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Manuela Viale knew from a young age that she wanted to be an actress. and that’s what he started preparing for right out of high school. But at the age of 15, she was presented with the opportunity to work as a model and she didn’t miss the opportunity. Since then, she has followed her own path with perseverance and great enthusiasm, sometimes fighting against prejudices, because she is also the sister of Juana and Nacho Viale.
THE NATION He spoke to the 34-year-old actress because she has an important premiere on January 8th: the romantic comedy is coming to theaters Back to 17. During the conversation, he talked about his relationship with Mirtha Legrand, the grandmother of his siblings, and also referred to the grief he went through after separating from Federico Freire last March.
-How did you come up with the suggestion? Back to 17?
-I started working with Sebastián Badilla when he visited me at the theater Wasabi. Even though he didn’t know me, he thought I would be good for Martina’s character in his film Like we were just friends. The relationship with him began there and a bond of symbiosis and brotherhood was created. We enjoy working together because we look at and understand each other. It’s always a pleasure to work with him. We made this film very well and now we are releasing it Back to 17. It’s also a romantic comedy and it’s also good because you connect with your inner child.
-At a time when there is little filming in our country, it is a privilege to release a film…
-The truth is, yes, everything flowed. Gonzalo Badilla is directing and I suggested Caro Domenech, who the Badillas didn’t know. And that’s a good thing, because we’re a very fun trio. It is a romantic comedy that tells the story of Pipe Ortíz (Sebastián Badilla), a loser who has spent his entire life regretting not trying to win over the girl of his dreams, Amalia Braun (my character), years ago in high school. Because of these strokes of fate, Pipe and Amalia meet in therapy and she confesses that she was secretly in love with him, but she also did nothing to make this love story a reality.
-So…?
-Then he has a big wish: to go back to 17 and get a second chance with Amalia. This wish is heard by Delfina Pacheco (Caro Domenech), a lost soul in a coma who seeks to fulfill the wish of the most lost man in Argentina in order to gain a new chance to live on.
-You could say that it is a story that often happens in youth…
-I think so. Because as a teenager you like a boy, but you’re embarrassed, you don’t dare… It seems to me that it has a funny twist and a little bigger production than what it was Like we were just friendsand you can see the difference. The film is great and made with a lot of love.
– Did you go back at 17 to appeal to the emotional memory that actors use when they have to create characters?
-I don’t use much emotional memory. It doesn’t work that way for me, but it was good to go back to school because we used school locations and uniforms… It was really nice. I finished school more than 10 years ago, so putting myself in the role of a 17-year-old girl was pretty crazy.
-Was it filmed at the school where you studied?
-No, I tried because it would have been very emotional for me, but it was in progress and couldn’t be done.
-You’ve filmed a lot in the last few years…
-I’m just starting to film and I’m really enjoying it. I feel like I’m starting to take off. And honestly, there’s a lot of self-management at this point in my life. That’s how we film too Immediatelywith Pablo Yotich, Alejandro Fiore and Magui Bravi. We have to be brave and try to figure out where we can get the money to film. In Immediately We actors don’t earn a single peso, so you also have to be clear about the extent to which you can do it for the love of art.
-Do you have any projects for 2026?
-I’m rehearsing a holiday-themed play at the Microtheater in February. I went to the micro theater in September and the experience was very good. And I continue with the streaming program in La Casacircuit closed. We are finished now and will start again in February next year. It’s what gives us a little visibility on a daily basis. And above all, stability.
-Is it difficult today for a young actress to forge her own path in this medium? Before there were more national film productions and more feature films on television.
-I feel like it was always a little difficult because there were more fictions, but they always chose the same actors. Nowadays the younger generations are into streaming and little by little they are trying to find their way. I think there is a place for everyone and you have to try new things. I try not to compete because we are all artists and it’s good to enjoy each other’s work.
-You haven’t had a chance to work with any of your brothers yet. Would you like that or not?
-I would like to work with my brothers. It hasn’t happened at the moment, but I hope that one day we will complete a project together. I think if that happens, it needs to be done sincerely and not in a forced way. It would be a nice challenge.
-What do you like to share with your family?
-We are a normal family, like any other. We are brothers from the same father. From time to time we get together for a barbecue and talk about life like everyone else. My father knew how to raise us together and we all have a good bond with him.
-And how do you get along with Mirtha Legrand?
-I have the best with her because she is my brothers’ grandmother and because I grew up with her and respect her as a professional because her resilience and her career are admirable.
-Have you always been lucky enough to work on what you are passionate about?
-At the moment I’m doing well with streaming, films and micro-theater. I’m not complaining. I live just enough, yes, but I don’t get stressed. I have been working since I left school. I worked as a model from a young age and worked as a kindergarten teacher for two years after I graduated. Then I had the opportunity to work in a strip and I continued.
-This year you separated from Federico Freire, how are you?
-I prefer not to talk much about the topic. I broke up and today I’m fine. That’s it, it’s over and I’m better. It was a pretty difficult situation for me, but we have to keep going.
-Did you ever say it was like that? Your best friend And when they fell in love, they were afraid of destroying that bond. Are they still friends?
– Very little time has passed, I broke up this year, so we are still in a grieving process that requires a lot of learning. From me and also from you. Luckily we are both very healthy and didn’t hurt each other, there was no third party or anything like that. We don’t argue either.
-And what tools do you use in this grieving process?
-To my friends, my family and also to myself, because I am a very hardworking person, I do therapy, I do a lot of inner work, I listen to myself. And I am with myself a lot, I stay in my feelings.
– Do you do alternative or traditional therapy?
-Everything (laughs). It is part of self-knowledge.
-And when you’re at home, what do you like to do?
-I really like nature, butterflies and my dogs. I live in a complex and have a terrace with host plants where the butterflies come to lay eggs and the caterpillars are born there, which I then help so that the wasps don’t eat them. And finally, when the butterflies are born, I release them… It’s very important for me to connect with nature, otherwise I’ll go crazy.
-You ever said that you have epilepsy, how are you?
-Well then; It is controlled. I started missing school at the age of 13, and I didn’t realize it at first. We consulted a neurologist who ran several tests on me and I started taking medication. I couldn’t drink alcohol and didn’t drink, but as a teenager I didn’t pay attention to it and at 17 I had my first seizure. After that I no longer had any seizures and lead a completely normal life.
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