“Acting was something I never thought I’d do,” explains British-Colombian actor Díana Bermudez. As a child, she never saw anyone like herself on the screen and when she finally committed to professional acting in 2014, she was still in the process of coming to understand her own ethnicity.
“At the beginning of my career, I didn’t know how to identify and so many people told me what they thought I was. "There were few Latin American roles, and I was rarely considered for them because of my Indigenous features," she explains. "Casting often told me I didn't look Latina, and instead pushed me to audition for Asian roles, which I felt uncomfortable with."
When Díana started delving into the history of her culture, embracing and understanding her Indigenous heritage, "I came into my power," she says proudly.
The reality is, however, that Diana is faced with the constant dilemma of choosing between degrading type caste roles with the need for work. In Rambo: Last Blood (2019), Díana played a sex worker in a Mexican drug cartel and the production wasn’t especially interested in her desire to add depth and humanity to the character. "When playing stereotypical roles that go against my moral values, I try to add depth to them and humanise them. Sadly, many productions are not interested in this version of the character, which makes it especially challenging."
Portraying Yatzil in Marvel’s 'Moon Knight', Diana requested that her character was Indigenous and suggested names. “The more I’m able to get on these big platforms, the more I’m able to influence,” explains Díana. She also recognises that not every role will be a hero, and that, "as long as there is variety, this can be enough."
She puts her love of fantasy partly down to the Magical Realism in her DNA, “For me fantasy goes beyond race, and it doesn’t matter about your appearance, which was such a big deal at the beginning of my career," she says, confessing her attraction to lending her voice to characters who look nothing like her. "I like work in video games because there are endless possibilities which allow me to use my imagination.”
Díana Bermudez was dressed by Jennifer Clair. Hair and Makeup by Vanessa Londoño
