alan45
09-03-2011, 00:07
Waterloo Road's sultry Spanish teacher Francesca Montoya has been brought to the forefront of the BBC drama in recent weeks after embarking on a clandestine relationship with pupil Jonah Kirby. Recent episodes have seen the loved-up pair play with fire while letting their passions get the better of them, but they have so far managed to keep their romance under wraps. However, as the final episodes of series six air in the coming weeks, things look set to get a lot more complicated… DS recently chatted to Karen David - who plays Cesca - to hear her thoughts on the storyline.
What was the Cesca and Jonah storyline like to film?
"I think, as an actor, you just dream of a storyline like this as it's something that is daring and taking risks. I say this endearingly, but it was emotionally exhausting to play Cesca because there's so many different sides to her and so much that she goes through in the storylines to come - it was one big rollercoaster ride. I was just so excited and also really nervous about this storyline, but for all the right reasons - I knew that it was going to be one great story to tell, so as an actor you just think, 'Wow! I'm really lucky to be given this!'"
When you took on the role of Cesca, did you always know that this storyline was on the way?
"For the first ten episodes, I didn't - they only told us when we came back after that following a break. At that point, my jaw was definitely on the floor - I was like, 'Really?' My pulse was racing! A lot of things were going through my head and I knew there'd be a huge reaction to it, but that is essentially what the BBC wanted. They wanted to tackle a topical issue as there have been real-life cases of student-teacher relationships. The storyline also hits on some really relatable feelings, such as not being able to help who you fall in love with. Myself and Lucien, who plays Jonah, had separate meetings about it, and afterwards we just gave each other a big hug and said that we'd have fun with it, we were a team now and we'd give it our best shot to tell the story as best we could."
What do you think sparked the initial attraction for Cesca and Jonah?
"Well, people have asked about the first ten episodes and why they didn't notice each other in the beginning, but I think that was about Cesca settling into Waterloo Road life, and the same with Jonah as he was a new student at the school. But then I think it was the dog incident in episode 11 which really started to set things in motion."
For Cesca, what's the main attraction of Jonah?
"Cesca finds Jonah to be very mature - he's very mature for his age and Cesca doesn't stand a chance in that sense, because Jonah is on a mission. He's mature enough to make his feelings very clear and very known to Cesca about what he wants, and that would normally come from an older man with a bit more life experience. This really rattles Cesca - he is only 17 but he seems to be so worldly-wise. Also, if you see them together outside of the school when he's not in uniform, it looks normal - they look like a cute loved-up couple. And let's not forget that he is of legal age - Jonah is 17 and Cesca is 26. But she has broken the boundaries of student-teacher conduct and trust, and that's not right. So it's a real catch-22 with what I feel about the storyline."
Does Cesca love Jonah, or are her feelings not that strong yet?
"Well, I think that Jonah has really shaken up Cesca's life in that sense, because she sees that this could actually be a lot more serious - it's not a fling. I mean, if it's just a fling, it's not worth the risk for both of them, and especially for Cesca because she could lose her job. So I think that what scares Cesca is that it's so much more than just a fling and that Jonah could be the one for her. So she's been trying to follow her head and spend time with Tom, because she's hoped that might put things into perspective because he's an older man and not a student. So it's really tricky and I do not envy Cesca's position at all! But I felt really lucky to be working with two great actors and the hunks of the show!"
Some fans have been rooting for Cesca to choose Tom, haven't they?
"Yes, it's been a really even split and I'm always interested to see what the fans are thinking. There's a lot of love out there for Cesca and Jonah, despite the sticky situation that they're in. But then there's also a lot of people who like Cesca and Tom together, because Tom hasn't had a true love in a long time. Even my mum was sitting on the fence and couldn't choose between them!"
What was Lucien like to work with?
"Lucien is so wonderfully cheeky and fun! I think that if I was 17 and working with Lucien, I'd probably be so scared and nervous because he's very handsome and very talented. He's 18 now but he was 17 when we were filming, and sometimes I'd forget that he was 17. He can act the role of Jonah so well as a mature young man, that even I'd forget. But I'm happy that, being a little bit older than Lucien, I was able to step back from all that and say that we'd have such a good time and a lot of fun doing the storyline. And that's exactly what we did."
Waterloo Road recently won the 'Best Drama' prize at the NTAs - why do you think it's proved so successful?
"I think it's because the BBC and [production company] Shed are really good at dealing with and talking about topical issues, which all people can relate to. Waterloo Road has such a wide demographic - a huge age range and fanbase. And I think that, for teenagers, if they're too scared to talk to their friends and parents about something, they only have to tune into an episode and see someone going through the same thing. I get a lot of fan mail from people who say that after watching an episode of Waterloo Road, they feel cheered up because they can relate to it."
What's next for Cesca and Jonah?
"Each episode from now until the end of the series is just going to be boom, boom, boom, boom! It's going to be escalating higher and higher, getting more complicated and very sticky…":sick:
Along with Lucien, who plays Jonah, is there anyone else who you particularly enjoyed working with at Waterloo Road?
"Oh, I'm so spoiled for choice here because I've loved working with all of them. In episode six, I had so much fun working with Darcy Isa and Holly Kenny, doing the drugs storyline. Amanda Burton is amazing to work opposite - she's such a well-respected actor and I loved her work on Silent Witness. A lot of my early scenes were with her and it was great to work with someone who is so seasoned and so amazing. And I absolutely adore Philip Martin Brown - he's so much fun to work with and we're dear friends. But the whole cast and crew were great to work with - it was a great family to be a part of."
You've become really connected to the Waterloo Road fans by taking part in podcasts, posting on Twitter and doing Twitcams. Do you think it's important to stay in touch with your fanbase in that way?
"Well, I think that Waterloo Road fans are some of the nicest fans that I've ever met or had the chance to engage with. They're so incredibly supportive and I think that's a reflection of the show and the people who are in it, because the whole team is so lovely. It was probably one of the nicest and most down-to-earth cast and crews that I've ever worked with. And the fans are exactly the same way - there's so much love and support for every single character on the show, and they also support things that we do outside of the show. I'm grateful for that, because at the end of the day, it's your fanbase who are there for you and give you the strength to carry on with the crazy journey that we're on. They're like a cheering squad, and what an amazing cheering squad to have!"
As you joined Waterloo Road in series six, how did you find the experience of joining an established show with an established cast?
"I was so excited! I'd just done The Colour of Magic and Scorpion King 2, and all of a sudden Hollywood was calling and doors for me were opening over there. But I felt that I'd skipped a really essential part that I'd so wanted to do, which is prime-time British television. So when Waterloo Road came up, I just thought that Cesca was a gift of a role and I'd be mad not to do it. I have so much love for the show and it was just great to be part of such a great cast, crew and team of people at the BBC. The show has opened a lot of doors for me and I couldn't ask for a better show to break through with on British TV."
How's everything going with your music at the moment?
"I've been in LA and it's been difficult to be away from home, but I've been busy in the studio writing for my new concept called 'The Girl In The Pink Glasses'. The project is very much about marrying my love for acting with my love for music, without it being theatrical. It's celebrating that awkward teenage stage that I went through - I had a horrific acne problem and I hid behind my hair, stared at the floor and wore these ridiculous pink speckled rim glasses, and I was the mysterious freak because I never talked about what I wanted to do with my childhood dreams.
"So I've taken all of those kinds of things and put it into 'The Girl In The Pink Glasses'. She's under the disguise of a '60s agent, like in the movies you see with Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner. So it's the trenchcoat, the fishnets, the wig and the pink glasses. And the music is pop-rock - sort of Blondie meets Gorillaz with a bit of '60s elevator music thrown in! I'm really excited about it - I've been working so hard in LA and I now have an album's worth of material. I've been asking fans to get involved by helping me to choose what my next single should be."
Do you have a preference between music and acting, or do you enjoy both equally?
"I've always wanted to do both, ever since I was a little girl. I have a sister who's ten years older than me, so when she was babysitting me, I had to listen to the music she did and watch the TV shows that she did. So, for a 4-year-old, I thought I was pretty cool because I was listening to Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet! One day we sat down and we watched Xanadu together, and I fell in love with all things Olivia Newton-John. It was from that moment that I was so bitten and I just had to act in TV and films like her, and I had to sing and make records like her!
"So that's where it all started, and I made sure that I studied diligently with my music and my acting. I made sure that I paid my dues on both and slaved away for both of them! It's really nice that new fans are now getting to know me, Googling me and picking up on tracks that I released years ago when I was with BMG. I'm really excited to be doing both music and acting - I think they feed me both creatively and I think I'm a better songwriter because of my acting, because I love telling stories in my music. Because of the lyrics, I think the music has a real heartbeat and I think that comes from being an actor."
We've also heard that you're about to do some acting with Robert De Niro…
"Yes, I am! I have a cameo in the next Robert De Niro film called Red Lights. I play Donna, who's an investigative journalist. It's only a few scenes, but my scenes are with him and I'd be mad not to take the chance and the opportunity to learn from the best again. You've got to start somewhere when you're starting to do these bigger movies, and I just feel really lucky to have the opportunity to learn from people like Robert De Niro! I hope it will lead to many more."
What would be a dream role for you?
"As an actor, you always want to play a role that is so far from you, like Charlise Theron in Monster, or Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. Something like that, which stretches you into a complete opposite, would just be so exciting and wonderfully scary at the same time because you know you've got your work cut out for you."
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
"I'm also currently on Pixelface, which is a comedy series on CBBC. It's for the big kids as well and it's produced by Graham Norton's So Television. It's about these six video game characters who live inside a games console and how they moan about each other and their human game controller. It's so funny, crazy funny! I play Alexia who's a really posh archaeologist and mummy slayer. It's a lot of fun and I think that fans who love Red Dwarf will love it. It's on CBBC at 5.45pm on Wednesdays and then on Saturdays, so I've warned all the fans that they're going to have to put up with my face on TV three times a week!
"But it's nice for them to see me play something completely different at 5.45pm on Wednesday night, and then a couple of hours later as Cesca on Waterloo Road. As for what's next, I've got the De Niro project and then who knows? Let's see where this crazy journey takes me! It pays the bills, it's a lovely day job to have and I'm very thankful for all of the support that I have from all of the Waterloo Road fans because they've been super."
DS
What was the Cesca and Jonah storyline like to film?
"I think, as an actor, you just dream of a storyline like this as it's something that is daring and taking risks. I say this endearingly, but it was emotionally exhausting to play Cesca because there's so many different sides to her and so much that she goes through in the storylines to come - it was one big rollercoaster ride. I was just so excited and also really nervous about this storyline, but for all the right reasons - I knew that it was going to be one great story to tell, so as an actor you just think, 'Wow! I'm really lucky to be given this!'"
When you took on the role of Cesca, did you always know that this storyline was on the way?
"For the first ten episodes, I didn't - they only told us when we came back after that following a break. At that point, my jaw was definitely on the floor - I was like, 'Really?' My pulse was racing! A lot of things were going through my head and I knew there'd be a huge reaction to it, but that is essentially what the BBC wanted. They wanted to tackle a topical issue as there have been real-life cases of student-teacher relationships. The storyline also hits on some really relatable feelings, such as not being able to help who you fall in love with. Myself and Lucien, who plays Jonah, had separate meetings about it, and afterwards we just gave each other a big hug and said that we'd have fun with it, we were a team now and we'd give it our best shot to tell the story as best we could."
What do you think sparked the initial attraction for Cesca and Jonah?
"Well, people have asked about the first ten episodes and why they didn't notice each other in the beginning, but I think that was about Cesca settling into Waterloo Road life, and the same with Jonah as he was a new student at the school. But then I think it was the dog incident in episode 11 which really started to set things in motion."
For Cesca, what's the main attraction of Jonah?
"Cesca finds Jonah to be very mature - he's very mature for his age and Cesca doesn't stand a chance in that sense, because Jonah is on a mission. He's mature enough to make his feelings very clear and very known to Cesca about what he wants, and that would normally come from an older man with a bit more life experience. This really rattles Cesca - he is only 17 but he seems to be so worldly-wise. Also, if you see them together outside of the school when he's not in uniform, it looks normal - they look like a cute loved-up couple. And let's not forget that he is of legal age - Jonah is 17 and Cesca is 26. But she has broken the boundaries of student-teacher conduct and trust, and that's not right. So it's a real catch-22 with what I feel about the storyline."
Does Cesca love Jonah, or are her feelings not that strong yet?
"Well, I think that Jonah has really shaken up Cesca's life in that sense, because she sees that this could actually be a lot more serious - it's not a fling. I mean, if it's just a fling, it's not worth the risk for both of them, and especially for Cesca because she could lose her job. So I think that what scares Cesca is that it's so much more than just a fling and that Jonah could be the one for her. So she's been trying to follow her head and spend time with Tom, because she's hoped that might put things into perspective because he's an older man and not a student. So it's really tricky and I do not envy Cesca's position at all! But I felt really lucky to be working with two great actors and the hunks of the show!"
Some fans have been rooting for Cesca to choose Tom, haven't they?
"Yes, it's been a really even split and I'm always interested to see what the fans are thinking. There's a lot of love out there for Cesca and Jonah, despite the sticky situation that they're in. But then there's also a lot of people who like Cesca and Tom together, because Tom hasn't had a true love in a long time. Even my mum was sitting on the fence and couldn't choose between them!"
What was Lucien like to work with?
"Lucien is so wonderfully cheeky and fun! I think that if I was 17 and working with Lucien, I'd probably be so scared and nervous because he's very handsome and very talented. He's 18 now but he was 17 when we were filming, and sometimes I'd forget that he was 17. He can act the role of Jonah so well as a mature young man, that even I'd forget. But I'm happy that, being a little bit older than Lucien, I was able to step back from all that and say that we'd have such a good time and a lot of fun doing the storyline. And that's exactly what we did."
Waterloo Road recently won the 'Best Drama' prize at the NTAs - why do you think it's proved so successful?
"I think it's because the BBC and [production company] Shed are really good at dealing with and talking about topical issues, which all people can relate to. Waterloo Road has such a wide demographic - a huge age range and fanbase. And I think that, for teenagers, if they're too scared to talk to their friends and parents about something, they only have to tune into an episode and see someone going through the same thing. I get a lot of fan mail from people who say that after watching an episode of Waterloo Road, they feel cheered up because they can relate to it."
What's next for Cesca and Jonah?
"Each episode from now until the end of the series is just going to be boom, boom, boom, boom! It's going to be escalating higher and higher, getting more complicated and very sticky…":sick:
Along with Lucien, who plays Jonah, is there anyone else who you particularly enjoyed working with at Waterloo Road?
"Oh, I'm so spoiled for choice here because I've loved working with all of them. In episode six, I had so much fun working with Darcy Isa and Holly Kenny, doing the drugs storyline. Amanda Burton is amazing to work opposite - she's such a well-respected actor and I loved her work on Silent Witness. A lot of my early scenes were with her and it was great to work with someone who is so seasoned and so amazing. And I absolutely adore Philip Martin Brown - he's so much fun to work with and we're dear friends. But the whole cast and crew were great to work with - it was a great family to be a part of."
You've become really connected to the Waterloo Road fans by taking part in podcasts, posting on Twitter and doing Twitcams. Do you think it's important to stay in touch with your fanbase in that way?
"Well, I think that Waterloo Road fans are some of the nicest fans that I've ever met or had the chance to engage with. They're so incredibly supportive and I think that's a reflection of the show and the people who are in it, because the whole team is so lovely. It was probably one of the nicest and most down-to-earth cast and crews that I've ever worked with. And the fans are exactly the same way - there's so much love and support for every single character on the show, and they also support things that we do outside of the show. I'm grateful for that, because at the end of the day, it's your fanbase who are there for you and give you the strength to carry on with the crazy journey that we're on. They're like a cheering squad, and what an amazing cheering squad to have!"
As you joined Waterloo Road in series six, how did you find the experience of joining an established show with an established cast?
"I was so excited! I'd just done The Colour of Magic and Scorpion King 2, and all of a sudden Hollywood was calling and doors for me were opening over there. But I felt that I'd skipped a really essential part that I'd so wanted to do, which is prime-time British television. So when Waterloo Road came up, I just thought that Cesca was a gift of a role and I'd be mad not to do it. I have so much love for the show and it was just great to be part of such a great cast, crew and team of people at the BBC. The show has opened a lot of doors for me and I couldn't ask for a better show to break through with on British TV."
How's everything going with your music at the moment?
"I've been in LA and it's been difficult to be away from home, but I've been busy in the studio writing for my new concept called 'The Girl In The Pink Glasses'. The project is very much about marrying my love for acting with my love for music, without it being theatrical. It's celebrating that awkward teenage stage that I went through - I had a horrific acne problem and I hid behind my hair, stared at the floor and wore these ridiculous pink speckled rim glasses, and I was the mysterious freak because I never talked about what I wanted to do with my childhood dreams.
"So I've taken all of those kinds of things and put it into 'The Girl In The Pink Glasses'. She's under the disguise of a '60s agent, like in the movies you see with Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner. So it's the trenchcoat, the fishnets, the wig and the pink glasses. And the music is pop-rock - sort of Blondie meets Gorillaz with a bit of '60s elevator music thrown in! I'm really excited about it - I've been working so hard in LA and I now have an album's worth of material. I've been asking fans to get involved by helping me to choose what my next single should be."
Do you have a preference between music and acting, or do you enjoy both equally?
"I've always wanted to do both, ever since I was a little girl. I have a sister who's ten years older than me, so when she was babysitting me, I had to listen to the music she did and watch the TV shows that she did. So, for a 4-year-old, I thought I was pretty cool because I was listening to Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet! One day we sat down and we watched Xanadu together, and I fell in love with all things Olivia Newton-John. It was from that moment that I was so bitten and I just had to act in TV and films like her, and I had to sing and make records like her!
"So that's where it all started, and I made sure that I studied diligently with my music and my acting. I made sure that I paid my dues on both and slaved away for both of them! It's really nice that new fans are now getting to know me, Googling me and picking up on tracks that I released years ago when I was with BMG. I'm really excited to be doing both music and acting - I think they feed me both creatively and I think I'm a better songwriter because of my acting, because I love telling stories in my music. Because of the lyrics, I think the music has a real heartbeat and I think that comes from being an actor."
We've also heard that you're about to do some acting with Robert De Niro…
"Yes, I am! I have a cameo in the next Robert De Niro film called Red Lights. I play Donna, who's an investigative journalist. It's only a few scenes, but my scenes are with him and I'd be mad not to take the chance and the opportunity to learn from the best again. You've got to start somewhere when you're starting to do these bigger movies, and I just feel really lucky to have the opportunity to learn from people like Robert De Niro! I hope it will lead to many more."
What would be a dream role for you?
"As an actor, you always want to play a role that is so far from you, like Charlise Theron in Monster, or Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. Something like that, which stretches you into a complete opposite, would just be so exciting and wonderfully scary at the same time because you know you've got your work cut out for you."
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
"I'm also currently on Pixelface, which is a comedy series on CBBC. It's for the big kids as well and it's produced by Graham Norton's So Television. It's about these six video game characters who live inside a games console and how they moan about each other and their human game controller. It's so funny, crazy funny! I play Alexia who's a really posh archaeologist and mummy slayer. It's a lot of fun and I think that fans who love Red Dwarf will love it. It's on CBBC at 5.45pm on Wednesdays and then on Saturdays, so I've warned all the fans that they're going to have to put up with my face on TV three times a week!
"But it's nice for them to see me play something completely different at 5.45pm on Wednesday night, and then a couple of hours later as Cesca on Waterloo Road. As for what's next, I've got the De Niro project and then who knows? Let's see where this crazy journey takes me! It pays the bills, it's a lovely day job to have and I'm very thankful for all of the support that I have from all of the Waterloo Road fans because they've been super."
DS