In My Daughter's Father, the actress explores the contradictions behind her craft while speaking openly about neurodivergence, identity and staying true to herself.
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| Photography: Juan Luis Lemus @440lemus |
There is a singular truth in the way Pamela Moreno approaches her roles. Far removed from obvious artifice, her performances are defined by an ability to embody and articulate profound emotions with naturalness and precision, creating an immediate and genuine connection with those watching.
In My Daughter's Father, this process takes on even greater depth as she delves into complex layers of emotion and intention to bring her new character to life, balancing the vulnerability of intuition with the discipline of technique. Beyond the spotlight, her journey on set is also shaped by the honesty with which she addresses the impact of ADHD on her working routine—a daily exercise in adaptation, focus, and self-acceptance that reaffirms the importance of embracing one’s true essence without reservation.
"I am naturally very expressive, so containing that requires a great deal of concentration, which can sometimes be slightly more difficult because of my ADHD"
My Daughter's Father explores family relationships and deeply complex dynamics. What moved you most when you first read the script?
Pamela Moreno: What moved me most was seeing how everyone makes their decisions out of love. Many of them are not necessarily good decisions—but without them, there would be no story! Even my mother, who is portrayed as the villain, does everything for the sake of her daughters and her family. They all do incredibly questionable things that you would never expect, yet everything they do is driven by a desire to protect the people they love.
Victoria is defined by her strong sense of justice and her determination to fight for what she believes in. However, highly idealistic characters can sometimes risk becoming clichés. How did you humanize her pursuit of justice and portray Victoria as imperfect, contradictory and real?
Pamela: One of the things I love most about this profession is that my characters become a museum of everyone I have ever known. I brought a lot of myself to Victoria because I feel that she is the person I would like to be, and I also recognize a great deal of who I was as a teenager in her. Human beings are contradictory by nature, and when you are a teenager, you tend to live at both extremes: everything is either black or white. That is why I love playing teenage characters. Everything feels like the end of the world, and tomorrow does not exist. Victoria is no exception. She acts from the heart, sometimes without thinking things through. I worked hard to see Victoria as a good friend without turning her into someone who merely follows or worships her best friend. She makes certain decisions for the friend she adores, but that friendship is not the entirety of who she is. I spent a lot of time developing her hobbies and interests. For example, I decided that she would study visual arts and painting. Although those details are never shown on screen and are not part of the plot, they helped me create a complete person.
What was the creative process behind finding Victoria’s particular tone? Were there any references or personal experiences that helped you build the character?
Pamela: I worked extensively on my own and with my acting coach, Baltimore Beltrán. We explored several visual, intuitive and physical exercises to find Victoria without necessarily basing her on anyone in particular. I am neurodivergent, and one of the things I find especially interesting is that I associate certain things with senses that do not necessarily appear to be connected, it is something similar to synesthesia. To me, Victoria is a combination of yellow and purple. If I were to explain it through semiotics, I would say that her yellow quality allows her to become a small ray of light within the series, particularly through the genuine friendship at its heart. I did not draw on any specific fictional characters as references, but I did bring in certain details from real life. For example, during one of Victoria’s arguments with her parents, she does something that one of my younger sisters used to do all the time when she was little.
Victoria’s story develops closely alongside the character played by Azul Guaita. How did you work together on set to build that bond and make the relationship feel genuine and organic on screen?
Pamela: The crazy thing is that we did not even have to work on it. There was an immediate and almost inexplicable connection between us, and we became incredibly close, literally like sisters. The relationship you see between Julieta and Victoria is completely real because Azul and I are joined at the hip. We were inseparable throughout filming.
You have appeared in hugely popular comedies such as No Manches Frida and A Woman with No Filter, as well as dramatic biographical productions including El César and Luis Miguel: The Series. How do you adapt your performance between the freedom and improvisation of comedy and the fidelity required when portraying real-life stories?
Pamela: On My Daughter's Father, for example, we were told from the beginning not to improvise too much because the script’s running time was already very tight. I often find myself improvising a little anyway, but I have learned to save it for the final take, just in case. It depends greatly on the original material, the director and the nature of the project. You have to feel out the environment because not everyone likes improvisation. Genre also plays a significant role. Ultimately, it is about doing justice to the character. When you are playing someone who actually existed, as you would in a biopic, you naturally impose certain boundaries on yourself because you want the portrayal to remain as faithful as possible.
It is often said that comedy relies on timing, while drama resides in the pause. Which of these two languages demands greater physical and emotional control from you in front of the camera?
Pamela: They are both enormous beasts! Comedy also depends on the project because there are so many different kinds of it, which can make everything even more difficult. For me, drama is probably more challenging because it tends to be more restrained. I am naturally very expressive, so containing that requires a great deal of concentration, which can sometimes be slightly more difficult because of my ADHD. I also have tremendous respect for comedy because I believe making people laugh is much harder than making them cry. So, in conclusion: all of it!
"For me, drama is probably more challenging because it tends to be more restrained"
Your work and online content move between beauty, fashion, mental health, feminism and social activism. How do you find the right tone to make complex conversations accessible without diminishing their depth?
Pamela: Sometimes I can be a little naïve and assume that everyone understands me perfectly because, in my mind, they somehow live inside my head. The truth is that I have realized I need to be more thoughtful about how I communicate. Ultimately, we are all incredibly diverse and complex human beings. I believe it is important to have difficult conversations without over-intellectualizing them because everyone learns at a different pace. I speak as if I were talking to a younger sister. I picture myself suffering through an extracurricular mathematics class while the teachers use complicated terminology and concepts that naturally make sense to them because of their experience, but not necessarily to me. I am still terrible at maths! Every conversation is profound in its own way because it affects each of us differently depending on our personal context. It is also important to approach these subjects with humility and an open mind. I do not know everything—in fact, I know nothing. I am in the same boat as everyone who watches my content. I may understand certain subjects, just as I probably could not pass a secondary-school mathematics exam while other people would be absolutely brilliant at it.
How do you view the current landscape for emerging talent in Mexico, at a time when the boundaries between traditional actors and digital creators are becoming increasingly blurred?
Pamela: Social media has democratized entertainment. It is an incredible tool if you are willing to learn and understand how to use it to your advantage. Today, you can create amazing things with your phone and share them without needing an entire production team. There are also content creators who want to become actors, and that is completely valid. However, they are two entirely different disciplines and must be treated as such. You have to study whatever it is you want to pursue and commit to doing it well. Acting is an enormous beast that many creators underestimate because they assume that being comfortable in front of a camera is enough, when it requires so much more. It means knowing how to create a character rather than a stereotype, analyzing texts by writers such as Shakespeare—whose work remains incredibly relevant—and understanding continuity, voice and many other technical elements. At the same time, I have many actor friends who resent content creators, but what I still do not understand is why they refuse to embrace the possibilities of digital content themselves. The world belongs to those who dare, work hard and try.
"I realized that my hair had actually become one of the things that helped me most professionally because it made me different"
In a career shaped by the constant exposure of one’s image and body, what has been your personal strategy for preserving your authenticity and avoiding becoming lost in external expectations?
Pamela: For me, the key has been understanding that what I came into this world to offer is different from what the person beside me has to offer, even if we look similar or come from seemingly similar backgrounds. When I was little, for example, I hated my curly hair because I never saw anyone in the media who was considered beautiful while wearing their natural curls. The only references I had were characters such as Anne Hathaway’s in The Princess Diaries before her transformation, when her hair is straightened and only then is she presented as beautiful. As I grew older, I realized that my hair had actually become one of the things that helped me most professionally because it made me different. The older I become, the more clearly I understand who I am, and the less concerned I feel when someone expects me to be different. I have spent years cultivating the person I am. I am not going to abandon her because of what someone who was not there while I struggled happens to think of me. I was the one who witnessed every setback, every tear and every attempt to find another path. Only I know what it has cost me to become who I am, and only I know how deeply to value it.
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