Video Title: Exclusive Terminator: Dark Fate Interview With Natalia Reyes
Video Duration: 6:56
Allison Hazlett: Hi, I'm Allison Hazlett with FlickDirect and I am here with Natalia Reyes to talk about Terminator: Dark Fate. Hello, how are you?
Natalia Reyes: Hello. Thanks for having me.
Allison Hazlett: How's your Comic-Con going?
Natalia Reyes: Wow, it's been crazy. I was really looking forward to this experience. It's my first Comic-Con, and everyone, every time I was saying I was coming to the Comic-Con, was like, "Wow. What's it? That's insane. It's madness." Like, it was really exciting to finally be there at the Hall H, and you know, they said like it's a lot of people, but I went out and there were like thousands, thousands, and oceans of people, so that was like really exciting. And you know, what we want as actors, we just want our work to be seen, you know? It's so different when you... You know, you're on set and that, but when you finally just get to feel the audience, and the fans, and they are so excited about the film, that is just like... That's worth it, you know?
Allison Hazlett: Yeah.
Natalia Reyes: So much work.
Allison Hazlett: Makes it all worthwhile.
Natalia Reyes: Yeah.
Allison Hazlett: What was your reaction when you got this role? Because it's a pretty iconic franchise.
Natalia Reyes: Yeah. I mean, I was not expecting that. I just did the audition, just like doing the homework, and you know, you always send those tapes, so you're like there are thousands of girls trying to get it, and you never get it. So you know, as an actor that's your work. It was amazing. After like five callbacks, Tim Miller, our director, he called me, and I was like, "I just hope he's not that polite, to call me and say like, 'Oh, you were great, but not this time. Next time or whatever.'" I was all like, "Oh, I just hope he's not that polite." He called me, and he told me like, "This is you. It's yours, and you're going to be busy for a long time, so it's going to be hard work."
Natalia Reyes: You know, I couldn't believe that. It was surreal, and I was, at that moment, with my parents and my husband. You know, we were having lunch in [inaudible 00:01:56] and I just started crying, and they couldn't understand like, "What happened? Why are you so sad?" I was like, "It's not sad." I couldn't stop crying. I cry easily. You'll see. But it was really exciting, and you know, it was a challenge, and I still feel grateful, and it's an amazing... It's been an amazing rate.
Allison Hazlett: This franchise has really been a trendsetter for strong female characters, so for you, and Linda, and Mackenzie, what was it like to continue that trend?
Natalia Reyes: Yeah, I mean, it's an honor, because I think Sarah Connor just became this icon from the '80s, and is a strong woman, really smart, and being a mother, and being such a badass, and strong. You know, like it was so great too actually share time with her, and not only learning from her every single day. She's an amazing actress, but also, she's a beautiful human being, and she's just generous, and she's loving, and she just loves people, so it's just great to actually share time with her at the set and learn from her. It was unbelievable.
Allison Hazlett: In the trailer, she says, "She is me." What does that mean for your character?
Natalia Reyes: That she actually understands. That's why she's trying to help me. Like, she understands how is it like to be chased by a Terminator? You know, like she's been there. She's fight. She has been fighting Terminators for a long while, so you know, it is... She knows there's something important about me, and they have to keep me alive, and I'm someone important in the future, but we have to find out in the movie why. Why [crosstalk 00:03:42]
Allison Hazlett: Yeah, there's a lot of mystery surrounding your character. What can you tell us?
Natalia Reyes: Yeah. I think that's it. I mean, I can tell you you have to go to movies on November 1st. No, I can tell you about Dani, that she's a girl from Mexico city, and she is a hard worker, and she loves her family. She has her brother and her... She has a big heart, but she's a little bit like me. She's tiny but strong and brave, and a little stubborn, and she just has a simple life, and suddenly, as you see in the trailer, her life just goes upside down, because this new Terminator wants to kill her, and she doesn't understand why she's so important, and why do they need her alive? So, this journey begins with Mackenzie, who's Grace, and Sarah Connor trying to help me and trying... I just don't know who to trust. You know, it's a complicated situation, so it's this journey of these three women getting together and helping each other.
Allison Hazlett: Talk to me a little bit about the physicality of the role for you.
Natalia Reyes: I mean, Mackenzie's work, like before that, was a really hard, because she needed to look like that from the beginning, you know? It was a lot of work, because we all had stunts, and we tried to do our stunts, and you know, like training, and just being ready, and being fast, and being... Because just the shooting, shooting six months, that hard, and all the stunts, and you know? So we were rehearsing, and the guns. I mean, like, it was a lot of work, but you know, they didn't need me to be that strong like McKenzie, or like... So we were training, and rehearsing, and doing the stunts, but you know, it was not the worst part for me. It was like Mackenzie's hard work on this one.
Allison Hazlett: With this franchise, it's so iconic, and now you're coming into it. You've had a lot of experience. You've had certain level of fame. I feel like this is a whole new level of fame for you. Were you prepared for like Hall H, and the thousands of people?
Natalia Reyes: Yeah, I mean, it's a different scale of everything, of course. You know, I've been acting for a while. I started doing theater when I was nine, and I've been acting in Colombia and Latin America, but this is different. This is a big break in America, and in a huge movie. So you know, it's a little scary, but I think I try not to think about the future and how it's going to be. I just try and live in the present, and I'm doing my best, and it's just amazing, and I'm just learning every day, and I'm amazed by the scale of it, and just I'm trying to have fun and just enjoy the moment.
Allison Hazlett: Well, I hope you enjoy the moment, and we're really excited for the film to come out in November, so thank you for speaking with us today.
Natalia Reyes: No, thank you. I hope-
Allison Hazlett: Enjoy the rest of your Comic-Con.
Natalia Reyes: Oh, yeah, yeah. I want to go out and see-
Allison Hazlett: Yeah, I hope everybody-
Natalia Reyes: ... how it's like-
Allison Hazlett: ... enjoys it, right?
Natalia Reyes: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Allison Hazlett: Yeah.
Natalia Reyes: It's fun.
Allison Hazlett: I think they will.
Natalia Reyes: It's fun.
