On The Big Screen: Juanpa Zurita

L'Officiel UK: Congratulations on your new movie “Quieres Ser Mi Hijo?”! Can you tell us a bit about your role and what drew you to this particular project?

Juanpa Zurita: Javi is my character´s name, he´s a little bit of an old soul, he doesn't really connect with people of his age & surprisingly the one thing that he's looking for the most is to understand what it is to truly fall in love. He's desperate to be able to evolve as a writer and knows that diving into his emotions is the way to really be able to write. He finds this out in the most unexpected way. What drew me to this project? Luck & destiny, it was just one more audition, one more tape to send, one more call back, I was really lucky to work with an amazing cast, crew & to share one of the leading roles with actress Ludwika Paleta & amazing Itzi Hurtado director.

L'Officiel UK: Transitioning from social media and influencing to acting can be quite challenging. What inspired you to make this career shift?

Juanpa Zurita: I really think that since the moment that I started posting videos on Vine 10 years ago I knew what I wanted was to act. I started doing comedy skits on Vine thanks to actors like Jona Hill, Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, Eugenio Derbez & it was just the quickest window for me to try without depending on anyone aside of having a phone & internet. It’s been a roller coaster of a career for the past 10 years, but the truth is on the last 8 years I’ve been auditioning, I’ve been taping & I’ve been trying to transition. I agree it can be very challenging but finally I’ve achieved it and what inspires me is that since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to be on the big screen.

L'Officiel UK: How did you prepare for your role in the movie? Were there any specific challenges you faced during the filming process?

Juanpa Zurita: It was very frightening when I knew I got the role. I started getting really nervous because I knew that as soon as I heard “action” I had to deliver the character. I’ve prepared the best way that I could & with the time that I had. I did some work sessions with my coach. I´ve worked very closely with my girlfriend Maca, she's an amazing actress, and I stopped doing any other thing that would take my time that wasn´t the script. I was fully immersed in the movie. It was a really good choice. One really fun exercise that I really enjoyed was to put on Post-It´s every scene that my character had & I stuck them on the wall so that I knew the arch of the character. I also wanted to connect with actor Harold Azuara, who is my roommate in the movie & try to develop that “roomie connection “ before the movie started filming. I put as much time into the rehearsals, one of the biggest challenges that I faced during the filming process were the dramatic Javi scenes that are a bit more distant and challenging, most vulnerable, but looking back they were fun.

L'Officiel UK: Can you share any memorable moments or experiences from the set of your new movie?

Juanpa Zurita: Of course, the fact that this is my first movie just makes everything entirely memorable, I remember one specific moment when we were shooting one of the final scenes, Javi is trying to recover Lu cause she's going to go back to the life, stability & standards that society had told her to be. This is one of the most beautiful scenes in the movie & with lots of vulnerability that represented a big challenge. I remember that Itzi Urtado called me to show me how I looked behind the scenes and I saw a different person that I couldn't recognize, with all those emotions that were from the character. I give that credit to Itzi Hurtado because she directed me in a fantastic way. I remember leaving the set running and knowing that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

L'Officiel UK: The movie is generating a lot of buzz both in the U.S and in Mexico. What do you think sets it apart from other films in the same genre? How do you feel about this success?

Juanpa Zurita: I think Itzi really wrote a story with an unexpected twist, we've all seen lots of romantic comedies & we want more, but she was able to write a story that hasn’t yet been told. The storyline is so original and relates to today's society, now it's a nice feeling to know that the wait & patience was worth it to achieving the dream of acting that took me so long to achieve. I now see how good people have reacted to the movie which makes me so happy & makes me feel grateful. I am so motivated to keep doing this, to see me in this new stage & see that I can pursue this dream of wanting to be an actor.

L'Officiel UK: In addition to your acting career, you also have a show set to release in 2024 through Roku. What can you tell us about this show and what viewers can expect?

Juanpa Zurita: Carpe Diem is one of the first Roku Originals shows, they´ve worked with Jessica Alba, Kevin Hart and now with me! It is crazy that now my name is mentioned among these international talents, it's a dream come true to be working on international content. Carpe Diem means “seize the day”, the way of thinking of living in the moment & making the most out of every day, & that's what I do throughout this show. I try to make the most out of my day on 6 different extreme adventures across the United States where I contacted the best experts around the world to guide me in these challenges, my best friends & family will be joining me to see me doing the impossible.

L'Officiel UK: Is there a particular message or theme you hope viewers will take away from your show?

Juanpa Zurita: I hope when people watch this show that they get up to do the things they've been waiting for. I really think that the things that I did while on Carpe Diem were things that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time but I somehow always found excuses to not do it. You can always give 110% every day to get closer to who and where you want to be.

L'Officiel UK: Balancing multiple projects can be demanding. How do you manage your time and energy between acting, influencing, documentary production, and Youtube content?

Juanpa Zurita: I think you don't realize you are balancing things until you realize you have a lot of things going on at the same time. I don't think there's a recipe or instructions that tells you how you balance things, on my personal experience you just need to do it & your figure it out every day. What I try to do is always give every project what it deserves, prioritizing what things are more important to me, and of course, you need to have a good team with good communication.

L'Officiel UK: As an influencer, you have a significant online following. How do you plan to leverage your platform to promote your movie and documentary?

Juanpa Zurita: It has been a really interesting experience now that I’ve been a part of the movie “Quieres Ser Mi Hijo?” to understand that the movies themselves are great content for social platforms. We don't necessarily need the movie to promote the film across my platforms, instead we need to think of how I give my audience content throughout the movie. For example, I posted a scene from the film without any promotional information; it's just a simple clip that fits better on social media & now has reached 10 million views. I always think about how I can share with my audience things that I worked on, without asking them something in return but just to enjoy. If they want to see it is because they want to see it. Always the audience first.

L'Officiel UK: What advice do you have for others who aspire to make a similar transition into the entertainment industry?

Juanpa Zurita: It's tough to give advice because we have different circumstances, but I can say, it never hurts to be curious, always be learning and don´t let your curiosity die, the more you can read, the more that you can make mistakes the wiser one can get. We can never take control of the opportunity, but we can be prepared, be the most prepared you can so that when it comes you make it yours.

L'Officiel UK: Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations in the world of acting and entertainment?

Juanpa Zurita: My future goals are to continue doing this, pursuing acting, producing my own films, being involved in more movies and not just for the Latin market but to jump in the US market, but one thing at a time and of course enjoy the process and live every moment out of it.

CREDITS

Talent: Juanpa Zurita @juanpazurita

Production/PR: Burgerrock Media @burgerrockmedia Irma Penunuri @burgerrock

Photographer: Kevin Achutegui @kevinachuteguiphotos

Lead Producer: Karla Gonzalez @karlitaa21

Stylist: Marie Marquez @mariemqz

Production Assistant: Jose Vielman @josevielman

Interview: Karla Gonzalez @karlitaa21

Makeup: Diego Aguilar @makeupbydiego

Jewelry: Maestros Joyeros @maestrosjoyeros

Clothing: Iah @iahdontcare