K.T Simpson
When Lucy (Brittany Snow) steps off the subway, she walks into an utter bloodbath on the streets of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Texas is attempting to secede from the Union, and militia forces have descended upon New York City to claim it as an East Coast base of operations and negotiation tool. Faced with a flurry of whizzing bullets and total destruction around every corner, Lucy takes shelter in the basement of Stupe (Dave Bautista), a burly war veteran who reluctantly helps her traverse the treacherous five-block stretch of Bushwhack to reach her destination—assuming it’s still there.
“Bushwick” stars Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Spectre), Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect franchise, Hairspray), Angelic Zambrana (Precious, Fighting), and Jeremie Harris (FX’s “Legion,” The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, Pariah).
Katie spoke to actress Angelic Zambrana, who plays Belinda – Lucy’s (Brittany Snow) sister in “Bushwick”.
Zambrana‘s career picked up with her role in “Precious”, and has since been in a number of action films, alongside stars such as Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum and Emma Roberts.
Angelic is a fan of the action roles, noting that action films, especially those with strong female leads, inspired her to become an actress. This is what attracted her to “Bushwick”, which had a lot of cool action sequences and was right up her alley.
“I remember when we read the script for the final scene,” she says. “Brittany and I just looked at each other and went YES! It was full on girl-power, and we got so excited to get into the action”
Zambrana further commented that it’s so much fun running around with guns, doing stunts and all the training that goes along with it is a whole lot of fun. She notes that acting is her dream, so every day she gets to live her dream is a good one. She doesn’t care about the awards, the trophies – just getting to act as her career is a prize in itself.
So does she have any sneaky secrets about the cast on “Bushwick”. Yes, but nothing juicy. Just an incredibly heartwarming story about how great Dave Bautista is!
“I volunteer every Sunday at a soup kitchen,” Zambrana says. “While we were filming, Dave came with me to help out, and he graciously took pictures with everyone – they were all so happy to see him there! He truly is the most generous person. The best human I’ve ever met, such a beautiful person.”
Given that Zambrana volunteers her time to help the needy, I’d say she also fits into that category. She also comments on how sweet and kind Snow is, and how wonderfully talented she is. Zambrana learnt a lot from her on-set co-stars, and said that time between takes was a lot of fun, and that they all got along famously.
“Bushwick” is big on action, and Zambrana’s character Belinda is quite confident and sassy. Zambrana notes that at the end of the day, it doesn’t take much for her to ‘switch off’, commenting she’s not about to do anything crazy, and will just have a big drink of water and have some fun. She says the key to separating work and pleasure is to wake up every day with a smile, and be grateful for the opportunities she’s been given.
In relation to her other roles, working with big stars such as The Rock have allowed Zambrana to pick their brains, and learn a lot about life as an actor.
“75 percent of training is done on set,” she says. “So you have a lot of time to train with them, but also just hang out on set.”
Her advice to up-and-coming actors? Ask as many questions as you can, and learn how to take direction, particularly from the director – be open to pretty much anything. No matter what characters she’s given, Zambrana gives her characters all she can. Whether it’s comedy or action, she’ll make them real and give them all she’s got.
In the future, Zambrana would love to do science fiction, and is super excited about her upcoming role in “Big Dogs”, a crime TV series that’s set in an alternate reality in New York City, during a financial crisis. It has a largely ‘disturbian feel’, with race riots and a surging crime wave taking over the city. Also on her books is a short film, a horror, and looks forward to the opportunities that will no doubt arise from “Bushwick” when it’s released this week.
To wrap it up, let’s talk inspirations – who inspires Zambrana?
“Mum and Dad because they’re good people, inspire me to be a good actor and a good person”
Well isn’t that sweet!
“Bushwick” is out NOW on VOD and in select theatres. Check out the trailer below.
