Adventure, love, social class differences These are just some of the elements that will be part of ‘Vampire Academy’, the new horror and fantasy television series based on the successful and very popular series of novels of the same name and written by the author Richelle Mead.situated in the whole context of Romanian and Russian vampirism.
The series was produced by Universal Television and adapted by Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre, and has finally arrived on the LIONSGATE+ platform. Thus, throughout its chapters, we will know the world of Lissa Dragomir, a ‘Moroi’ princess, while encountering adventures and mysteries within the educational institution he attends, St. Vladimir’s Academy, a boarding school.
Lissa won’t have the easy road; her history and position leave her at a crossroads. And of course, since Dracula and Lestat de Lioncourt we have had aristocratic vampires in trouble, but in the world of ‘Vampire Academy’ there is a whole fragile universe that depends on its protagonists to be able to stay in balance. Not counting, of course, everything that a teenager can go through.
PUBLIMETRO had the opportunity to chat exclusively with one of the protagonists of this project, Daniela Nieves, who in addition to being a proud Latina representing this important leading role in the production, told us about her love and connection to the character, to the story and some details of what Lissa will have to live inside the boarding school.
5 questions to Daniela Nieves
Tell us a bit about your character and how you developed it.
It was a super special experience, I was in Spain living for 8 months in huge castles, and playing the role of a princess who goes through very hard things, and beautiful moments, at the same time. Lissa is a princess who became like this thanks to a terrible accident where she was orphaned, and from then on, it’s great to be able to play a role that has nuances and complexities. Also, she has political responsibilities for being a princess, she is falling in love and trying to find who she is and her purpose.
When the proposal to be part of the series came to you, did you know the literature on which ‘Vampire Academy’ is based or did you soak up it when you joined the cast?
I had no idea books existed! I never heard of them or the movie itself. I liked the scenes that were presented to me, I imagined the world and I liked the idea. When I found out the whole story behind it, I bought all the books and that gave me a better understanding of this world and its rules and specifications in this vampire society.
How is this vampire world different from those we’ve seen in other franchises?
For that I had to read the book. The essence of the character, their relationships and how this world works, their races, because there are rivalries that are portrayed there, gives you a very different world from that seen in other movies or series.
How did you connect with the story and all its ramifications?
When you read a book or a script, you already have an idea of the story that awaits you, and the production is already in charge of painting the world of these characters that you can feel. In this way, the experience was super special and adds an extra layer to my performance as an actress. I walked inside the castles to create those memories that perhaps are not written, but that serve to connect with the scenes that you must interpret and give more life to who you are characterizing.
What do you take away from this character for your life?
Lisa is like the person I want to be. He’s such a good person and has such a big heart, and even though he goes through so much despite being privileged, he somehow has the intelligence to overcome those adversities. Those are the values that I rescued from the character and now it’s like having a friend with me.
Likewise, for mine I give whatever it takes, and I share that with Lisa; I understood a lot about her and it reflects several things about her in me to make her someone unique.
‘Vampire Academy’: the story of a young heroine in a gothic enchanted world