Krysta Rodriguez
If there’s one thing that Krysta Rodriguez isn’t, it’s shy. Or lazy or one-dimensional. The list goes on. When she’s not busy nailing her role of Ms. Crumble/The Witch on Netflix’s Daybreak, or working on her ChemoCouture blog about her victory over breast cancer, she’s singing the freakin’ national anthem at Metlife Stadium before a NY Giants game. Bare was thrilled to spend a little time with this multi-talented beauty, so that we could learn more about this lovely human being.
Bare: You've been performing since you were a teenager. What advice or words of wisdom would you give young up-and-coming talent?
Krysta Rodriguez: It’s such a hard question because it opens up all this philosophical and emotional knowledge I have learned and want to share but, really, young people are just wanting concrete steps. I know I did. But it just doesn’t work that way. I think it may be more effective to say which things they already know will still be important later on. You can never give up, the bullshit will never matter as much doing the good, hard work, and our foremost job is telling a story. There’s no room for cute in acting. You’ve always got to be willing to get dirty.
Bare: What was the toughest challenge during your battle with breast cancer and how did it change you?
KR: I think the toughest thing is how much your body changes so quickly. You just can’t stop it. And not just the physical appearance, which is a big one. But the internal workings, the mental health, all that goes too.
It’s hard to know what will be temporary and what will return. I think going through all of that ignited something fierce in me. There were some guts in there I didn’t know I had. And it very quickly turned me into a woman with a lot of complexity that I’m enjoying embracing and drawing on in my work.
Bare: What qualities make your closest friends or loved ones so perfect for you, and you for them?
KR: I think I have a good mix of friends who compliment me and ones who contradict me. I’m not super organized and I fly by the seat of my pants a lot of the time. The people perfect for me will either be ones who ground me and focus me, or they will be ones who would also throw a ballgown in a suitcase and meet me at the airport with 24 hours notice (this has actually happened!). Everyone I surround myself with is passionate about their work, that’s a prerequisite. And I don’t do well with picky eaters.
Bare: What are a few of your daily bare essentials?
KR: If I had a razor and some concealer I could go anywhere and do anything. And dry shampoo. Did we ever really exist before dry shampoo?
Bare: Can you share any thoughts or dreams for 2020?
KR: Personally, I would like to keep traveling. I want to go to Australia because it would be my last continent! Work wise, I’m hoping to really expand my projects past what I normally have in my immediate reach. I’ve started to produce, I want to develop work, see things in my mind come to life. My goal for every year is to make it look and feel completely different than the year before.
Founder & Editor in Chief - The Bare Magazine
