Amaia Salamanca

The accidental casting call coincidence

Amaia Salamanca never planned to become an actress when she went along with a friend to an audition in 2006. That morning they were casting new faces for a teen series titled SMS, sin miedo a soñar, and she walked out with a contract in hand. It was a rushed debut that forced her to learn the craft on the fly in front of the cameras at La Sexta.

And she got the role.

In 2008, Spanish television was shaken by ratings surges with the premiere of Sin tetas no hay paraíso. Salamanca played Catalina, a character who pulled her out of the teen niche and made her a familiar face in homes across the country. But the media pressure of those years was so intense that the actress had to handle a level of fame that few of her generation managed with the same calm.

The era's retreat and wardrobe

The industry decided her profile fit best in big-budget period productions. In 2011, she joined the cast of Gran Hotel to bring Alicia Alarcón to life over three consecutive seasons. It was a demanding shoot at the Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander that cemented her status in quality Spanish television drama.

Because the pace of television left no room for mistakes.

In 2014, she joined Velvet to play Bárbara de Senillosa, delivering a sharper, more cynical register than in her previous work. The writers saw that it worked well with morally gray characters. So she returned to the format with Tiempos de guerra in 2017, where she stepped into the shoes of a nurse during the Annual disaster.

But film took a while to match the impact of the small screen.

Calculated risks and her own production company

In 2009, she starred in Fuga de cerebros, and the film grossed nearly seven million euros at the Spanish box office. It was one of the year's biggest commercial hits. Despite those numbers, it took her some time to find projects that moved away from pure romantic comedies or fast-consumption commercial cinema.

Before shooting ¿Qué te juegas? in 2019, the actress began showing interest in the processes behind the camera. In 2022 she took part in the international adaptation of La piel del tambor, based on the novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It was a co-production between Spain, Colombia and Italy, shot originally in English to make distribution in foreign markets easier.

Her bet on a change of pace paid off in a big way.

In 2024, she joined the cast of Muertos S.L., a comedy for Movistar Plus+ set in a funeral home. The series was shot in Madrid under the direction of the Caballero brothers, with a production plan of eight 30-minute episodes per season.