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'The Mick' Breakout Star Carla Jimenez Isn’t Your Typical Latina Maid On The FOX Comedy
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- Category: Television
- Published: Tuesday, 07 March 2017 16:08
Latino actors are often relegated to playing the help, the gang member or a drug king so when actress Carla Jimenez went in for yet another role as the maid for FOX’s THE MICK, she thought she would have to resort to playing yet another stereotype. Luckily for Jimenez, the role as Alba is a multi-dimensional character with her own quirks that goes beyond the typical portrayal. The Los Angeles-born native tells CineMovie how she won over the role.
Acting wasn't part of Carla Jimenez's plan. The Mexican-American actress admits she was a "lover of television," and she was obsessed with funny women specifically Lucille Ball's I LOVE LUCY, but it wasn't until she did theater that a career in movies and television was an option. She's worked steadily in television (LAST MAN STANDING, THE MINDY PROJECT) with a few roles in movies such as NACHO LIBRE, LADY IN THE WATER and THE PURGE: ANARCHY. Now she's a regular player on THE MICK in a breakout role that will hopefully bring her more unconventional acting gigs.
Carla Jimenez plays the housekeeper to a wealthy family on FOX’s Tuesday night show, THE MICK. The comedy stars Kaitlin Olson (IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA) as Mickey, a party-loving aunt whose visit to her sister’s mansion turns into a permanent stay when her sister and crooked billionaire husband flee the country, leaving their three spoiled children in her care.
Quirkiness abounds in the Pemberton household in THE MICK including for Jimenez’s Alba who partakes in the craziness of the weekly antics. The Latina actress brings her own comedic chops to the role of Alba, but when she first read the word “maid” in the casting notice, she figured it was your average Latina stereotype.
“When I first got breakdown it said ‘maid,’ I was like okay,” says Jimenez. “As soon as I saw the audition sides, I was like ‘this is so not like anything out of the ordinary. It’s anything but.”
THE MICK star spoke to us from her trailer on the set of the FOX comedy as they wrapped episode 14 (THE MICK’s first season will air 17 episodes).
For her audition, Jimenez had to come in and blow them away in a scene in which required Alba to be drugged and taken to a club. While the role didn’t call for a specific accent, she decided to to use one patterned from her parents.
“The accent I do for the show is almost like a muddle mix of both of them because I grew up with that, and as Americanized as they can get, they still have it.”
After nailing the audition, the Los Angeles-based actress started shooting last September. The production is certainly grueling for a single camera show which shoots more like a movie, and takes 5 days to shoot one episode.
Her day starts out at six in the morning for make-up, followed by rehearsals, and while the set is being lit, the actors are fitted in wardrobe, and then they shoot the scene.
Jimenez’s favorite part of the role is being able to play up the physical comedy such as torching a car on the show. By far that’s the craziest thing she’s had to do for a role.
The actress also enjoys her work with the comedic genius that is Kaitlin Olson. Jimenez refers to THE MICK lead as “fun and amazing” when speaking about her talents as a comedic actress.
“There’s very small amount of actresses… you know she’s beautiful, but she doesn’t mind getting in it and doing the physicality,” says Jimenez of Olson. “And sometimes it makes it look crazier. She doesn’t care - she just goes for it because that’s what’s funny. That’s why people relate to her and they like her so much.”
Carla Jimenez is also impressed by the young actors. She’s proud of the cast.
“They know how to play and improvise.”
The majority of the time, the cast sticks to the script, but the director does allow the actors to “branch out” after shooting a few takes of the script.
Not only can you catch Carla Jimenez on THE MICK Tuesday nights on FOX, but you’ll find her streaming on Netflix with three current shows. The actress can be seen in a guest spot on FULLER HOUSE and Drew Barrymore’s SANTA CLARITA DIET. She’s also a regular voice on Netflix’s THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS.