Isaac Hernández on Bringing Ballet to Berlin With ‘Dreams,’ Steamy Scenes With Jessica Chastain and the Film’s Timely Message: ‘Immigrants Are Complex Human Beings’
When Isaac Hernández was cast in Michel Franco’s upcoming drama “Dreams” alongside Jessica Chastain, he immediately felt the weight of the story on his shoulders.
Premiering at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday, “Dreams” follows Fernando, a young Mexican ballet dancer who crosses the border into the U.S. — leaving everything he knows behind and narrowly escaping death — in order to be with Jennifer, a wealthy philanthropist. He believes she will support him as he pursues his ambitions, but his arrival disrupts Jennifer’s world, putting their future in question.
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“I felt a huge responsibility to do justice to a story like this,” Hernández tells Variety over Zoom from New York City. “I felt quite honored, to be honest, that Michel thought I could do it.”
Franco — the Mexican auteur who collaborated with Chastain on 2023’s “Memory” — first met the dancer-turned-actor when he was invited by Hernández’s sister, Emilia, to watch him dance at a festival the siblings organized in their home country. At the afterparty, Franco pitched Hernández the project and offered to send him a draft of the script in a few months.
“He kind of gave me the outline of the story,” Hernández says. “I found it daring and interesting, to say the least, so I said, ‘Of course, send it to me.'”
A dancer since he was 8 years old, Hernández has been part of the San Francisco, English and Dutch ballet companies and is now one of American Ballet Theater’s principals, making him the first Mexican dancer to achieve the feat. In the last few years, he’s started to explore acting, having starred in Carlos Saura’s final film “The King of All the World” (2021) and Manolo Caro’s Netflix series “Someone Has to Die” (2020). His role in “Dreams” marks his film festival debut, and his devastating performance is sure to lead to many acting opportunities to come.
Below, Hernández discusses working with Franco, filming steamy scenes with Chastain and the film’s urgent message.
Was Fernando always a ballet dancer, or did that change after you met Franco?
I think he knew that he wanted it to be an artist, and then after that conversation … once he went away with my answer and my intention of participating, then he shaped the character as a dancer. And once I knew that was in the movie, then I immediately went to the ballet studio to perfect my technique and make sure I would be up for the role.
What drew you to Fernando and to this story? How did you relate to him?
It was a very emotional experience because it’s a difficult story. Initially, I was quite nervous and scared when I was trying to picture myself in these situations. And so for me, it was really important to find ways I could relate to the character to help me understand a little bit more of his experience.
I have been traveling all over the world since 8 years old — I’ve lived in Holland and London and all these places, so I have always been an immigrant. I am an immigrant right now, in a way. And I’ve been very fortunate to have a career that has allowed me to do that in a very special way. But I wanted to make sure that I could immerse myself into these stories. And sadly enough, you open a newspaper and it’s filled with these stories. I felt like it was really important for me to try to understand what sort of hopelessness someone might feel that motivates them to risk so much, literally their life, for these opportunities.
You star alongside Jessica Chastain. What was it like working with her?
It was terrifying, in a sense, when I found out that the movie was to be with her. We met maybe a day before we started shooting, and for me, it was really reassuring. She was incredibly kind and open and we talked about our families — I have a 3-year-old son — and we related in different ways. And funnily enough, from then on we hardly spoke for the duration of the film. I think it was that sense I had that I didn’t want to mess it up, I really wanted to keep the role going as we were building it.
It was amazing to see her artistic commitment to every scene and her artistry and craft, it’s unbelievable. And the relationship that she has developed with Michel is incredible to witness on set because they really trust each other. But as I said, when I made the movie I almost knew nothing about her, and it was interesting because then I moved to New York a few months ago and we developed a friendship. She’s really amazing and I’m really glad I got to meet her through the film. But at the same time, I’m glad we worked in the way we did because it gave me a little bit of confidence to be able to finish such a complicated story.
You two share some steamy scenes. How did you go about filming those?
I remember the first day we were going to have one of these scenes, we [said] we wanted to make sure that we would not do anything that would not provide an essential part of the story. So we were not looking to do anything just because, and I think that was really important for everyone involved.
I remember the first conversation Michel, Jessica and I had together about it when we started choreographing and trying to think, “What are we trying to say with this scene? What does this scene mean for each of the characters and the wider story?” I went into the room with them and I said, “OK, I need to know, what are the rules?” Because it was the first time I was doing a scene like that. And luckily [we had] a really comfortable and open conversation and we spent time rehearsing and setting up the cameras. It felt really amazing to be able to feel supported and in a safe place where we could all give our thoughts on these scenes.
This story is hugely relevant right now with Trump’s immigration policies in the U.S. How do you hope this could change people’s perception of immigrants, especially those who are undocumented?
I think it’s really important nowadays to realize that this is something that is not happening in isolation. This is happening all around the world, and immigration has been an essential part of our development as a society. It’s hugely important to remember that immigrants are complex human beings that have amazing qualities and have missteps. I feel like when we are aware of that, we are united in our humanity.
What’s next for you? Are you looking to do more acting?
I’m incredibly excited about the future, which is something really positive to feel at 34. I’m in the best city in the world right now. I have my debut on the 13th of June at the Metropolitan Opera House with “Swan Lake,” that’s something I’ve been dreaming of living for so long. I also have a production company in Mexico where we do live events, we produce the biggest dance show in Latin America and we are bringing it to New York.
I feel like if I get stories that are interesting and thought-provoking like this one, I’ll find it very hard to say no. But I’m always open to challenging myself. I think that’s the biggest thing about myself that I’ve accepted now — I’m very afraid to feel settled and I thrive under these huge challenges and pressures.
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