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Máxima’s father, Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta, was not allowed to attend his daughter’s wedding due to his controversial role during the Argentine dictatorship. He was Minister of Agriculture under President Jorge Rafael Videla, responsible for the disappearance of 30,000 people between 1976 and 1981. What do you think of the way the series addresses this part of your country’s history?
I think it’s very important to talk about it. I am very grateful that the world knows what happened in Argentina during that period. The duty to remember is the only way to prevent people from forgetting history and repeating it. Many people were killed or disappeared. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
Royal families are often at the center of hit dramas like The Crown. How do you explain this interest?
It’s strange, because monarchy is something very far away in my mind. There is probably an idealization process that takes place in the public’s mind. After all, no one knows the details of his intimate life, which reinforces the fascination. The press spreads rumors about their supposed adventures, forgetting that above all they are human beings. As an actress, I want to show her suffering, her tears, her joy and her struggles. Go beyond fantasies.
Like Máxima, did you also experience culture shock during filming?
It was very difficult. In Holland, everyone speaks perfect English, but everything is written in Dutch. When I bought fish at the supermarket, I didn’t know if it was cod, dolphin or shark. Everyone moved by bicycle, although I had done it twice a year. And then there were the little everyday things, like having dinner at 6 p.m. I found myself eating a second meal at 11pm, eating leftovers. They are not mere details, because my Argentine culture and my habits forge my identity.
What was the most difficult?
Adapt to a new way of working, to a different project, to a different pace. Playing Máxima meant leaving a part of myself behind. I was far from my family and had to speak three languages in the series. There was a lot of prior preparation to master Dutch in particular. I had to learn the texts by heart to be able to reproduce the sounds well. Then we filmed in many countries: Spain, New York, the Netherlands and Belgium. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night not knowing where I had slept, where the bathroom was, or how the door opened. It is hard on the body, especially for a woman: we constantly undergo hormonal changes. So we have to deal with it, and also accept our limitations.
Is a second season planned?
We don’t have the official green light yet, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the series gets renewed.
