Diane Guerrero is busier than ever. After breaking onto the scene nearly a decade ago in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, the actress landed a major role on HBO Max’s superhero series Doom Patrol, wrote a memoir about her family’s struggles with deportation, and started a podcast focusing on the importance of conversations surrounding mental wellbeing. Now, Guerrero will star as the voice of Isabella in Disney’s latest animated musical film, Encanto.
In an exclusive interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, the actress was asked about her experience portraying the seemingly perfect and lovely Isabella while simultaneously filming scenes as the chaotic and unstable Crazy Jane on Doom Patrol. Her response revealed it wasn’t as easy as one might assume:
Yeah, it was actually a little difficult because playing Jane on Doom Patrol does take a big toll on me. Y’know, because the character is so feeling and so extreme with some of her emotions and honestly she’s going through like really traumatic stuff. I mean, she’s like traveling through time, and she’s having to deal with sixty-three other personalities that are competing with what she’s doing, and her sole purpose is to protect this young girl.
Diane Guerrero
Of course, the darker parts of Jane’s story in Doom Patrol are quite different from what a film like Encanto offers audiences. She goes on to talk about how different it was playing Isabella and how her performance with multiple personalities still helped her brain the role to life.
So, going into the booth for Isabella where she had to be light and carefree and perfect, I had to really, like, calm down and put myself in that space. But, because I get to play sixty-four different characters…I’m able to use that for Isabella because she’s having to be perfect but she really does have so much bubbling inside. It worked out in the end, but it’s definitely a little bit of emotional gymnastic.
Diane Guerrero
The answer lead to a follow-up in which Guerrero was asked if her work on either one project had an impact on her performance in the other, specifically her time doing voice work as a puppet on Doom Patrol. It turns out, the Jane the Virgin actress actually was able to use both characters in preparation for her work:
Well, I certainly took…that episode that you’re talking about, Puppet Patrol, I was definitely able to take Isabella and the essence of this Disney Princess into Adult Kay, which was the character that is in this puppet land. So, Adult Kay sort of has to be this like bubbly and uplifting character…so, yeah, absolutely I use [Isabella] for that. But also, y’know, I have some of the attitude that Jane has for some of the sly comments that Isabella has for Mirabel.
Diane Guerrero
Encanto lands in theaters on November 24, while the third season of Doom Patrol is currently airing on HBO Max. We can’t wait to check out what she has to offer as Isabella and if it opens new doors for her to explore more animated projects.
