very pleasing.
“You ask me if I would have acted differently. At the wrong time, I was consistent in my research and the tools I had. Right now I think I would fill it with a lot more details, things I did, but maybe in the overall story they are not as prominent, or in some areas they go deeper. I think that an actor would study more today. I learned a lot, but you can always do more.”
– How did you survive the experience of this second round? Calendar?.
-Come back Calendar It was like returning home or returning to school after the holidays and finding your classmates, your teacher, your director. He played with my friends again; and I really enjoyed it, although not as much as in the first season, because because of the nature of my conflict, I had to stay very focused, but being with family is always nice. I must say that I really missed my colleagues, who were no longer there, from time to time we talked about them and recalled anecdotes from the first season in Tarara.
– How are the relations between the actors behind the scenes? Looks like 11? 3 of Calendar?
— We are like a class, with different personalities, but complementing each other very well. Those who entered the second season knew how to fit perfectly into the dynamics we had already created in the first. In truth, I love them very much and have a special affection for each of them.
— Will there be a third season of Leonardo?
“I say goodbye to Leonardo with great love in the second season. Due to other commitments, I was not able to continue the series in its third installment, but I look forward to the great work that I know my colleagues will do to close this wonderful cycle that we started in February 2021.
– What do you think is the reason that the series was received by the Cuban public?
– The series is relevant, it takes the reality of today’s Cuba, our youth and our society, shows it to you and turns it into poetry, turns it into hope.
— Have you immersed yourself in a new project that you want to share with us?
– Now I am immersed in work on my dissertation at ISA, and on the other hand, I also do theater, on weekends you can see me at wonderful shoemakerstaged by the Teatro El Publico.
Why theater?
I think it was instinct. I can explain how it came to me, but I could never tell you why it came. Today it is my refuge, my escape from a hostile and increasingly dehumanizing world, where true relationships based on empathy and love are left out of the algorithms of social networks, and there are fewer and fewer pure souls. I feel that the theater brings together many of these pure souls in a unique and unrepeatable event, and not only in the actors, but also in the public that seeks this relationship, it is a space for coexistence.
“I am very eager to live, and when I act, I am as close as possible to living what I have not lived and what no one will live, how to see an elephant with giraffe legs, to be the mayor of a Spanish town, an old woman. Holocaust survivor or drug addict. Usually I’m a little shy, but when I play it goes away. Everything is justified, and no one can judge me, not even myself.”
How is Yangm outside of the set and tables?
Well, the truth is that I don’t stop, I try to be the best actor and the best person every day and look for the best possible version of myself. I study and rehearse a lot. I live far from everything, so every day I face the hardships of public transport, like any student. Anyone who visits Vedado can see me always walking very fast and wearing headphones, this is the moment I have to be with myself; like Leonardo, in a dream.
Source: Juventud Rebelde
