Eiza Gonzalez on breaking stereotypes in Hollywood: I lead with idea I'll never be the first choice

New Delhi: As someone who comes from a minority community, "3 Body Problem" star Eiza Gonzalez says she leads with the idea that she may not always be the first choice for a role in Hollywood and that has led her to pursue an unconventional path.

The Mexican actor, who broke out with her role as Monica "Darling" Castello in Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" (2017), said her approach of always thinking out of the box has made her a better actor.

"I always lead with the idea that I'm never going to be the first choice. I already know that because I'm just a minority... I'm never going to be organically the first choice. So I always try to go outside the box and think, 'okay, how can I show this director that I can do this?' "And I like that approach. It actually has made me a better actress. I like it that I've not had it that easy because it's forced me into thinking and working harder on myself," Gonzalez, 34, told PTI in an interview.

Since "Baby Driver", the actor has been part of hits like James Cameron-produced "Alita: Battle Angel", "Fast & Furious" spin-off "Hobbs & Shaw", Vin Diesel-starrer "Bloodshot", "I Care A Lot", in which she played partner-in-crime of Rosamund Pike, and Michael Bay's "Ambulance".

Her filmography so far has a "bit of everything", Gonzalez said, adding that it is a deliberate choice to steer away from stereotypical characters, even though she still enjoys having an occasional departure for fun.

"I don't think you have to be confined to your ethnicity, looks or what people think of you. You just have to not let that faze you. As an actor, you have to have fun. There's a world where you can be an action hero and then go and do a little cameo in 'Mr & Mrs Smith' and be this stereotypical hot girl," she said.

Recalling her initial years in Hollywood, the actor said she was looking for roles that would help her "be seen".

"At the beginning of your career, you're at the mercy of what gets offered to you, and you're just hoping that you get an opportunity to be seen. And then, I got to a place in my career where I felt quite confident in who I was as an actress." "3 Body Problem", Gonzalez's latest project on Netflix, is a big-budget sci-fi series, created by "Game of Thrones" duo David Benioff and DB Weiss, and Alexander Woo.

The show, which started streaming on March 21, comes out at a "great time", said Gonzalez. She will follow it with Guy Ritchie's World War II spy action comedy "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare".  "It couldn't be more opposite. In one, I'm playing a scientist, and in the other, I'm playing a World War II spy. It's sort of letting the audience know that, 'Hey, I can be this, but also this and that," she added.

"3 Body Problem" is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin's bestselling sci-fi novel series of the same name.  The story begins with a young scientist's decision to contact an alien civilisation during 1960s China, a moment that echoes across space and time. And many years later, a group of scientists came together to tackle humanity's greatest threat.

Gonzalez essays the role of Augustina "Auggie" Salazar, a nanotech trailblazer.

When Weiss, Benioff and Woo approached her for the part, the actor said she was reluctant as a series like this demands a long-term commitment, which felt like a huge responsibility.

"To me, this one was daunting in the moment that I was in my career. I was scared of compromising. We filmed for almost a year. And that's a long time for a TV show," she said.

Gonzalez recalled how she had almost missed out on "Baby Driver" due to her involvement in an earlier TV show.

"It's challenging, as a woman and minority, to get opportunities. And I felt like I was in a certain place. I had only done one TV show in the last 10 years and I was scared because I did lose a lot of projects while doing that. And I almost lost 'Baby Driver', so it was daunting." But the show creators were very keen to hire her and they sent her the scripts of all the eight episodes. After reading the first episode, Gonzalez said she realised that it was too big an opportunity to miss out on.

"I was like, 'What am I doing?' I am so lucky that they've given me the chance to read this and not moved on from me. And then I kind of came around and begged them to cast me.

"I was like, 'Please, please, I'm sorry. I'm such a knucklehead.' And so that was kind of the process. I was cast pretty early on, and I saw this whole process of trying to find the entire cast, which was really exciting," she said.

Gonzalez said the trio of Benioff, Weiss and Woo have done a tremendous with the screen adaptation of Cixin's trilogy, which is considered unfilmable due to its dense plot that spans centuries.

"Benioff, Weiss and Woo had the knowledge of feeding into the audience the right amount of information that you feel sort of part of the plan, but also it doesn't make you feel dumb.

"They have done such a beautiful job in adapting. Our directors also, did such a good job in the way that they broke down and directed the episodes," the actor said.

"3 Body Problem" also features Sea Shimooka, Benedict Wong, Tsai Chin, John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, Jess Hong and Jovan Adepo.