After Zambonis and Zack, De La Cruz finds herself in rom-com
Originally from Edmonton, Mercedes De La Cruz trained as a dancer before moving to Vancouver to pursue acting. She has racked up numerous credits in TV and movies, including her two most recent, Lonestar Christmas (Lifetime) and Right in Front of Me (Hallmark, where it premiered April 17).
We talked to the actor, who moved to Serbia earlier this year, about starting out in music videos, working with Zack Snyder, and getting into the Television Academy.
QYou got your start in music videos. Do you remember any of them?
A
Yeah. There was this group of young rappers, the Darkson
Tribe, and they made this video called The Hockey Shuffle. But the video came out around the time of the NHL lockout (2012). (laughs) So it didn't end up doing anything. They had a Zamboni going down the street, but in the middle of summer. That was one, but I did so many.
Q
Were you mostly a background dancer?
A
I played all sorts of roles. I started out onstage when I was three, as a dancer. I can do anything when it comes to that stuff.
Q
One of the first movies you did when you moved to Vancouver was Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch. What was it like working with Snyder?
A
Zach is a killer dude. He loves fitness, he loves health. It was the first movie set I worked on, but it's one of the best sets that I've worked on in terms of health. There was a salad bar and a sandwich bar where typically it would be craft-services food. And then he had an on-set trainer so we could do boot camp at lunch. I shot on it for three months.
It was shot so differently than how it ended up. There were these shifts in perception, where the girls would be at the dance studio. In an alternate universe, they're actually at an orphanage, and in another alternate universe, they're in battle. And it was supposed to be kind of dreamstate. But the battle scenes ended up taking over the whole movie.
Q
You were recently admitted into the Television Academy. What does that mean?
A
You have to have 10 credits for TV within a certain amount of years, and they have to be speaking roles. Then you have to send in your resume, your headshot, your credits, and then they decide if you are someone that they want to admit. Once they've decided, then you get the information and your card. Now, because they've decided I can be part of the academy, I can vote on the Emmys, I can be nominated for an Emmy.
Q
What can you tell us about Lonestar Christmas and Right in Front of Me, your two most recent movie credits?
A
Lonestar Christmas was a little bit more of a feel-good movie. My character had some pretty funny stuff. Or I made it funny, anyway! Right in Front of Me is more of a romantic comedy. I didn't find myself laughing as much in this one.
Q
These are a far cry from Sucker Punch. What do your tastes run towards?
A
I really like dramas. The first lead role that I had in a full-length feature was a drama, it could be considered a psychological thriller, and we're shopping it now. It's called Because You're Dead to Me. I really like that genre. I never really watched romantic comedies but now that I've done a couple I can see the appeal.