Pedro Alonso Talks About The Tension That Comes With Playing A Beloved Villain

Netflix’s La Casa De Papel (Money Heist) became an unexpected success and made supporting actor Pedro Alonso a global star. He talks about the tension that comes with playing a beloved villain, and why he paints

- Jonathan Ho

WHEN LA CASA DE PAPEL (English name: Money Heist) first aired on Spanish network Antena 3 in 2017, viewership figures were lower than expected by network executives. By 2019, writer Javier Gómez Santander had regarded the series’ run on Antena 3 as an utter failure. But then Netflix acquired exclusive global streaming rights for the series, re-cutting it into 22 episodes of 50 minutes each. And it became the most-watched non-English language series on Netflix, much to the surprise of its creators.

Diego Ávalos, director of original content for Netflix in Europe, noted that the series was atypical in being watched across many different profile groups. Add to that, narratively, the plot-twists and drama of the show complement the binge-watching habits of Netflix subscribers. Ironically, people in Spain would discover the series on Netflix, unaware of its original run on their own Antena 3 broadcast.

Driven by an ingenious plot, engaging characters and tense stand-offs, it would be easy to mistake the geek-chic enigmatic Salvador “Professor” Martín, or the seductive femme fatale Silene “Tokyo” Oliveira as the series’ main draws, but it was the borderline psychopathic Andrés “Berlin” de Fonollosa who stole the show.