Mariana Treviño stars in AppleTV+ series “Stick,” playing the mother of a talented but vulnerable young golfer (played by Peter Dager). Owen Wilson and Mark Maron co-star as a former pro golfer and his caddie/coach, who are trying to guide him.
In an interview with RogerEbert.com, she talks to us about making an unusual choice in one of the best scenes in the series thus far, and about the best advice she ever got about acting.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
How did the role of Elena come to you?
I only “met” Elena as I was getting to Vancouver to shoot it. I got the audition as I was ending a show in Mexico, and everything happened so fast. I did four auditions on Zoom, and then I flew to L.A. I had a chemistry read with Peter. And right after that, I was wrapping up my other show, and I was in.
I was so happy and surprised. But then I lost my passport. I lost my so I couldn’t fly immediately I I was hoping I didn’t lose the job because of it. Thankfully everything aligned and I could get to Vancouver a little bit hurriedly but once I got there, I just got in line with everything that was happening on set.
Everybody was really welcoming, really sweet since day one. I must truthfully say that it made it very easy for me to just settle in and concentrate on meeting Elena. Fortunately, I had some days where I didn’t film where I had time to read everything, do the work, and meet with Peter to talk about our characters. I didn’t have months; it all happened quite quickly.
How did the two of you create that chemistry that rhythm, that familiarity with each other that makes the audience believe you as mother and son?
As actors, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t happen. There’s a language that is just the language of hearts trying to connect, just human sensibilities trying to create a truth in the moment. Everything seems artificial when you are filming. You see the cameras and the sets. The RV is not an RV. It’s in a set, and you know all this. For the great and magical creation of this reality, this theatrical representation of what life is, the very center has to be a real connection.
I think it’s just really doing the work of opening your heart and trying to connect with that sensibility you have, that non-verbal and non-rational connection that happens between because there is an interchange of soul, of energy and of two souls coming together and wanting to tell the same story and trying to find a common truth. That magic does happen if we approach each other with the right sensibility, how open you are, and how receptive you are to the other actors.
Owen as a producer and [showrunner] Jason Keller and the whole cast created that for us. We all felt really welcome all the time. And that just makes you open up easier.
My favorite scene so far is one where Marc Maron’s character, Mitt, tells Elena that she inadvertently said something terribly hurtful to Owen Wilson’s character, Pryce. A lot of actors would have had a very big reaction, but yours was even more meaningful because it was so subtle and internal.
It was one of my favorite scenes, too. I just love that moment for Elana because it’s the moment where she sees, somehow, not rationally, but through her heart, what Pryce is going through, the grief that he’s carrying. She didn’t know at first how to measure him. She’s very dubious and she’s very vigilant, defending her son from this influence. I love that you noticed that the movement there is sitting down. That’s how I wanted to project it because it’s a moment of realization in the heart of the character.
That moment for Elena is where she stops her antics of being defensive and she says, “Okay, I’m going to have a different approach.”
Thank you for noticing, because for me, it was a beautiful moment, and with Marc, we built that together. We were both working on a very thin line there, and we suspended there, and we maintained it. It was beautiful, and at the end, we were hugging. We were on the same page, and that felt really good.
What do we learn about Elena from the clothes she wears?
The artists in the costume department wanted to give this feel of Elena that she was a very common mom in the sense that they wanted to create a common image of her that was very accessible to everybody who sees her. She’s a down-to-earth mom, a regular mom who buys her clothes wherever she can, but she has her moments of freedom, with feminine little details, a little flair.
A lot of Latin moms still wear the kinds of pencil skirts and pantyhose from the 80s, and that is what Elena wears when she goes to the bank.
What is the best advice you ever got about being an actor?
When I was young, I played Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was dressed like an elf, all in green. I remember I was talking and talking and talking with another actor backstage before I went on. One of the older actors who had all this experience came and he drew me aside and he said, “Keep your energy for scenes. Don’t waste it. And do your work on the stage.” That was great, great advice that I always remembered because it’s true. Each actor has their own ways to prepare to go into a scene. Some need to be talking, or need to be jumping, or go and do exercise, and all kinds of different preparations. But I thought it was so wise to say that you don’t waste your energy because it requires a lot of energy, a lot of attention, a lot of emotional energy to perform.
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