María Galiana opens up in 'La Noche de Aimar' about her success in 'Cuéntame': "I would have liked to play other roles"

María Galiana has opened up during her appearance on La Noche de Aimar, where she reviewed her extensive professional career and the weight of her iconic role as grandmother Herminia in Cuéntame cómo pasó. The actress humorously acknowledged the enormous popularity the series brought her, although she also admitted that this same exposure conditioned her career.

“Several things. First, impressive fame,” she explained when asked about what the fiction meant in her life. However, from there, Galiana offered a more personal reflection on the consequences of her long run in the TVE series.

The actress lamented having been typecast for years in that register: “I would have liked to play other roles too, besides, I always say it. Those wonderful theater roles for older women that exist, I would have loved to do them. Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, The Madwoman of Chaillot...” she confessed, alluding to the opportunities that, according to her, she stopped receiving in the theatrical field. “It seems to me that the theater producers who saw me on television didn't think I was a serious actress with dramatic capacity, because of course, since I was so good,” she stated in relation to her role as Herminia.

Galiana explained that this well-established image as the “grandmother of Spain” ended up conditioning part of her career, since, as she pointed out, some producers couldn't see her outside of that register. That perception, she added, made her feel that her versatility as an actress was not always recognized.

“Since I was such a lovable grandmother, people still think I'm like that…” the actress commented, before Aimar Bretos reacted with surprise to the statement. The actress then clarified the contrast between her personal life and the character she played for years in Cuéntame cómo pasó: “I am very dry, not at all affectionate,” she affirmed, making clear the distance between her character and the public image associated with Herminia.