Actress will play Simone Mantovani in the series that is signed by Carlos Saldanha, filmmaker known for hits such as “A Era do Gelo” and “Rio” from Blue Sky Studios
Day Mesquita, born in Paraná on September 23, 1985, showed an early interest in artistic life. At 14 she took a jazz course and at 15 she became a professional dancer. Two years after graduating from ballet, she took her first steps as an actor with an intensive professional course at the Nilton Travesso Theater School. In the same year, he filmed his first TV commercial.
In 2004, he completed his course at the School of Theater and Television at Icenna and acted in two plays directed by Armando Filho, “Vem Buscar-me Que Still Sou Teu” and “Gota d’Água”, text by Brazilian writer Chic. Buarque and Paulo bridges. The following year she hosted the program “Teen Power” on Rede 21.
Her debut in the telenovela was in the 2007 episode “Dance, Dance, Dance”, from Rede Bandeirantes, as the antagonist Amanda. Two years later, she starred in the telenovela “Vende-se um Véu de Noiva” on SBT as Eliana Vilela. In 2009 she also filmed the play “Sorria” and an acting workshop for television with Luiz Antônio Rocha Braapa.
In 2011, she participated in the series “Morando Sozinho” on Multishow and participated in the Grupo de Estudos-Grupo TAPA. The following year, Day, along with six other actors, was selected to star in Multishow’s “Viagem Sem Fim”, in which they toured California in a trailer. In the same year, she performed the musical “A Pequena Sereia”, directed by Paulo Ribeiro.
In 2012, she gave life to her first character on Globo in the soap opera “Cheias de Charme”, where she played the lawyer Stella. After this job, she was chosen to play Fernanda in the telenovela “Além do Horizonte” on the same network in 2013.
In 2014, she was on stage and on TV. An activist lived in the play “Os Intolerantes” directed by Henrique Tavares. On television, she played the main character Diana in the series “(Des)Encontros” on Canal Sony. A year later, she took a workshop with casting coach Sérgio Penna and also joined the cast of the telenovela “Os Dez Mandamentos”, by Record, in the role of Yunet. In 2016, Day participated in the HBO series “O Negócios” as Flávia, in addition to being part of the soap opera “A Terra Prometida” as Ioná, her second soap opera on the network.
In 2018, the actress debuted in theaters in the first part of the feature “Nada a Perder – Contra Tudo, Por Todos” in the role of Ester Bezerra. In the same year, she starred in the soap opera “Jesus” as Maria Maddalena, a character that earned several positive reviews, both in Brazil and in the countries where the soap opera was shown.
The actress, who returned to theaters in 2019 in the second part of the feature “Nada a Perder”, was cast for the lead role in “Amor Sem Igual”, a contemporary soap opera by Record, where despite the end of the contract with the announcer, she it helped to enjoy your work a lot. Day’s broadcast as the charismatic Poderosa earned her a legion of fans in countries such as Canada, France, Switzerland, Angola and Portugal, and won the 2020 Contigo Award for “Best Actress” in competition with Taís Araújo, Regina Casé, Glórie. Pires and Adriana Esteves.
Day, who has been participating in several soap operas in recent years, recorded the miniseries “Tudo de Bom” in 2021, which will be released on a streaming platform to be defined, where Simone Mantovani will play one of the central characters. Among the upcoming releases, the artist also has “How To Be a Carioca”, a new Star Plus series. Check out the interview!
Scheduled for your next launch, the series “How to Be a Carioca”, is one of the next Star Plus novelties and has you in the cast. How has the production process been and your expectations for the product to reach the public?
The expectation for the premiere of the series is high, not only because of the great cast, but also because Carlos Saldanha (nominated for an Oscar with the animation “A Era do Gelo” and “Rio’) in the direction, together with Joana Mariani .
The series has stories of different characters in each episode, and I participate in one of them, playing a prejudiced and conservative woman. I think it will be a production that will conquer the public!
Another recent project that was also made for streaming is the miniseries “Tudo de Bom”, where the character Simone Mantovani lived. Could you talk a little more about this character and how you came to be?
I had already worked a few times with the director of the series, Ajax Camacho, and when he started writing, he called me inviting me to play the character Simone Mantovani. She is a former starlet who starts the plot in search of a divorce from Tony Mantovani, the protagonist of the series. It’s a miniseries, we recorded it for about a month and the story takes place in the mid-80s. It was the first time I played a character from that era, which for me was very interesting, because I was born in 85 and I have many memories of the costumes and accessories they wore. We still haven’t defined the streaming channel it will be shown on, but I hope to share it with you soon!
A production that certainly helped her to project herself as an actress was the telenovela “Amor Sem Igual”, where she starred playing Poderosa, and which made her gain international recognition in countries such as Canada, France, Switzerland, Angola and Portugal, in addition to the Prêmio Contigo 2020. What did this project represent in your career?
This character was really very special to me! Whenever I remember her, a smile immediately comes to my face, because I lived incredible moments in this work.
Even with an intense pace of work due to the greatness of the character, it was very light because the character, despite being complex and with her more dramatic scenes, also had a lightness and was very fun, I loved doing her scenes, especially the humor ones.
And to increase my joy and gratitude for this character, they still had the awards and the premiere of the soap opera in other countries. I am very grateful to have lived Poderosa and I will always have beautiful memories of this work.
So far, her film projects have been in the films “Nothing to Lose”, in 2018 and 2019, where she played Ester Bezerra. What were the main changes you noticed between producing for television and film? Thinking of returning to the big screen?
In cinema, we manage to have more preparation time, in addition to having the entire storyline of the character already drawn and recording fewer scenes per day, which means that we are able to digest, understand and delve deeper into the scenes, the story and in character before “recording”. A soap opera is almost always an open work, so you don’t know which path it will follow later on.
Returning to the seventh art, I loved the experience of making movies and hope to return to the big screen soon.
About 2018, this year there was also the soap opera “Jesus”, where she assumed the role of Maria Madalena, which earned her several positive reviews from the national and international public. Does representing such an important moment in the religious history of our world raise an extra responsibility when participating in such a project? How was your creative process for the character of Maria?
When I received the invitation to play Maria Madalena I was very happy, but of course there is also a certain responsibility, yes. She is a well-known character by the public and that brings butterflies in her stomach but, at the same time, a great opportunity for being a wonderful and nuanced character. She was one of the most challenging characters I’ve played. They were very complex, strong and intense scenes.
Edgard Miranda, our director, gave me some movie references to watch like “The Passion of the Christ”, “Ben Hur”, “Mary Magdalene”. I also read some books (Maria Madalena – Michael Haag and Maria Madalena – Lilia Sebatiani) to understand, discover and delve deeper into the universe, time and history of the characters. Then the focus was on the text, on the characteristics and nuances that the character was showing in each scene, on understanding and living the character inside me. Another film that Edgard recommended to me was “The Ritual” with Anthony Hopkins, which I took as a very good reference for Madalena. Hopkins, who is always brilliant, also shows in this film the subtlety of his interpretation, with an incredible internal filling! And we thought that this was a good measure to use as a basis for the development of our work, since Madalena needed an external subtlety, and an inner bubbling of sensations and emotions.
We made a very intense preparation before starting the recordings. Fernanda Guimarães, our casting coach, helped me a lot at this stage and also during the work, as Madalena had a very big evolution and change over the course of the plot. And the path was bringing more consistency and understanding about her in me. She was a challenging and wonderful character!
In 2016, it was her turn to participate in the HBO series “O Negócios”, as Flávia. A production that brings the world of sex to light, where women apply marketing and business administration techniques in exercising their new profession. What did you think of acting in the production and on top of that the approach that the series takes to the profession that is still considered taboo by many?
Art has this power to bring about discussion, to broaden views on matters that are important to be addressed, and even to deconstruct taboos about realities that are different from ours, and that is super positive! I am very happy when I am part of work that makes me grow as a person, as a professional, but that can also generate discussions and reflections, in addition to humanizing different realities and “The Business” was one of them.
In 2014, you were on stage and on television with “Os Intolerantes”, directed by Henrique Tavares. How was your journey through production? Do you miss being on stage since then?
Ah, I have a huge affection for this work! It was my first time on the stage in Rio, I was invited by Carla Faour (author of the play) together with Henrique Tavares (author and director) and soon in an incredible theater like the CCBB and with a wonderful text, cast and direction! I was very happy to be part of this project. It’s been a while since I’ve been on stage and participating in this show with these people who breathe art was very special! And just talking and remembering already I miss going back to the stage. Theater connects me in a special place within the art that lives in me. And I love all the languages that acting allows me to explore, but theater is the basis of them, and it’s great to be on stage.
Mixing the experience of tourism with entertainment, in 2011, you were selected for Multishow’s “Viagem Sem Fim” program, where you traveled around California in a motorhome. What were the best moments you remember from that show?
This trip was sensational! Combining a trip, something I love to do, with work was incredible! What an experience! The idea was for 7 young actors to meet, explore and have fun on a journey that went from southern to northern California. We lived this experience intensely. It was a month of travel but we used to say that it felt like 1 year, because we had several schedules a day! I jumped with a parachute, hang gliding, surfed for the first time, took an acting class with a trainer at Actors Studios, went to Universal parks, got to know Yosemite Park, got to know a winery… wow! And those were just some of the things we did there! It was amazing! It’s really hard to choose just one moment.
The cast bonded a lot and that was an extra incentive for me in my decision to come and live in Rio de Janeiro, since at the time I was the only one living in SP. It was just an incentive, but it ended up that my move here opened doors for other jobs, as soon after I made my debut on Rede Globo with the soap opera “Cheias de charme” and soon after I amended the soap opera “Além do Horizonte” as well from there.
With all this, “Viagem sem Fim” was a job that brought me a lot of joy, not only personally, but also professionally! It allowed me to explore again a little bit of my presenter side, because, at the end of each day, we recorded short reports about the experience we had, also talking about the places we had visited. My first job on TV, before starting to make soap operas, was as a presenter, on the program “Teen Power”, on a closed channel in São Paulo, in 2006. After that, I ended up diving into my work as an actress, and every now and then something came up punctual as a presenter, it’s a side of mine that is less known to the general public but that I also love, and I miss it every now and then, it would be great to explore this communicative side even more.
Many actors desire experience, you already started your career in soap operas with an antagonist, the character Amanda from “Dance, Dance, Dance” on Rede Bandeirantes. Can you talk a little more about this character and how do you compare her evolution over the last 16 years of her career?
My first work on television with a character! I have a very special affection for her! The cast had experienced actors, but also some starting their careers, so we had a very good group with a lot of desire to do a great job!
And so it was! I’m so grateful that my journey started like this, the way it did, even more so with an antagonist. And I’m also grateful for all the path my career has taken. I feel that the characters that arrive always find me at the perfect moment for me and for each one of them, so that the exchange is special and powerful. I love my job, I’m so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had and I’m looking forward and excited for the next ones to come.
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