With programs like Treble clef, Friends are friends Y TVRamong others, Pablo Rago It has won a fundamental chapter in the great history of Argentine television in its own right.
In his filmography he records emblematic and transcendent titles. from the award-winning The Secret in Their Eyes and the box office The theft of the century even that authentic cult object called kryptonitewhich was exhibited to a full house on weekends when a ticket could be bought at the Gaumont cinema for less than ten pesos.
But what Rago is really excited about now is the theatrical universe. Activity is beginning to recover in Buenos Aires and presents numbers similar to those of the pre-pandemic era. In this favorable context, the actor of unconquerable heart Y a hundred days to fall in love enjoys his part in the ambitious adaptation of networksthe remembered film by Sidney Lumet, winner of four Oscars.
The Colosseum theater blanket until October 2 to this work that has already succeeded in traditional venues, such as Broadway or London. networks is a visual blockbuster with great technological deployment at the service of the text to recreate the world of a television set. It is directed and staged by Corina Fiorillo, adapted by Juan José Campanella, in which Rago shares the cast with Florencia Peña, Eduardo Blanco, César Bordón and Coco Sily.
With the adrenaline of being part of such a proposal, Rago takes a break to talk with The Urban Planet.
–One remembers the film a lot, what does the audience find when they go to see networks to the theater?
–You are going to find a show that goes beyond the theatrical; It is a fantastic mix of theatre, film and television. My participation begins in the second act, so I had the opportunity to see it several times in dress rehearsals, and the truth is that I really enjoy it, it comes out spectacular. People react in such a way that with our colleagues we look at each other and say: “Oh, what a play we have!”, because in rehearsals there is always a character missing who is the audience, and people get very involved with the play. We also wondered if after so many years the conflict was going to be understood, if the language transferred to the theatrical was going to be understood, and the truth is that it works fantastic. In addition to the deployment of production, which is something rarely seen in the Argentine theater.
–Your character has two scenes. What led you to be part of the project?
-Character. Because he is very powerful and I do two monologues that are essential. When I saw the movie, if I had to choose a character before they offered it to me, without a doubt I would have chosen this one that I do, the president of the television network. It is so strong that for the first time I join a project like this, in which I have little participation, because the role is very important. Not only does it define the work, it also totally modifies the main character, which is Coco Silly.
-With networks Campanella is back in your life. Speaking of cinema, were Campanella and Winograd the two directors with whom you got along best in your career?
–I would add Sebastián Pivotto, who was the director of belgrano Y The legendIn addition to working on gas tankers Y First fruits. They are the ones I worked with the most. With Campanella I did The Secret in Their Eyes, water winds, foosballin which I put the voice, and produced Belgrano. And with Wino I also worked on several films, only now that I think back I realize that they are the directors with whom I worked the most. I also had very good experiences with other directors with whom I would like to film again, such as Marcelo Páez Cubells, with whom I did Witch, along with Erica Rivas. With him, in addition to a very good relationship, we share a fanaticism for River, so we keep in close contact with the club’s updates.
–You just mentioned Belgrano, what does it mean for you to have played him and also Che Guevara, two emblematic figures for us?
–The Che thing was somewhat shorter, an episode in the program Clinic historybut belgrano It’s one of the jobs I love the most because of what it meant to play him. In addition to being my favorite hero, the film is very moving and it is a character that keeps reminding me all the time, because since 2010 it has been repeated every June 20 on TV. They spend a lot of time in schools; teachers are very fans of belgranoEvery time I come across a teacher, the subject comes up. Look, when we released it it was the year my son pledged to the flag, because he was in fifth grade, it was very exciting because he talked to his teachers and invited me to the school to give a talk at Cristoforo Colombo in front of 200 kids who They asked me questions about Belgrano… as if I were him (Serie), It was incredible. And this year I got the promise to the flag of my girlfriend’s son, so she also invited me to her act where they did a scene from the movie. I tell you and my hair stands up, because it was very exciting to be there accompanying him. When I entered, some of the boys looked at me with a “I know this one” face, it was very nice.
–You achieved something that all parents long for, because boys in adolescence begin to feel ashamed of their parents. It’s nice that your children are proud of you.
–Totally, I love that they come to see me and share with them. My oldest son always accompanies me, he likes to see me perform and that makes me very proud. He always has very nice words and I think the best thing he said to me when I was little (now he’s 19) was a divine compliment that perhaps some actor could take the wrong way: “The characters you play are all different, but it’s always you.” That made me think about the truth that I have to act, I am one of those actors who like to dress up and transform, but always from them.
–Obviously, people always remember Friends are friendsHas a producer never raised the possibility that now you play the role of Carlín and that some very young actor does yours?
–(Series). You know that no? We never raised it. Carlín and I were tempted several times to do the program together again, but it never closed us down, so one day Carlín told me: “It’s good that the public keeps the memory, let’s not ruin it.” But this thing about me playing the adult character and another actor playing mine isn’t a bad idea, huh. You would have to think about it.
–In your Instagram account I saw a very nice photo that you uploaded with Pato Fillol where you said that he was your childhood idol. It caught my attention because at the end of the 70s it was the time of Passarella, Merlo, Alonso, there were many great players in River. Why the Duck?
–I don’t want to underestimate my admiration for Passarella, but when I was a boy I really liked to tackle. The truth is that the team you just named is practically the ’78 Selection, whose backbone was made up of River players. Be careful, since my thing was to tackle, I also liked Gatti a lot. One could only see him going to the field from time to time, he was very colorful, but as a goalkeeper my idol was Fillol. I had the opportunity to meet him when we went to the field with my son, we were in a box, I saw that he was in the next one and I did not dare to yell at him. But at halftime I went, I wanted to go in to greet him and he had just come out, so I waited for him for the fifteen minutes of halftime to give him a hug. First he didn’t recognize me, he looked at me with the face of “what do you want, kid?” (Serie), but later I told him that I wanted to say hello and take a picture of myself. That’s when she remembered and told me: “But, of course, I did send you some gloves!” It was true, once in a program they had the delicacy to contact him and he sent me a video along with a pair of autographed gloves that I keep with great affection.
“Once, Carlín told me: ‘It’s good that the public keeps the memory, let’s not ruin it for them’.”
–You had a program that marked an era, like TVR. What memory do you have of that? Would you be interested in driving again?
-Look, something would have to appear again that would excite me as much as TVR. Do you want to know the anecdote? Many years before I was called up for the program, in a note from The nation They asked me what I would like to do besides acting, and I replied: “Driving TVR”. Because it was the television program that I watched the most and it is my favorite program in all of history, not only when I was there, but throughout its entire journey. And the truth is that I think the seasons we did with Gabriel Schultz were the most outstanding: production and editing were at their highest moment. We had the best guests, you don’t know what was the night that Maradona came! It was magical.
–What do you remember about Diego?
-That night was tremendous, the studio was full of people, and he with his humility said: “You have to be sitting in this chair, eh!”. It was the chair TVR and we are talking about Maradona, a guy who has met with everyone, including the Pope, and he was very excited because he was watching the program, he was excited to be there. Later I have another very good anecdote on the Ferro field, in a game we played to buy the CT scanner at the Fernández hospital, when Adrián Ghio was hospitalized there. I played with Diego for a while, he threw me a 40-meter pass and of course I threw it into the stands. The story of that day was unforgettable, Macaya and Araujo were doing the story of the game. Araujo started: “Maradona… Maradona… Rago”. There is a silence, and Macaya’s comment that says: “The Rago thing…” (laughs). And, well, that was my time in soccer with Diego.
Photos: Alejandro Calderone Caviglia