Who is Tânia Maria, new actress from “The Secret Agent”

The hoarse voice, the always lit cigarette, the dark glasses, the affectionate manner and the direct words. Dona Sebastiana is pure Brazilian juice, the best it has. And so too, lady Tania Maria78 years old. The difference between the two is in the starting point. The first is a character created by Kleber Mendonça Filho — one of the highlights of The Secret Agentwhich premieres this Thursday (6). The second is the woman behind it: Tânia Maria, a debut actress who is now playing her first prominent role. For Tânia, there is not much separation between one and the other. “My family watched it and said it was all me in the film”says in an interview with Bravo!. “All the words that come out in that film are my way.” Kleber seems to agree. After all, Sebastiana was designed with her in mind from the beginning.

In the story, Sebastiana is an affectionate woman, who welcomes refugees and those who need to protect themselves or escape from something, as is the case of Armando (Wagner Moura). The scenes in which they appear give a light tone to the film, capable of making viewers smile. Tânia Maria enchants on stage.

Her name was even mentioned as a possible nominee for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter magazines. At the time she heard the news, she still didn’t know exactly what the Oscar was and had no desire to travel by plane. Today, the reality is different: Tânia is excited and willing to go anywhere necessary to promote the film.

Tânia’s relationship with cinema is recent — in every sense. It was only at the age of 72 that she watched a film in a cinema. And the first was precisely Bacuraualso directed by Kleber. On the occasion, she made a brief appearance, with a single line: “What are those clothes, boy?”, she says to Lunga (Silvero Pereira) when the character returns to the community after being missing for a while.

Even with a discreet presence, she had already caught the attention of the director and his team. “His production (Kleber) was there in my town, Cobra, looking for extras. I was at the machine, and they were having a snack. It was at night. Then I arrived in the room and said: ‘Good evening’. Renata Roberta, from the production — who is from São Paulo — looked at me and said: ‘You’re the one I need’. From my hoarse speech. I was nailing an outfit. That’s it: I was hired to go to Bacurau.”

Tânia traveled 30 km every day to follow the filming. Once, she was in the cafeteria, serving her dish, when she passed by the directors’ table, greeted them with a “Good evening” and was invited to join them. “My God, an extra at the directors’ table, then Leo Lacca looked at me and said: ‘Tell me a little about yourself, what you’re like’. And I did.”

Dona Tânia’s story is extensive, but she prefers to be concise. What moves her now is her enthusiasm in following the promotion and release of her new film. She still hasn’t gotten used to performing as an actress. Before anything else, she defines herself as an artisan. While juggling interviews, I continued working on a new commission. “In Parelhas there is a sofa factory. They give me the scraps, the strips, and then I reuse them: I make them and sell them to the windows, I sell them to the stores. It goes from trash to luxury.”

A seamstress since the age of 15, she learned the art on a course and soon started working. She is the youngest in a family of five siblings — three women and two men — and today lives with her daughter. In addition to her, she has a grandson and a 6-year-old great-grandson. When revisiting the past, one of the moments that stands out most is being a single mother — something that today fills her with pride, but that, in her youth, she had to hide from her village. At the time, she was working as a nursing assistant, and when the rumor about her pregnancy spread, she soon learned that they were organizing a petition to get her fired. To avoid humiliation, he decided to act sooner.

“They said that, because I was pregnant, I wasn’t capable of being a health agent, you know? Then someone came to tell me: ‘So-and-so is writing a petition to get you removed, so you don’t work in health anymore’. So, early in the morning, I went with my father on foot — eighteen kilometers — to the city hall, to resign.”

Even without a partner, she wanted to be a mother. “I wanted to be a mother, but I was very humiliated. Very much so. But I faced it, I faced everything. I left my place, I left my homeland, I went to João Pessoa when they found out I was pregnant. At that time, that was a dishonor.”

In João Pessoa, she had to fend for herself, find somewhere to live and work, which at the time went hand in hand. During her pregnancy, she hid from her employers that she was pregnant. “Nobody knew I was pregnant, I wore Lycra pants to hide it, and I worked day and night.” When she turned eight months old, she returned to her parents’ house and finally decided to reveal her belly. “When I got here I cut the buttons, and then my belly got bigger. I thought my daughter would be born small. I hid her for eight months. But she was born good, robust, fat, almost obese.”

But he had already gained wings and decided to return to João Pessoa. “I raised my daughter in João Pessoa. I worked there for about twenty, twenty-two years, always alone. I worked in a family home: I made the layette for one, then went to another, helped with whatever they needed. There was someone who had a bus house, and I made the uniforms for them too.”

Today, when she recalls her entire journey, Tânia speaks with a smile on her face and a heart full of affection for her daughter and son-in-law. Now, she enjoys the joy of being a film actress, a feeling that also infects her family, who came out in droves to watch her debut on the big screen. They formed almost a caravan and were even uniformed: they wore t-shirts with Tânia Maria’s face on them. And, look, one of these t-shirts is being sold by the brand Chico Rei.

For her, this is all still new. And when asked about the best part of doing The Secret Agentshe responds without hesitation: “I liked the compliments.” And there is indeed a lot to praise. Especially his naturalness on stage, something admirable for someone who started so recently. “I forget, I pretend I’m at home, that no one is filming me. I don’t think I’m going to be on screen.”

In Bacurau, the experience was different: she couldn’t ignore the camera and was stunned by the instructions, which ended up yielding good stories. “(In Bacurau) Every day people died, and we had to go to the wake. They told me: ‘Today, pass by crying’; on other days, ‘pass quickly, don’t look’. There was a day when I was recording, and Kleber whispered something in my ear. I didn’t quite understand what it was, but I obeyed. There was a camera tripod there, and when I was passing by, I tripped over it. The camera fell. Then Kleber said: ‘The What was that?’. And I said: ‘What? You didn’t order it blind?’ He said, ‘No, I told you to be serious.’ I passed blindly, closed my eyes and passed. He laughed a lot. But the scene was cut.”

In addition to the praise, Tânia cherishes the bonds she created during filming. “I made friends with everyone. Everyone loves me well. It’s too good.” But it is when talking about a colleague in particular that the tone becomes even sweeter: Wagner Moura, whom he calls “teacher”, for his behind-the-scenes learnings.

Before filming The Secret Agent, she was told that she would act alongside someone very famous, but that they wouldn’t reveal their name so as not to make her nervous. “They said they wouldn’t say the name so I wouldn’t worry. The other day, I arrived and Wagner was there. Then they told me: ‘This is Wagner Moura.’ He asked me if I didn’t know him, and I replied: ‘I’ve never even heard of him’.”

The situation changed quickly. Tânia saw his films and created a strong bond with the actor. “I know we became very good friends. Wagner taught me a lot. He’s a close friend, from the heart. I love that man.”