Humberly Gonzalez keeps herself quite busy.
You may know the actress from one of the many TV shows and movies she’s worked on recently.
Now, she’s tackling a new genre with an adventurous Christmas romance,“Maps and Mistletoe.
It’s the perfect fun and festive film to get you in the seasonal spirit.
Well, I’m very excited because this is actually my very first Christmas movie.
And I didn’t expect it.
It came to me, I read the script, and I loved it.
And as movies do and scripts do, it ended up changing as we got closer to filming it.
And I read it again, and I was like, “Wait.
Actually, I really love this, too.”
And not just that, but being Venezuelan and being a part of it.
But “Maps and Mistletoe,” honestly, the title kind of says it all.
There are maps, and there’s mistletoe.
No, I play Emilia Martin.
She’s a cartographer, which is so interesting.
I don’t think I’ve seen that as a career in a character before.
She’s really smart, she’s kind, and she knows a lot about maps.
It’s kind of a very adventurous movie.
And to her, she’s like, “How am I supposed to do that?
Who do I turn to?
Is the North Pole real?”
There are all of these questions.
So we are both helping each other out about locations and where we are.
So we’re both kind of exploring both of our avenues.
That’s so fun.
Do you feel like you have any similarities with your character?
We were able to change and adapt the script to be Venezuelan.
So it was really exciting for me to be like, “Oh, I actually am.”
And there’s a really nice scene in the movie.
And it was so exciting because I was like, “I’m crying right now.
This is so sweet.”
Yeah, they were so kind.
They had all filmed many movies before, so they knew how to make a movie in 14 days.
That’s all we had.
And when you think about it, that’s not a long time to shoot a movie.
It was a fast pace.
Everybody trusts their work.
Everybody is so willing to help each other out.
So I just felt very accepted, honestly, right from the get-go.
If I had a suggestion or something, they were like, “Yeah, let’s try it.
Instead of like considering if it would work or not.
What was it like filming with that really short deadline?
Honestly, I had never done that before.
We do get Saturdays and Sundays off, so that’s the days where I learn lines.
Just having your omelet, and you’re just looking like you’re going to a gala.
But it was great.
Honestly, it doesn’t always feel like work when you’re doing something you love.
He was like, “This is what you do.
And magically, they would appear in the brain the next morning, and then we just go.
But it was a great learning experience because I’ve always wanted to do that.
And you made a movie, so a little more than surviving.
We made a great movie.
I’m so excited.
But we made it happen.
We laughed so much that day.
Even the director got on the sled.
So many people were going up and down the hill.
But that was really fun.
I think the hardest part of it all was the cold.
Honestly, there were some scenes that were so frozen.
I was like, “Is my lip moving?
I don’t even know if I can feel my face at all.”
Specifically the night scenes, we were next to a river, and it was so cold.
And then there’s one scene where we’re at the top of a roof in a fire escape.
And I was like, “Yep; this might be the end of me.
I’m going to be an icicle.”
But we made it happen.
It was March, but for some reason, it actually felt like it was Christmas.
It was just so snowy and beautiful, and then the set decor and everything.
And I was like, “Oh, cute.”
I’m like, “Christmas just passed, but here we are.”
Where were you guys filming?
We were actually in Ottawa.
And we also shot in this little town called Almonte.
It was so cute.
It actually feels like Christmas started there.
It’s just little shops and decorations.
And we actually got to decorate the entire town because it wasn’t Christmas.
So just having to put up lights and bows on the lights and things like that.
So yeah, just little small-town vibes.
What do you think viewers will like most about this movie?
Honestly, this is very much a two-hander, me and the lead, the other lead.
I think our relationship.
I think we brought our appreciation for the job itself, the work.
And also, we just had so much fun shooting it that it never felt like we were acting.
It was just so, so nice to do that.
And because the movie, it truly is … And I think it’s going to be really special.
What was it like being on that project?
But I love the team.
It’s so great that everybody just loved the show and it was so loved.
What an interesting year.
Funny enough, I was filming this movie at the same time.
I’m excited for Season 2.
What was it like seeing the reaction as people got to binge it on Netflix?
There were so many just beautiful connections that the show made.
Specifically, young, queer people and feeling represented.
Being Latina as well, there were a lot of new …
So for me, it was really special, and I think it was for other people, too.
And that was the majority of the messages I got was just people feeling inspired to be themselves.
I think we see each other like every single week and weekend.
There’s always some kind of get-together or movie or going out for dinner, whatever it is.
It’s really unique, and it doesn’t happen often that castmates in a production are so close.
I think there was just such a safe environment right from the get-go.
They’re constantly on set.
They’re always available for us, and they’re just amazing.
We’re here for five months.
What else are you going to do?
Hang out with your castmates?
Yes, I’m so in.
What was it like bringing all that together?
Honestly, that was the dream.
That was the dream.
That was a huge milestone for me.
When I started acting, I actually started in musical theater.
So I just never thought that it would all come together in film.
And then, on top of that, my character also had to be in the studio singing.
So it was just kind of like a full-on production.
And I was capable of doing it all without burning out, and I enjoyed it so much.
Being in the studio singing was a dream come true.
Never in my life did I think that would happen.
I think the reason I went into acting was because of singing.
And now I get to do it all.
And for that production, too, it was just, wow.
What a wild ride.
That was two years ago, too.
Time just literally passes by so fast.
It’s been a busy two years for you, though.
Yeah, for sure.
All original music as well.
So that kind of reawakened that passion for me because it was in the present day as well.
And working with Gavin Brown, who’s our music producer, he’s a genius and incredible.
Rob Raco, who is my co-star, also sings in it and plays in it.
And it was just such a beautiful musical endeavor.
That’s so exciting.
Have you been working on it already, or is it in the planning stages?
Right now, it’s planning stages, for sure.
But I know that there are people who are there literally like, “Here you go.
All you have to do is come in and take it.”
And I’m like, “Woo, okay.”
What was it like for you providing that representation for people?
Honestly, it’s so interesting because I, myself, am queer as well.
And that was something that I was struggling to share publicly.
And I didn’t really know how to come out, essentially.
In this case, it happened to be my own, just it wasn’t known.
It actually allowed me to have the courage and be brave enough to own that.
And with Brooklyn, they never really talk about her sexuality.
Everything is just kind of normalized, and she just is who she is and loves who she loves.
That was so refreshing because that’s always how I felt.
So for me to play these characters that are just accepted right away was so important.
And it doesn’t have to be questioned.
You don’t have to explain yourself.
You don’t even have to have this insane coming out story and make a post about it.
And I thought about that.
I was like, “Do I need to post about it?
Who do I talk to?”
It was just a moment of like, “You know what?
My first queer character was actually Vanessa in CW’s “In the Dark.”
Back then, I was like, “Oh my gosh.”
I was so scared.
I was actually really scared to step into that because it was so new for me, too.
I was very supported through it.
Then playing Brooklyn and then playing Sophie, I was like, “Okay.”
It would be a way for me to connect to my audience, too, and to people watching.
And that it isn’t always easy and that’s okay.
That’s really cool.
I was like, “The camera knows.
How did they know?”
People are always like, “Did you get to choose your characters and who to play?”
I’m like, “No, I never get to choose any of that.”
I brought authenticity to those characters just by being me.
So that was really cool.
That one, too.
I also have a girlfriend in that show.
I just happen to have superpowers.
Honestly, I want to do more of that.
It was not easy doing green screen and wires.
Although painful, very exciting.
I love that team.
I’m still very close to my castmates on that.
It’s really cool.
I always just say, “Yes.”
I’m like, “Sure.
People say that they were like, “Do you ever relax?
Do you ever just chill?”
And I’m like, “I feel like I do.”
I do not feel overworked or burnt out at all.
I think the times where I do take time to relax, it feels like I do recharge.
It does feel like enough for me.
Although, I would love to take a vacation somewhere tropical.
I’m ready for that.
Oh, my goodness.
“Utopia Falls” was definitely one of them.
Booking my first series regular, being able to sing, dance, and act in that.
Getting to do video games, that was really fun.
Ever since I learned that that’s something people can do and then being able to do it.
Being part of “Far Cry” was such a huge game.
And I love that team.
It’s all very like you imagine it and then you do it.
I’ve gotten to do really cool voiceover projects.
But wow, there have been so many moments that I feel like I’m skipping over so much.
And I just had to like say, “Okay, we’re doing this.”
Go to Newfoundland, shoot this.
Be in an action movie with Bob Odenkirk and shoot “Nobody” in Winnipeg.
It was just kind of all over the place, and we made it work.
I have an incredible team that supported me through all of it.
Yeah, it’s just the beginning, and yet it feels like I’ve done so much.
Are there any upcoming projects that you’re able to tell us anything about?
I mean, yes.
I’m always like, “When can I talk about this?
Is it time?”
They did actually release theDeadlinearticle, so I can talk about it.
I just wrapped two films that are so exciting.
Another new genre that I’ve never done because it’s a murder mystery.
The executive producer is Toni Braxton, and she’s our lead.
They find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation.
And it’s a multi-picture deal, so there are actually a few movies based on these novels.
It’s an incredible team that’s involved.
Yeah, that was my most recent thing.
They’ll be out next year.
That was really exciting.
So yeah, those are two things that are coming out.
“Maps and Mistletoe” starring Humberly Gonzalez airs December 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.
