Pol Monen seems to live crossed by spirituality. His manners as a thoughtful, sagacious and, at the same time, curious man give him away. He puts soul into what he says, because he expresses everything from honesty and humility. And no, he’s not posture. He could have been overwhelmed by the glare of that exponential fame that some of his colleagues in the profession experience. But he, the penultimate terrible kid of the national acting scene, seems to be made of another paste. At 27, he already knows what it means to be an Almodóvar boy – he played one of the students at the children’s boarding school in Bad Education-, be nominated for a Goya for Best Newcomer for Love (2017) and learn to cope with the success of appearing in Who would you take to a desert island? (2019), the film that made him a youth icon outside our borders. Even so, this Catalan with a smiling look and a restless spirit seems not to get carried away by the siren songs that sudden success can bring. “Over time I have learned to manage my emotions, to set limits to avoid going over the top. I am very sorry for things and it is not difficult for me to express my feelings. Only in this way can you navigate in life and in this profession”, she assures.
as in the poem ithaca of Constantine Cavafis, Monen He wants his professional path to be long. Adventures are not lacking. Two premieres are planned on the horizon: La Novia deAmérica, a Spanish-Mexican production of Alfonso Albacete in which the actor has a leading role, and Soul (Netflix), a thriller of Sergio G. Sanchez in which the actor plays Bruno: “A character quite distant from me because of his sullenness, but with whom I have connected because of something that, I think, we have in common: the nobility,” he points out. Reason is not lacking. Because, in short distances, this trait of his personality is quite remarkable. He still has a little more than two years left to reach his thirties and the residue he leaves behind with each statement places him as a young man ahead of his time.
Perhaps the roundness of his reflections has to do with some of his passions. She says that she practices sports between three and four times a week: “It makes me feel good physically and mentally. Thanks to him I can manage stressful situations; It helps me to be psychologically more centered.” Reading also works for him (now he alternates An American adulterer the biography about John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Jed Mercury, and world, a treatise on international relations by Richard Haass), his double helping of weekly movies and, of course, meditation; another of his passions: “It is part of my day to day. I usually meditate in the morning and sometimes I find other times of the day to do it. I have it integrated into my routine because it is something very simple. In silence, I think about everything that comes to mind, I try not to judge it, and then relax and look a little deeper.”
– Is this your way of working the psychological part?
-Yes, and although at this moment I am not going to a psychologist, I do not rule out doing so in the future. I believe that it is not necessary to be living a bad personal situation to go to therapy. We should know that psychology helps us to take care of ourselves, to know ourselves better to relate to other people. Among my actor friends it is something very common: many go to the psychologist and share it with total naturalness.
– Why this paradigm shift on mental health?
-The work culture of recent years has favored us not paying attention to everything that worries us. One of the few positive things about the lockdown is that many people have been able to rethink their priorities.
– Do you consider yourself a man with emotions on the surface?
-Of course. I consider myself a fairly sensitive person. They have sold us a single idea of masculinity, that of that strong man who cannot be vulnerable… I make a living showing myself like that and it is something wonderful. I have rarely seen my father cry and I feel that with me the liberation in the family has come. We should be able to transit more emotions.
– When did you last cry?
-A few days ago I met a friend and asked him about his father. He told me that he had died a couple of months ago. And I started to cry.
Pol Monen she remembers this meeting between tears because she knows how important it is to take care of herself inside and out. “I know that everything I can do for my well-being will have a positive impact in the future. Although I have always been a bit careless, for some years now I have tried to maintain a double personal hygiene routine twice a day. It’s very simple: I wash my face and then I usually apply a moisturizer. the day i remember [ríe] I apply some cream for the contour of the eyes”.
Everything seems measured in the life of an actor who almost turns out to be a Rare avis In this current universe of overexposure and likes. Pol Monen has found the recipe for his personal and professional success: “I try to listen to myself to understand what I need,” he says. Without a doubt, there are few things like paying attention to yourself. The Latins already said it: “Mens sana in corpore Sano”.
Styling: Jesus Cicero • Photos: Juanjo Marbai • Video: Daniel Valdemoro • Hairdressing and makeup: sofia rubinstein (The Artist Talents Keka) • Styling Assistant: Belén Rastrollo • Photography Assistant: Theresa Gutierrez • Lighting assistant: Oscar H. Espinosa • Production: Chus Casarrubios • Video edition: Alvaro Verdu • Direction, edition and text: Juanjo Madrigal
* This article appears in the June 2022 issue of Esquire magazine, on sale May 23.
