Laia Manzanares Tomàs (born 30 March 1994) is a Spanish actress best known for her role as the cheerleader and love interest in Tame Impala's 2015 music video for "The Less I Know the Better", which became a sleeper hit and cult classic in the late 2010s. She is also known for playing the role of Ukrainian student Oksana Casanoves in the Spanish television series Merlí.
Laia Manzanares | |
|---|---|
 Manzanares for Naturgy in 2017 | |
| Born | Laia Manzanares Tomàs 30 March 1994[1] Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Occupation | Actress |
Early life
editLaia Manzanares Tomàs was born in 1994, to a Valencian father and Catalan mother.[2] She was educated at the Institut Públic XXV Olimpiada high school and the Col·legi de Teatre, for two years, in Barcelona.[3]
Manzanares was inspired to act professionally after watching Uma Thurman as Beatrix "The Bride" Kiddo in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1 and being impressed by the character's strength of personality.[4] Hoping to inspire others in the same way, Manzanares expressed her hope to work with high school or elementary school students to help instill self confidence in young people going through the "most vulnerable" periods in their lives.[4] Between castings she worked as a waitress and had she not become an actress she would have studied psychology.[4]
Career
editIn the music video for "The Less I Know the Better", the surrealist Tame Impala music video, she is a cheerleader and the lover of a high school basketball player who is seduced by the gorilla mascot "Trevor".[5]
In television roles she has appeared in series such as Merlí, Cites, El día de mañana, Ray, and Matar al Padre.[6] In theatre roles, she has portrayed Amanda Todd (a Canadian teen who committed suicide due to cyberbullying and revenge pornography) in a dramatization called Amanda T. for TNC's youth theatre.[2][7]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Waste | Alejo Levis and Laura Sisteró | Short film | |
| 2017 | Sol creixent | Laia | Guillem Manzanares | Short film |
| 2018 | Proyecto tiempo | Eva | Isabel Coixet | Film for Naturgy |
| 2019 | La Tierra llamando a Ana | Ana | Fernando Bonelli | Short film with 43 award wins[8] |
| 2021 | Alegría | Yael | Violeta Salama | [9] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Cites | Laia Farràs | 1 episode |
| 2016–2018 | Merlí | Oksana Casanoves | 27 episodes |
| 2018 | Matar al padre | Ruth | 1 episode |
| 2018 | El día de mañana | Party guest (uncredited) | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Vilafranca | Eva | Television film |
| 2019 | Estoy vivo | Carlota | Limited series |
| 2019 | Hache | Sisilia | Netflix series |
| 2022 | La noche más larga | Sara | Netflix series |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Malnascuts | Txiki Blasi | Sala Beckett | |
| 2014 | Esquerdes | Txiki Blasi | Nau Ivanow | |
| 2016–2017 | Odisseus | Quimet Pla y Oriol Pla | Sala Beckett | |
| 2018 | Temps salvatge | Ivana | Josep Maria Miró | Teatre Nacional de Catalunya |
| 2019 | Amanda T | Amanda Todd | Àlex Mañas | Teatre Nacional de Catalunya |
Awards
editFugaz Awards
edit| Year | Category | Short film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Best Actress | La Tierra llamando a Ana | Won |
| Year | Category | Short film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Best Actress | La Tierra llamando a Ana | Won |
References
edit- ^ Sensacine: Laia Manzanares
- ^ a b "Laia Manzanares: "Oksana ha llegado a 'Merlí' dispuesta a dar caña"". El Periodico (in Spanish). 10 October 2016.
- ^ "Laia Manzanares, en 'su' jardín: Montjuïc". El Periodico (in Spanish). 9 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "LAIA MANZANARES: "Me siento un poco en deuda con el arte, pero de buen rollo"". Vanidad (in Spanish). 13 December 2019.
- ^
- Mendoza, Lalo (27 June 2016). "Descubre quién es Laia Manzanares a través de imágenes eróticas". Mr Indie (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- "Tame Impala – "The Less I Know The Better" Video". Stereogum. 27 November 2015.
- "The 113 best songs of the past decade, ranked". Insider, Inc.
- ^ "Laia Manzanares: "He viscut un dol horrorós posant les paraules de l'Amanda T en boca meva"". ara.cat (in Catalan). 3 January 2019.
- ^ "'Amanda T.': el acoso a los jóvenes por las redes llega al TNC". El Nacional (in Catalan). 9 January 2019.
- ^ La Tierra llamando a Ana - IMDb, retrieved 22 March 2023
- ^ "Violeta Salama refleja la diversidad de España en su film "Alegría"". eldiario.es. 8 October 2021.
- ^ "IFFW 2020". Film Festival Guild. Retrieved 22 March 2023.