Justina Machado Reflects On Swapped, Matlock, and Her Full Circle Moment With Real Women Have Curves
“You’re stronger together.” For Justina Machado, that message sits at the heart of her new animated film Swapped. When a small woodland creature and a majestic bird, natural enemies in The Valley, accidentally swap bodies after coming across a magical plant, they set off on an adventure to save their community. Speaking with Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado, Machado reflects on the film’s themes, Matlock, One Day At A Time, and the full circle moment that brought her back to Real Women Have Curves decades later
Machado voices Calli, who is the mother of Ollie and a Pookoo through and through. These otter-like creatures are known for being afraid of everyone and everything, but learn how to step up when it really matters. “More empathy, more compassion, putting yourself in other people's shoes. You're stronger together,” said Machado about the core of the film. “Taking care of each other, taking care of the earth.”
Like many animated projects, Machado recorded Swapped on her own, requiring her to rely on the creative team to shape her performance. Although, she did get to meet her son, played by Michael B. Jordan and Camden Brooks, at the premiere. “It was incredibly great to meet both Ollie’s,” she told me. “I didn't even have anybody's voice, so it would really be the director leading me in. I think maybe once or twice they had recorded Cedric [The Entertainer]. It's a process where you go in by yourself into the booth and you just trust the creative team that they know exactly what they want. They just have you do it in lots of different kinds of ways so that they have all those options when they're cutting it together.”
If given a chance to swap lives herself, Machado’s answer is deeply personal: her grandmother. “She's no longer with us, but it would be interesting to see what it was like [for] her growing up,” she said. “A day in the life of my grandmother as a young girl. I'd really like that.”
Beyond Swapped, Machado also played a key role in the season 2 finale of Matlock. “I've worked with Jennie [Snyder Urman] before [on] Jane the Virgin. It's always nice to work again with somebody that you just adore. It was incredible to [play Eva]. I loved her and also the twist at the end. I didn't even know that was happening. When I got the script and saw that, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I love this.’ So complicated, so nuanced,” she explained. “She said things that made sense, but still didn't do the right thing, but you could see why. It was such a great set to work on. Skye [P. Marshall] is amazing. Kathy [Bates] I've worked with before on Six Feet Under. All of them. Beau [Bridges], Jason [Ritter], it's a dream job. Really a dream job.”
As she reflects on her career, Machado still carries lessons from One Day At A Time, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2027. “One of the things that [showrunner] Gloria Calderón Kelllet always said was ‘This is a love fest,’” Machado recalled. “It was always about love. It was always about positivity. [There was] no cynicism on that set, which is very, very bizarre because there's a lot of cynicism. I think her attitude of bringing that kind of joy and that kind of no drama is really something that I cherish and I try to take into every workplace.”
Real Women Have Curves has becoming a defining piece of Latino media. Long before America Ferrera made her acting debut in the film adaptation, Machado originated the role of Ana in the 1987 stage production. Nearly four decades later, she returned to the story as Ana’s mother Carmen in the Broadway musical. “First it was a play, then it was a film, and then it was a musical. What a trip to be a part of something that you didn't even know you were going to be a part of again,” she shared. “When I did the play, it was the world premiere of the play and it was in Chicago at [the Victory Gardens Theatre]. I was 19 or 20 years old. I remember Josephina López […] wasn't that much older than me. [She] came into my dressing room of a play that she'd seen me doing in Chicago and said, ‘I need you to play me’ and I was like, ‘Okay.’ It was that easy.”
“[Now] I'm playing the mom. It's a whole re-imagined situation. It's really, really surreal. I originated that role and then I originated the mother role,” she said about her Tony Award nominated performance. “It's a wow moment for me.”
Swapped is streaming now on Netflix.
