Camila Mendes immersed herself in reality television to bring authenticity to her role as a producer in the upcoming comedy ‘Idiotka’. The 31-year-old actress opened up about her preparation during an exclusive interview with People magazine at the film’s New York City premiere.
Reality TV as research tool?
Camila Mendes explained that she binged specific programs to understand her character Nicol Garcia, a reality TV producer. “Project Runway was one of her go-tos,” Camila Mendes told People magazine. She also turned to HBO’s ‘The Hype’, a streetwear competition series. “I watched that one quite a bit, ’cause, tonally, it felt like this is more DIY reality,” Camila Mendes shared with People magazine.“We’re the cutting edge of reality TV. Like, we’re trying to do things differently, and that also felt very in line with Nicol’s character,” Camila Mendes continued to People magazine. “Like, we’re not those cut and dry fashion shows, like we’re doing it differently.”
Insights from real participants
Camila Mendes took her research further by talking to actual contestants from fashion competition shows. They recounted “crazy experiences” where producers initially seemed like their “best friend” before becoming “kind of manipulative,” Camila Mendes relayed to People magazine. “That was a very helpful perspective to have,” she added to People magazine.This shaped her approach to the character’s psychology. “So then I wanted to get on the other side of that and think, ‘Okay, well if I were a producer who really took what I did very seriously, like a reality show producer, and I wanted to do my best work, what would that look like?’” Camila Mendes told People magazine.
Character depth and film details
In portraying Nicol Garcia, Camila Mendes grounded the character’s scheming in good intentions. “I was kind of grounding her manipulation in a place that felt honest and well-intentioned,” she said to People magazine. “I think ultimately, with the character I play in this film, Nicol, she’s really trying to uplift Margarita and give her the platform to succeed. And she’s doing that by sort of planting a few seeds and being a little manipulative,” Camila Mendes explained to People magazine.‘Idiotka’, directed by Nastasya Popov in her feature debut, stars Anna Baryshnikov as the struggling fashion designer Margarita, alongside Julia Fox and Benito Skinner as fictional reality show judges. Camila Mendes called the collaborative set “the beauty of this project” due to hiring many friends, particularly enjoying working with Benito Skinner.‘Idiotka’ hits theaters on Friday, February 27. Camila Mendes’ dedicated preparation highlights her skill in blending real-world insights with compelling performance.
