COVER STORY
A New Habit
Mexican actress Ana De La Reguera plays a nun opposite Jack Black in this summer's Nacho Libre and teaches the Hollywood star a thing or two about Mexican habits.
By: Teresa Gordon
Photos By: Ranjit Grewal

It’s hard to be funny in every scene,” says Ana de la Reguera, who credits her costar Jack Black (School of Rock, King Kong) with helping her hone her comedic skills. “It’s difficult to do the same scene five or six times in comedy, and still be natural and fresh.”

De la Reguera, no stranger to the craft of acting, already has a decade of film and television experience. At only 29, she is already one of the most recognized faces in Latin America, and while her past experience was mostly in dramatic roles, this comedy may be just what she needs to strike a chord with American audiences.

Her first film, Por La Libre (2000), earned her two nominations, one for Best New Actress (El Heraldo de la Revelacion Femenina) and one for Best Actress (Eres Mejor Actriz). She appeared with Oscar-nominated actress Kathy Jurado in 2002’s Un Secreto de Esperanza, and in 2003, she had a leading role in Ladies’ Night, which became the box office hit of the year in her native Mexico. That film also earned her three major awards: MTV’s Favorite Actress Award, the Mexico movie industry’s award for Best Actress of the Year (CANACINE) and the Diosa de Plata (Silver Goddess) Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Nacho Libre marks her first major Hollywood film and is based on the true story of a priest (Black) who vows to save an orphanage from financial ruin by becoming a pro wrestler. Ana describes her nun’s character as “sweet, naïve and the sunshine in the movie.” Part of the fun of shooting in her native Mexico was sharing favorite local foods with her costar.

“Jack was open to trying anything,” says the actress of the pork enchiladas, local candy, and what she calls “Mexican junk food” which she introduced him to while filming in Oaxaca. One of her favorites, elote con chile, a corn on the cob dish made with mayonnaise, chile and cheese, was temptingly sold right outside their hotel during filming.

Whether comedy or drama, the actress has proved a quick study from her years of work in telenovelas, where she says 30 or more scenes are shot per day.“You [learn] to memorize your lines very quickly,” she notes.

Her first telenovela marked her professional debut in 1996 with her role in Azul, followed by Pueblo Chico, Infierno Grande, for which she received the Heraldo award for Best New Actress. Other soap operas included Desencuentro, Tentaciones, and Todo Por Amor, for which she received the Golden Palm Award. She also appeared in Telemundo’s Cara o Cruz, the telenovela Por Ti, the Colombian TV series Como Pedro Por Su Casa and the Peruvian soap opera Luciana y Nicolas. In 2005, she starred in Gitanas for Telemundo in the United States, which now airs as far away as the Ukraine, Spain and Argentina.

A native of Veracruz, she always dreamed of becoming an actress and began her training at the Cultural Institute of Veracruz. But her family did not take her ambitions seriously, she says, until she boldly left home to audition in Mexico City at the age of 17. She nevertheless left with their blessings, coming as she did from a family of female achievers: Her mother had been Miss Veracruz beauty queen, as well as a journalist and TV personality.

De la Reguera recently moved from Mexico to Los Angeles and the contrast between the level of production back home and what she’s experiencing now is not lost on her. “Two million dollars would be a lot of money for a film in Mexico, and in the United States that might pay one actor,” she says.

“Budgets are much smaller there, so you only get one take,” she says. “There is just one chance to get it right.”

De La Reguera looks up to such contemporary actresses as Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon and Monica Bellucci, as well as such screen legends as Meryl Streep, and notes Cinema Paradiso and As Good As It Gets as some of her favorite films, as well as the darker themed Closer.

Still, De la Reguera isn’t all about acting. In between auditions, she likes to play a competitive set of tennis. As for future roles, she would certainly like to break the nun’s habit and pursue another passion of hers: “I would love to be in a movie where I can dance!” H

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