ALBERTO GUERRA — HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!
The actor takes a different kind of role in Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!
Alberto Guerra has built a career on presence. There is an intensity to him that requires very little explanation — a look, a silence, the sense that something is happening just beneath the surface.
In Josef Kubota Wladyka’s new film Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Guerra brings that presence somewhere unexpected: the ballroom.
He plays Fedir, an enigmatic dance instructor who enters the life of Haru, a woman attempting to find her way back into the world after profound loss. What begins through dance gradually becomes something more intimate — an encounter with desire, vulnerability and the possibility of beginning again.
For audiences who discovered Guerra through the darker worlds of Narcos: Mexico and Griselda, Fedir reveals another register. Here, physicality isn’t about menace or power. It is about rhythm, proximity and connection. Guerra communicates as much through movement as dialogue, allowing charm and tenderness to sit alongside the intensity for which he has become known.
There is something particularly fitting about seeing him in a story where the body speaks before the character does.
Born in Cuba and having built his career across Latin America before reaching an increasingly international audience, Guerra has always moved easily between languages, cultures and worlds. Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! extends that trajectory: shot in Tokyo and moving between Japanese, English and Spanish, the film places him inside a story that feels both culturally specific and universal.
For Alberto Guerra, it is also an opportunity to show us a side of himself we haven’t quite seen before.
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! opens in U.S. theaters September 25, 2026, from Sony Pictures Classics.
Alberto Guerra photographed by Éric Guillemain, New York, September 2026.
Eric James Guillemain in conversation with Alberto Guerra
E: Today was your very first photo shoot in New York City. Looking back on the experience, what’s the first word that comes to mind? (In Spanish or English.)
A: Midnight Cowboy
E: Do you remember the first film you ever fell in love with?
A: Yes, it was King Kong (1976) by John Guillermin. Jessica Lange and Jeff
Brigdes. I saw that movie probably 160 times during a summer break at my
grandmother’s house when I was 7 or 8 years old.
E: What kind of character have you never played but would find particularly
challenging?
A: I’ve never played a boxer or an athlete of any sports (don’t think is possible at my age anymore, maybe a washed up one).
E: You have two offers on the table for your next film, but you can only choose one:
o A priest on the run during the Cristero War, in a new adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel The Power and the Glory.
o OR, Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, in the next big Marvel production.
A: I would go with the priest on the run but I would definitely fight hard to play both, a 40ish Irish/Mexican Spiderman set in a dystopian future sounds pretty amazing (pun intended) too. * Hey Marvel, let’s talk*
E: What’s your favourite dish?
A: Arroz congrí (Cuban rice and black beans dish), meat, tostones (plantain) and avocado. Always with bread on the side.
E: Do you have a lucky charm you always take with you when you travel?
A: Never thought of lucky charms, but I do travel in the last few years with a stuffed rainbow unicorn made out of colored sequins and a stuffed mini-Godzilla my kids gave me, so I don’t feel alone while working.
E: Where do you picture yourself 50 years from now?
A: I’ll be 93, so hopefully in some white sand Caribbean beach. A rebuilt Cuba free from politics would be ideal...utopian, but ideal.
SIMON BAKER - Exit at the Bowery, Many angles, and just one way a bold, bruised kind of love in the arms of necessity.
Simon Baker has built a career on a particularly elusive quality: the ability to appear completely at ease while suggesting something far more complicated beneath the surface. Charismatic without excess, he brings intelligence, restraint and a quiet intensity to every frame.
There is an understated precision to Baker’s work. A glance, a hesitation, the slightest change in expression can reveal more than dialogue, giving his characters an intimacy that feels instinctive rather than constructed. From international television to independent cinema, he has continually moved beyond the expectations of the traditional leading man.
Behind the camera as well as in front of it, Baker is drawn to stories with emotional texture and ambiguity—a sensibility that has made his evolution as an actor and filmmaker all the more compelling.
Eric James Guillemain in conversation with Sakura Ando
Few actors can make stillness feel as expressive as Sakura Ando. Magnetic yet unforced, emotionally precise without ever appearing calculated, she brings a rare intelligence to the screen—one rooted as much in silence, gesture and restraint as in language.
There is a compelling duality to Ando’s work: vulnerability and resolve, warmth and severity, stillness and volatility. She can make the smallest expression feel consequential, revealing entire inner worlds through a glance, a pause or the subtle shift of a posture. Across Japanese cinema, she has established herself as one of its most distinctive and emotionally fearless performers.
In every role, Ando brings an instinctive complexity that resists easy interpretation. In Dora, that quality comes into particularly sharp focus, as she turns the character’s contradictions into something intimate, unpredictable and deeply human. She does not simply inhabit a role—she makes us feel everything that remains unspoken.
KALI REIS - Accept my offer: a forgotten world
Kali ‘s film MERCY is currently available on Amazon Prime Video.
Kali Reis has the kind of presence that cannot be manufactured. Magnetic yet understated, powerful without ever needing to announce it, she brings an uncommon intensity to the screen. The former world champion boxer has transformed physical discipline into a remarkably instinctive acting language—one built as much on silence, gesture and observation as on words.
There is a compelling duality to Reis: strength and vulnerability, toughness and sensuality, control and something more unpredictable beneath the surface. Her breakthrough in True Detective: Night Country revealed a performer of striking emotional precision and established her as one of the most singular new faces in American cinema.
In Mercy, Reis takes that intensity somewhere new, delivering a performance charged with tension and emotional complexity. She doesn’t simply command the frame—she changes its temperature.
Kali in conversation with Eric:
EJG - What is your current state of mind?
KR - Mentally drained but ready for what’s next. Positively energized with a calm sense of urgency.
EJG - What Characters influence you the most?
KR - The misunderstood. The types of characters who own what they feel, good or bad. The ones that pull you into their minds so you can feel what they are thinking.
EJG - Before a performance or a fight, do you have a ritual ?
KR - Before a performance, heading into set or a fight, I use music to kind of get in the mind set. I make playlists for all my characters according to who they are, their backstories and memories. What I play in my trailer depends on what we are shooting that day. I make sure I separate myself from the character; I remove my piercings, look in the mirror, thank the character for showing up, say “let’s do this”, fist bump the mirror and go handle business.
Before a fight I make sure I speak to my mom either in person or FaceTime. If she’s there in person, she smudges me if possible. I love a chill locker room, music, jokes and chill vibes. Right before I walk out, I ground myself in purpose and gratitude for being able to fight for those before and after me. I welcome dancers and drummers to make a “grand entry” with me in solidarity as
I walk into battle both physically & spiritually.
EJG - What is your most precious or sacred tattoo, if you’re willing to share ? Otherwise, are you a believer ?
KR - My first tattoo is my most sacred tattoo. It’s of my mom’s handprint on the back of my neck. It’s her favorite spot to either kiss me or slap me lol! Under it is “IOOTOSH” which means “stand strong” in the Wampanoag Algonquin dialect. It’s what our Great War chief Annawon used to say to our people.I’m a believer of karma. I’m a believer of a higher power, the creator, energy & the universe and its laws.
ANNA VAN PATTEN - Egeria, I count the beads of childhood names , the book opens and shuts.
Anna Van Patten has an intriguing screen presence—effortless, self-possessed and edged with something quietly unpredictable. There is a naturalism to her performances that makes even the smallest gesture feel spontaneous, while beneath the surface lies a sharp emotional awareness.
Moving between vulnerability and confidence with remarkable ease, Van Patten belongs to a new generation of actors whose appeal comes from resisting the obvious. Her performances feel lived rather than performed, revealing character through instinct, attitude and the spaces between words.
In Euphoria, Van Patten brings that sensibility into the series’ charged universe, delivering a performance that is at once immediate, enigmatic and impossible to ignore.
YUKA MANAMI - Almost Tokyo, against the grain, only am I able to breathe
Yuka Manami has a presence defined by contrast: delicate yet commanding, serene yet impossible to overlook. The Japanese model brings a quiet precision to the image, with an ability to shift effortlessly between minimalism, sensuality and a more avant-garde expression of beauty.
Her distinctive features and instinctive relationship with the camera have made her a compelling presence within contemporary fashion. Rather than simply wearing a look, Manami gives it character—transforming clothes, gesture and attitude into something personal.
There is a modern elegance to her that feels distinctly Japanese yet entirely international. In front of the lens, Manami understands the power of restraint: sometimes the most memorable image is the one that reveals the least.
je sors du labyrinthe /
out of the labyrinth
Roxane Mesquida’s work is shaped by a sustained interest in instability: the point at which vulnerability becomes power, intimacy turns threatening, and identity refuses to remain fixed. Rather than treating performance as a vehicle for psychological transparency, she gravitates toward characters whose motives remain partially obscured—figures defined as much by contradiction as by action.
This sensibility is evident in her collaborations with Catherine Breillat, including À ma sœur! and Une vieille maîtresse. In these films, Mesquida’s presence carries an unsettling duality: she can appear exposed and impenetrable at once, allowing ambiguity to become a form of dramatic force. Her performances do not resolve complexity so much as preserve it.
Her later work extends this interest across different cinematic registers, from the abrasive absurdity of Rubber to the gothic sensuality of Kiss of the Damned and the period intensity of The Last Mistress. Her appearance in Gossip Girl further demonstrated her ability to move between artistic contexts without losing the tension that defines her screen presence.
Across arthouse cinema, genre and television, Mesquida is drawn to roles that resist psychological neatness. Her performances operate through contrast—elegance alongside danger, restraint alongside volatility—and create characters who remain difficult to fully possess or explain.
This is a gentle place
Where all beginnings weigh the same
KAT GRAHAM - 10 minutes to go
Kat Graham brings a rare combination of charisma, versatility and creative vision to everything she does. An accomplished actress, singer, dancer and artist, she has built a career defined by fearless reinvention and an unmistakable ability to connect with audiences across mediums.
Best known for her breakout role as Bonnie Bennett on The Vampire Diaries, Graham transformed the character into one of the series’ most compelling and beloved figures, earning recognition for her emotional depth, strength and magnetic screen presence. Her background in dance has also played an important role in her creative expression, bringing movement, rhythm and physicality to her performances. Beyond acting, she has continued to expand her creative world through music, fashion and visual art, embracing each discipline with the same boldness and individuality.
Whether performing on screen, in the recording studio, onstage or through dance, Graham brings intelligence, energy and authenticity to her work. She is an artist who refuses to be confined to a single category—constantly evolving, challenging expectations and leaving a distinctive mark on everything she touches.
JESSE MALIN - Days of the Lion , Grateful for the Blank Page
Jesse Malin doesn’t simply come from New York—he carries its pulse in everything he does. A songwriter with punk in his bones and poetry in his storytelling, he has spent decades turning the city’s characters, heartbreaks and late-night electricity into songs that feel both intimate and cinematic.
From his early days in the downtown punk scene to a celebrated solo career, Malin has remained fiercely independent, collaborating with artists including Bruce Springsteen and Lucinda Williams while never losing the rawness that defines his voice.
There is resilience at the heart of Malin’s story: music as survival, community and a way forward. Onstage and on record, he remains a singular presence—unpolished, deeply human and unmistakably his own.
PAZ DE LA HUERTA - Abiogenesis,
ruby to the east of the impenetrable dream
Paz de la Huerta has always existed slightly outside the frame—an actress whose presence feels less performed than lived. Fearless, enigmatic and intensely cinematic, she brings to the screen a rawness that resists polish and a vulnerability that never asks for permission.
From the haunting sensuality of The Limits of Control to her unforgettable turn as Lucy Danziger in Boardwalk Empire, de la Huerta has gravitated toward characters who live in the shadows: complicated, volatile and emotionally exposed. Her performances carry the unpredictability of someone willing to let discomfort, desire and contradiction remain unresolved.
There is something distinctly New York about her—a collision of downtown irreverence, old-world glamour and uncompromising individuality. De la Huerta remains a singular presence precisely because she has never seemed interested in being easily understood.
KLARA KRISTIN - Into your eyes, The fear, the uncertainty, the solitude, the melancholy of the Blank Page.
Klara Kristin has the kind of creative presence that refuses to sit neatly within a single world. A singer and multidisciplinary artist, she brings an intimate, instinctive quality to her music—at once ethereal, sensual and quietly rebellious.
Moving between music, art and fashion, Kristin has cultivated a universe that feels distinctly her own, shaped more by emotion and intuition than convention. Her voice and visual identity share the same enigmatic quality: delicate on the surface, with something raw and unexpected underneath.
More than simply a performer, Kristin is an artist driven by atmosphere, individuality and a compelling sense of freedom.
