Najwa Nimri, born in Pamplona in 1972, leaves a lasting impression with a magnetic, unsettling presence. She became unforgettable as Zulema in Vis a Vis and as inspector Sierra in La casa de papel. In the latest project, she embodies the paranoid Haruka in season two. The show Sagrada Familia, prepared by Netflix, is streaming its second season while HBO Max’s premiere of 30 coins unfolds on the other side of the world. The conversation brings Nimri together with Manolo Caro, the Mexican-born director and creator of singular worlds like The House of Flowers and Someone Has to Die.
The first season felt controlled, even as chaos simmered beneath the surface. This season accelerates the action. Should the pace have been slower?
MC: The plan was to see the entire arc as a single piece. It’s not exactly the version I pictured for the series as a whole. It feels like a third act where everything must converge. The momentum pulls the characters into a dizzying state where they must save one another and fight to stay alive.
The supporting players join the momentum as well.
MC: They were invited to match the rhythm and the stories, not to start a fresh arc. The aim was to uncover the Saints’ secret and the incident surrounding it.
Meanwhile, confinement lingers as a core feeling even as the controlling mother’s children become more exposed.
MC: The project’s DNA, the characters’ internal lives, and the past floating in the air push everyone into a microcosm where it feels like danger could strike at any moment. The sense of drowning becomes real as tension loops around the ensemble.
Najwa, Gloria, Julia, and the family dynamics come together in a rugged, undeniable way. The mother treats her children like a yo-yo—letting them go for a while, then pulling them back in to keep them close again.
NN: The core ethos centers on need—an urgent mode of communication shaped by emotional pressure that serves a paranoid mind. The character is unique and striking, in large part because of the intense scenes that demand a certain sweetness that’s hard to resist. The ending Manolo prepared makes sense in retrospect.
It’s tremendous, by the way.
NN: The journey involved a lighter touch with the character at times and a stronger focus on how the role serves the broader story. The narrative flits between color, structure, and dialogue, shifting from melodrama to thriller. Seen in a straightforward light it would be clear, but the piece also holds together in a surprising and almost magical way—a beautiful disaster.
“In Sagrada Familia, everything comes together in a most interesting and magical way”
Najwa Nimri
Protagonist of Sagrada Familia (Netflix)
She describes Gloria and Julia as warmly human, a kind of teddy bear. Is that why her wardrobe leans toward warm fabrics and pastel tones, or is it deliberate?
NN: There is nothing ordinary here. The character is a round, brutalist figure in a world that feels like Paris, Texas. The wardrobe began with textures and curved lines, making her feel huggable rather than edged.
In the background, Madrid’s brutalist architecture and homes tailored to the owner’s personality play a crucial role.
MC: The production design and art direction were a passion project. Furniture, color, and textures shaped the mood. The concrete backdrop behind Gloria created a striking composition that resonated with the performance.
Gloria’s allure is so powerful that viewers sometimes empathize despite her flaws. What was the line like when building that relationship?
NN: Judgment isn’t the aim. The portrayal demanded a deep dive into her needs and a controversial psychology that explains her appeal. It required effort to justify the character’s choices and to depict her ordeal with a certain beauty. Even the physical acts required a careful balance between tension and grace.
That moment when the family world unfolds in a pre-mobile era—when cabins and doors defined a landscape where communication mattered more than messages on screens.
MC: The reliance on closed spaces and simple architectures became essential to the storytelling. It would be harder to tell this story today because the immediacy of digital messages changes the tension. The Holy Family was designed to unfold with limited means, so the stand-ins and the set pieces could carry the narrative forward as characters moved on the road.
“Technologies have shaped fiction in surprising ways, turning dialogue and action into new kinds of tension.”
Director of Sagrada Familia, the Netflix project
As neighbors frequently knock for help, Gloria ends up acting as a mother to many, a central figure everyone turns to.
MC: Yes, someone is always at the door, sometimes in a respectful, sometimes in a provocative way.
NN: A display, a carefully managed performance, like a peacock. The defense of warmth and beauty is part of her persona, aided by makeup and staging. It’s compelling to watch and hard to escape.
NN: Not every role moves like this, but this one did. I’ve played characters at times that were off-putting, but this one achieves a rare balance.
The story unfolds in a world without smartphones, with cabins and doors that defined a very different era.
MC: The absence of instant communication forced a different tempo. The series needed space for the characters to breathe and react to one another, rather than reacting to a constant stream of messages. The Holy Family captured that time perfectly, using physical stands to let the characters collide and drive the plot forward.