ARTICLES

From: ritmo beat June, 2001
by: Salvador Paniagua, Jr.

It was just a matter of time for the Spin City regular.

Of Puerto Rican and Italian decent, Lana Parrilla had plenty of dramatic and artistic role models in her family. "I love drama," she explains. "I used to stand in front of the mirror and cry. By the time I was 12, I decided that this is what I wanted to do, be an actress." From practicing in front of the mirror with her Aunt Candy, to singing with her grandfather, the Spin City regular has come a long way.

Lana plays Angie Ordonez, the feisty assistant to the characters played by Heather Locklear and Charlie Sheen. She landed the role with the right mix of talent and luck. "My agent found out about the auditions and sent me out. The first time that they sent me I didn't even get a call back," she recalled. "I thought, oh well, so I let it go." But a month and a half later, her agent called to tell her that no one had been cast for the role. Another casting agent was hired and Lana got to audition for the part a second time. But this time, she got a call back. Within a short time, she was meeting the producers and doing a screen test. A few hours after finishing her screen test, the executive producer called to congratulate her.

Lana was lucky enough to meet the cast at a publicity photo shoot one week before they started taping, but it wasn't easy. "I had a week to live in hell with nerves," she jokes. But meeting the cast was fun. "I walked in and saw Charlie standing there smoking a cigarette. I then met Heather in the makeup chair," she said, "being the new kid on the block hasn't been easy." Lana says that there is a lot of pressure because she's the newcomer and she's just getting started in Hollywood. "But there is also a lot of support from the cast," she notes. "The director and everyone else wants you to do well, they make me feel like this is my home and I should have fun."

Lana developed her acting skills playing various roles in independent features, including a strong Mexican woman in Frozen Stars . "It's [Frozen Stars] about this girl who is trying to get a better life," she says about the independent film. "Her father is a mechanic and illiterate, her mother cleans houses for a living and her brother is a total delinquent." Playing the strong Latina role wasn't much of stretch for Lana. At the young age of 17, she left her native Brooklyn like many aspiring actresses, and headed for Los Angeles. "It was definitely a culture shock," she says. "I wasn't used to the people, but I knew that I had to do it."

But it took a few years of soul searching before she started to take her acting seriously. "I wanted to be an actress, but I wasn't sure. I took some years off where I didn't do any acting and I went to college and studied anthropology. I thought to myself, 'I just want to tour the world, learn about different cultures, and live with Africans, live with Japanese people,' and for the longest time that's all I wanted to do," she says. It was a hectic time for her-balancing three jobs, studying anthropology and paying for her acting classes.

But after two stressful years she realized that it was time to commit to just one thing. Either Lana was going to go to college and pursue anthropology or she was going to become an actress. "Eventually when I decided to turn around and become a professional actress I got a job that only worked nights and weekends so I'd have my days free," she says of her struggles. Lana walked into her current agent's office and, "I just laid out all of the pictures [from her independent films] on the table and said, 'Look, this is what I can do. I know that I am going to be a star, let's do this.' " The agent was sold and started representing her. "I sold myself. I felt like a salesman," she said.

Soon after that, she started working on Frozen Stars and began booking other auditions. The progress was slow and gradual. She'd book jobs back to back and have to quit her day jobs. But once those acting jobs were done she'd have to return to waiting tables.

But her role in Spin City has changed that. She just signed with a new manager and is getting calls for many auditions. "You land a big gig and all of a sudden people are interested in you," she surmises. Lana is looking forward to the day when she can play a strong Latina equivalent of Erin Brockovich. With her newfound popularity and success, it's only a matter of time.