Jordi Garreta: "One really knows if one wants to be an actor in difficult times"

Jordi Garreta speaks with the calm of someone who has just returned from an intense journey. After more than 300 performances embodying the skin and voice of Saïd in Mar i Cel, he delves into his future perspectives and his way of interpreting and putting himself in the characters' shoes. Trained at Aules Arts Escèniques in Barcelona, he has also graced the stage with El Médico and Sueños, and the screen with Moebius and Cuéntame cómo pasó.

Jordi doesn't arrive alone for the interview. He is accompanied by his partner, Martina Duran. She has a photo shoot a few hours later; she has also felt the call of the stage and is pursuing this impulse. Together they climb the stairs of an unusually quiet Zurich at this hour, to review how an intense year in the spotlight can transform an actor within a profession that, despite the uncertainty, Garreta views with vocation and with new scripts to write.

— It's almost obligatory to start with the latest news about Mar i Cel. El Mago Pop has bought the rights. What does that mean for you?

— I received it with great joy, because I think Mar i Cel could not be lost. For its historical legacy and for the merit of bringing so many people to the theater. I believe that Mar i Cel is a great indicator that theater works. It would have been a shame to lose it, it's very good news.

— Also as an actor?

— I can't know if this will affect me positively or not, because the new cast is not known nor when it will return to the stage.

— Would you like to bring Saïd to life again?

— Whoever wants to audition, go ahead, although I would be delighted to return. It has been very special, even though, after a year of work, between rehearsals and performances, I ended up a bit exhausted. There have been more than 300 performances without interruption, without covers, which in itself is a challenge. And I say that in a positive way.

— Being at 100% for 300 performances must be complicated.

— Anyway, if Mar i Cel takes some time to return to the stage, I could also bring new nuances and new points of view. Just like in life, as an interpreter, you mature over time.

— Have you also matured and evolved during the year of Mar i Cel?

— Absolutely. Even my voice has changed: it has deepened.

— How?

— My range has gone to lower registers. I have lost high notes that I could do before. Now I am in reconstruction. The musculature has also adapted to the character. Physically, I have also changed; I entered thinner and ended up swollen, especially from climbing the ship's ropes so much.

— A very physical interpretation.

— Yes, and I didn't leave the stage during the entire performance. I only left at two moments, and it was to run from one end to the other to go out and sing. On the ship, there is a kind of hatch with a small chamber where you can't stand up; you have to sit. There I had two canteens, and you could breathe and hydrate. On the other hand, it was also positive because you never really left the role.

— And mentally?

— Also very intense. Every day you are repeating the same script, but I like to give it different nuances each time, and thoughts that perhaps I didn't have at the beginning and that were formed.

— Like what?

— For example, the Cançó de Ferran at first I experienced it from a point of rage and jealousy, but then I saw it with a point of connection, of understanding, of brotherhood. These are nuances and perspectives that change and evolve.

— So, even though the script is the same, is every day different?

— Totally. The Per què he plorat is different every day. The lyrics are the same, but in each performance, you experience it in a different way. The glances, the gestures, the listening.

— The listening?

— I believe that acting is based not only on oneself but on listening. Listening to colleagues, to the music... The fact of having a live orchestra was a great point, and it also played in favor of this change. The conductor also changed: sometimes it was Jordi Cuenca, or Joan Vives, or Jordi Castellà. And each conductor has their way of understanding the tempo.

— And did you get emotional in every performance?

— I always cried with Idriss's death. Always. And from feeling, you know? Like Jordi, I knew it was a representation, but I was permeated by Saïd's feelings. And this also led to a certain emotional wear and tear because I lived it for real. You have to be strong because every day you carry feelings.

"Mar i Cel is a great indicator that theater works"

— It's no coincidence that I cut my hair and beard, which is how I looked before Mar i Cel. After seeing myself every day in the mirror and seeing myself as the character, I needed to break away. Cutting it helped me put an end to it.

— Is letting go of a character a mourning, or a liberation?

— It has a bit of both. The mourning is also there, it's a very special role that makes you sad to finish. There are many mixed feelings. I am very grateful to have participated, also because in some way the story of Mar i Cel can awaken some consciences, move people, and change their perspective a little.

— Does the film bring it even closer to a wider audience?

— I'm very excited that it was made, and even more so because I also work in audiovisuals, and for me it was a kind of hybrid in which I felt very comfortable. For the viewer it is also very interesting, because normally from the audience you have a general shot of the play, and by recording it in this format you see details and reactions that you wouldn't otherwise see.

— Do you prefer stages or cameras?

— I've always said I want to do camera work, but at this point in my life, all I want is to work. As long as I have work, I'm grateful for whatever comes, be it theater, musical, or camera. But it's true that inside I have a desire that pushes me towards the camera, and with the film, the bug was reawakened in me. Because it's a bit of a trick: it's having shot a film, but not entirely.

— Is this where you would like your next project to go?

— Now what I needed was to stop. I'm open to everything that may come, and I've been in some processes, but I take it as I needed to stop now and re-establish myself as Jordi. I'm also considering using my voice and exploiting that side.

— Apart from acting?

— Yes, as a singer. I have a crooner register and a classic touch; I've always loved singing Frank Sinatra or Michael Bublé. I think it could be exploited in one way or another.

"Acting is based not only on oneself, but on listening"

— I like to start by reading the script without any kind of judgment, just reading it. Then, I look for similarities I might have with the character and, if I don't have them, I try to imagine them. Then I try to create a background for myself, to know where I come from and what I want. And it works very well for me to put myself in their shoes.

— Literally?

— Yes. It happened to me, for example, in Cuéntame. I played Melero, a neo-Nazi skinhead, and I wore Dr. Martens for a month. This helps me give a physicality to the character.

— Is it difficult to find common ground with characters like that?

— Sometimes you have to make an extra effort to connect with a character who is far from your ideals. With Saïd, I did find quite a few similarities, because I think we have similar energies, of perseverance. And also because of the connection with his mother, because I have it with mine, who was a single mother.

— Did you want to be an actor since you were little?

— In essence, I had always wanted to be an actor. In school, I didn't stand out for my grades; if anything, what I stood out for was wanting to entertain people. It was already something I carried within me. But it wasn't until I was 15 that I started singing, because of a basketball teammate who was in the high school choir and convinced me to go. I started singing and discovered that I had it in me.

"The role of Saïd has even changed my voice; it has darkened"

— Yes, and discovering it gave me a lot of peace of mind, and my family too, for having found what I liked. They supported me a lot ever since. I am very grateful to both my mother and my grandparents, because they understood me and encouraged me a lot when they saw that I wanted to dedicate myself to this. Now my grandparents are gone, they haven't been able to see it, but somehow they knew. In fact, every day, before going out to the boat, I would look at a bright spot on the mast: "Iaia, per a tu", I would say, and I would start to act.

— In some way, they are still there.

— Yes, and even more so in difficult moments, which is when you feel them the most.

— And there must be many difficult moments in an actor's life.

— There is a lot of uncertainty in being an actor. The moment one knows if they want to be an actor is in difficult moments. Some are lucky enough to work constantly, and this is what I would want, and to have some stability someday. It is in the tough moments when you see if you have the strength to continue.