Eva de Dominici’s journey may read like a Hollywood fairy tale at first glance: an aspiring actress visits Los Angeles on vacation with her sister, when a chance encounter offers her a shot at stardom.
Her first week in LA, she gets booked after her first audition. Unheard of. Her first movie? Yeah, it’s with Bruce Willis. Fast forward to today, and she’s enjoying the Californian sunshine on her Studio City patio, just a few miles from Warner Bros and Universal Studios, having appeared alongside the likes of Pedro Pascal and Mark Wahlberg. Nice work if you can get it.
But de Dominici’s rise to stardom wasn’t always quite so plain sailing. Despite establishing herself as an award-winning actress in Argentina, starring in telenovelas like La Fragilidad De Los Cuerpos, she arrived in the US as a relative unknown. That first booking turned out to be “beginner’s luck”. The auditioning process took a gruelling toll with rejection becoming the norm – and then she discovered she was pregnant. Feeling “alone”, she faced scepticism from friends and colleagues who doubted whether she could juggle acting and motherhood.
Undeterred, De Dominici pressed on, ultimately securing a career-defining role as Nadia in The Cleaning Lady, a US crime drama adapted from an Argentine series – bringing her journey full circle. Since then, her career has only gained momentum. Next, she stars alongside Walton Goggins and Pedro Pascal in The Uninvited, a darkly satirical take on society’s obsession with youth and fame.
Looking ahead, De Dominici has major projects on the horizon – starring alongside Mark Wahlberg in Peter Farrelly’s upcoming action-comedy Balls Up – and is channelling her creative energy into screenwriting, having studied at UCLA. With her talent and tenacity, she’s proving that perseverance, not just luck, turns the Hollywood dream into reality.
Square Mile: The Uninvited is certainly a thought-provoking movie. What first drew you to the project?
Eva de Dominici: When I read the script, I couldn’t believe it as it hit me so personally. The movie talks a lot about being a mother – and I became a mother when I was 23. I was the only person among actresses I knew who got pregnant at that age, which is what happens to my character. It felt super personal to me; I can’t even describe it. Right after I read the script, I knew I wanted to do this. I was shooting a series at the time so we had to figure out a schedule but they made it work.
SM: Having a child is the greatest joy in the world but it must have also filled you with fear because you had only just started to make your way into Hollywood?
EDD: As actors, women are always told that they have to get it all figured out and established in their careers first – and then they can think about maternity. But in my case, it happened in a different way. I was so scared at first: everyone reacted to my pregnancy in a bad way because they were scared, too – my family and other actors and people in the industry. That made me feel so alone.
I realised that the job we have is not well suited to raising a family. You have to always fight against it. I would go to auditions, and I was still breastfeeding. My son was two months old at the time – and I would take the pumping machine with me. Everyone would look at me in a weird way because it’s not normal and I get it because I was so young. It felt like there was no place for me. This movie resonated with me because my character is about to experience some of that.
SM: When we are first introduced to your character, she confidently walks up to the party with swagger, and we think ‘Here comes trouble’. But, she’s quite the opposite as we see her go on to deal with her fears and insecurities. A role that changes the audience’s preconceptions must be the dream as an actor?
EDD: She’s a stereotype at the beginning as she’s the centre of attention at this party because she’s a rising actress and she looks super confident. But, she has layers and as the movie unfolds, you see those layers – and that in reality she’s not actually in love with the director she’s dating and she’s probably only with him because he provides access to the industry.
It’s actually how we see young women in the industry – and include myself in this, too. If you go to my Instagram you imagine what my personality is like and then when you meet me and it’s different. Even with really successful actresses, I bet they experience the same because they’re selling a product, but that’s not the real them.
SM: When you were first reading the script, did you anticipate the story to develop in the way that it did?
EDD: From the first few pages I thought, ‘This isn’t going to be what I imagine; this is obviously going to go somewhere else.’ It goes from a comedy and then as the movie progresses, it gets really deep. The old lady who shows up in the driveway is super funny, and then the thing goes in a different direction. It gets really deep and makes everyone think about death and things that as a society we avoid. We try to think about the beautiful things, but we are not really prepared for death or being old.
SM: The old lady character seems the most perceptive. Despite suffering from Alzheimer’s or a similar condition, she can still read situations better than most people at the party…
EDD: I remember Nadia [Conners – the writer-director] told me that she wanted to leave her separated from the group of the party because she doesn’t get fully integrated. This is how Nadia sees the world; people always push old people away and at a party they want to talk to the young.
SM: This film must have put you in an interesting headspace. As the characters begin to confront their fears, did you naturally start to think about how this relates to your own life and circumstances?
EDD: It always happens to me when I receive a script; maybe it’s the result of me trying to find a personal connection. I remember at that time I was always thinking about how I became a mother so young, what that represented to me, and how I felt a little bit guilty as I didn’t know if it was the correct choice. I had a lot of thoughts about it. When the movie came along, it was weird but it helped me process all of that. Every script that comes, I feel like it comes at the perfect time. I feel a connection and that happens to me most of the time with projects I receive.
SM: What was your transition from Telenovelas in Argentina to Hollywood like?
EDD: I always watched American TV shows and movies and it was part of my culture already but I couldn’t speak English at all, so I would get super lost.
When I came to LA for the first time, I was on vacation with my sister. Everyone told me, “If you ever go to LA, there are a lot of people who are going to try and sell you bullshit. Don’t believe anyone.” Well, the guy who rented out the apartment to us asked me, “What do you do…?” Long story short, this guy introduced me to a manager – and he was the one who convinced me to come here for good.
Two years had passed – I had gone back to Argentina and was working there on some interesting projects. Then I had a two-month break, and decided to return to LA. I was introduced to agents and booked my first audition. It was beginner’s luck because afterwards, it wasn’t that easy.
I booked it but I didn’t have my visa or paperwork. However, it gave me confidence and made me think that I could act in English. So I took English classes and got my visa. I had just got to LA and my first step was getting pregnant. Dude, you don’t do that when you come to Hollywood.
I started to audition, booked a series and started to gain more confidence. I thought that everyone would notice that I had only learnt English a year ago, I was so insecure.
SM: How did your experience working on Cosmic Sun alongside the great Bruce Willis shape your career?
EDD: My first experience in a movie was with Bruce Willis – a dream come true, right? But I didn’t have a good experience – they changed my lines on the first day. I was so insecure and I stumbled and I couldn’t continue. I was like, “I’m never going to work in Hollywood again!”
But, I had read one of Michael Caine’s books – and his wisdom helped me so much. It said something like, “You only learn under fire.” And that’s true. I love taking acting classes and I love being a student at UCLA, but there’s something that happens on set that teaches you so much. There’s nowhere else that you can learn that amount of knowledge.
SM: After Cosmic Sin didn’t go to plan, was there any part of you that considered returning to Argentina?
EDD: No. I had just become a mother and my son was three months old when I booked this movie – and we went to Atlanta. Literally on the day that we were coming back to LA, I was devastated because I didn’t feel like I’d done a good job in that movie. But it was great to have that experience; I’m glad I had it.
On the day we came back to LA, the Covid pandemic hit and we went into lockdown. So I had a lot of time to enjoy my baby and also get into work. I knew what my flaws were and I was super focused in those months. Sometimes you don’t do well and you think it’s the end of the world, but it’s not: there are always new opportunities, but you have to pass that point to get to them.
SM: It almost sounds like fate. With lockdown, you had time to work on your craft but also spend time with your son.
EDD: Exactly. It’s strange because my Hollywood experience in my 20s was pregnancy, the pandemic and then the strike. I booked a movie with a director that I always wanted to work with but I couldn’t because I was locked in a series and they didn’t let me do it. That taught me a lot.
There are ups and downs. But, it’s good to keep working so you keep learning; that wakes you up. I was so sad about that but I had to keep shooting and then I booked a movie with Peter Farrelly last year. You just have to keep going.
This industry has a lot of different departments and you start learning there’s not just one thing but a lot of things out of your control. Even if you work so hard and book the perfect role, there is lots of legal stuff that goes on afterwards.
SM: You made your big breakthrough with The Cleaning Lady. How did it feel when you were made a series regular in s2?
EDD: It was a great surprise. When I auditioned for The Cleaning Lady, I actually went for the title role but they wanted something different. But they thought I could play this other character, so I auditioned for Nadia. It was such a small character and she was only going to appear in about three episodes but they liked the dynamic between Nadia and Adan Canto’s character so they brought her in as a regular. That was great because I learned so much – and ended up doing three seasons of The Cleaning Lady.
To shoot a series with so many episodes and that dynamic is a completely different thing. I have been working as an actor since I was ten years old but this was all new: it was new terms, new ways of shooting – and I felt like a child again. That’s a good feeling.
SM: You have starred in drama, sci-fi, horror, comedy… What genre would you like to explore next?
EDD: I’ve played the mobster’s wife enough now. I know that maybe I have the look for it but I would like to change. When you read a good story, you just know. It doesn’t matter if it’s a comedy or a drama, when you have a good script it’s already on the page. I would love to play a role that doesn’t really depend on a man because I’ve done that – and though it’s been great, I would like something more. I would also love to play a superhero because of my son.
SM: Is your son at the age where he’s watching superhero movies?
EDD: Oh my God, he’s obsessed! I’m like, “I want you to see Mom as a superhero.” But as I told you before, I would love to do something that is not the girlfriend of the mobster because that has become a stereotype in Hollywood. Even if you want it or not, it’s there and I get it because I have a certain look.
SM: You’re currently taking screenwriting classes and developing your own project. What was the inspiration behind that?
EDD: I started to take screenwriting classes when I was pregnant. I’ve always had this project in my mind and it’s now started to take shape. It’s something that I’ve always wanted because you asked me, “What would you like to play?” I’ve been acting since I was 10 years old and even if you bring your own creative ideas, you’re always playing to the director’s vision. Someone else writes it for you and you’re there to interpret.
I’ve been feeling like I wanted something more and I didn’t know what it was. And now that I’ve been developing this, hopefully it gets done. Just one time, I need to say what I want. I’m so happy with it – again, it’s somewhere where I start to feel like a child again.
SM: What do the people back home in Argentina think about your journey? They must be so proud!
EDD: There are some projects that I’ve done which are super independent like The Uninvited. Back home they don’t really understand it but they see Pedro Pascal or Walton Goggins and they are like, “Oh my god, what are you doing with them?” It feels foreign and unreachable. I get it because when I was in Argentina it felt like a different world.
My parents don’t speak English and they are just so proud that I was able to learn another language; being bilingual is a big thing for them. But, they also see the work behind the scenes – so that Hollywood idea that everyone has, my family doesn’t have it anymore. They know that it takes a hundred ‘no’s to get a ‘yes’. They see that work and they’re proud.
THE UNINVITED is in cinemas 9 May. See more at theuninvited.movie
