This week, we sat down with two of our favorite hotties from Elite, Miguel Bernardeau (who plays the wealthy reform-averse Guzmán) and Georgina Amorós (who plays the driven fashionista Cayetana). From their first impressions of each other to their favorite off-set cast memories, we covered all of their thoughts on the high school teen crime drama's juicy fourth season. Here’s what else we learned:
What was your first impression of each other?
Miguel: We met before. We made a movie together. We met before all of this happened. We met [while] shooting a movie in Spain. It was called It’s for Your Own Good [Es Por Tu Bien]. We were playing a couple, actually. And we had a great time. I really liked her. But we didn't connect as much as we connected on Elite. Right?
Georgina: Yeah, it was funny, because when we were shooting the movie, we didn't get along very well. And then when we met again — on Elite — we were very close, and now he's one of my best friends. So it's just funny how at some point, you can inch through — you know, surprise!
Miguel: Whoa! That was so beautiful.
How do you feel about your character arcs this season, and if Guzmán and Caye grew or didn’t grow from the first time we saw them on screen? Especially Guzmán's beliefs and Caye’s self-confidence, both as a person and designer?
Miguel: I think it’s very interesting to see Guzmán as a character this season — after all he grew in the first three seasons: finding the love of his life in Nadia [Mina El Hammani] and that serving him as this light to follow and [becoming] a better person and [leaving] all this negativity that his life was before behind.
But I really loved the fact that my character wasn't just the kind of guy that gets better and stays there. That's not real. If you want to strive to be better, we all work very hard for that. And we sometimes are not successful in it. And I don't think Guzmán is successful in this season in getting better as a person. And the fact that Nadia left him really crushed his heart and crushed his dreams of who he wanted to become, of who his sister wanted him to become.
And I think he falls back to being the old Guzmán. It takes a lot of courage as writers and as an actor to do it. We were very scared that we were going to upset the public, the audience, and make them feel like we failed them. But it was beautiful. And I think, in the end, he does grow and realize that he has to leave and look for Nadia again and look for himself.
Georgina: So Caye started in the second season with really low self-esteem, very ashamed of her family, her past, herself. It was beautiful to portray this more mature Cayetana because she just accepts who she is with the good things and the bad things. It was beautiful to portray Cayetana with this dignity. We fought with the writers and with the directors — we tried very hard to show that. And I think it was necessary — after all [that] happened in the past — to triple that.
For Miguel, what was your reaction to Guzmán and Nadia breaking up, when you first read that in the script? Did you agree? Was it emotional to film?
Miguel: I did like the fact that they couldn't be together, at least for now, because it gives both characters something to strive for. I do really believe that Guzmán and Nadia are meant to be together. But at the same time, it was really sad for me to see them start growing apart and have Guzmán search for love in another person. It was very hard for me to portray and to read.
For Georgina, last season, Caye would have done anything for Polo. How did you prepare to play a more empowered Caye this season, especially in relation to Philippe, another toxic man?
Georgina: I think the first Caye was very young and she was building herself up. She didn’t know what she wanted or what she liked or what she didn’t like. It was beautiful to be able to portray this Caye with this very clean passion for fashion. And this season, she preferred to put herself first and not be loved by the person that she loved.
Speaking of fashion, this season had a lot of iconic looks, like the ones at the ball Philippe threw. What were your characters’ favorites?
Miguel: She looks amazing in that dress, Georgina. [Writer's note: Miguel said this in reference to Georgina's dress, pictured above.]
Georgina: Aww, thank you. You too.
Miguel: [Laughing] Don’t lie. I’m with that weird black tail thing.
Georgina: [Laughing]
Michael: And sneakers.
Georgina: It was a very fun season to play with fashion. One of my favorite scenes is the one [where] we’re trying on clothes with Philippe. We had so much fun shooting that. We worked very hard with the clothing department to elevate Cayetana’s style because she’s studying fashion. I think my favorite Cayetana look is the last one from the last episode — the white one with the black feathers — because that was designed [and made] by the clothing department.
So, we need to know, does the cast hang out off set? What was one of your favorite off-set memories from filming this season?
Miguel: In the first season, we hung out a lot — a lot. And then I think working a lot together gets to a point that you don't want to come back home and have a beer with the same person every day.
And I think one of my favorite memories is [when] we went to rehearse for the fourth season, to a house in the middle of nowhere, in a small village in the middle of Spain. And I had to make a paella, and it was the worst paella you [could] ever try. They were so understanding because they didn’t give me what I needed to make the paella. I think that's one of my favorite memories: watching them eat the worst paella I've ever [made] in my life and smiling at me.
BuzzFeed: What was wrong with the paella?
Miguel: The question is, "What was right?"
(Reader, I died.)
Georgina: It’s not true. It was amazing. I loved it, and I ate it all.
Miguel: It was fucking horrible, and the fact that she says that is—
Georgina: You’re too hard on yourself, Miguel. It was very good.
Miguel: No, no, no, it was really bad, but thank you, Georgina.
In what ways, if at all, are you similar to your characters? If your characters were real, would you be friends with them in real life?
Georgina: I think with Cayetana, we’re both a little bit geek, and we’re not ashamed about it. We're both very passionate about what we love. And if we love something, we just go right to the end with it. I think for Cayetana it’s fashion, and for me it’s acting.
Miguel: I think Guzmán and I have in common that we are very passionate with everything we do. We have very extreme feelings for everything, and we cannot hold back to say what we think, which is a good and a bad thing. I would be his friend. I’ll be the kind of friend that likes you for who you are, but we’re always [going to] tell him, “Dude, that’s too much. Like, chill. Life is not that heavy.”
Georgina: I would be a friend [to] Cayetana — maybe not the Cayetana in the second and third season. I don't know if I would have been her friend [then], but I would have probably just hugged her, and [told] her, “You don't need anything to be happy. The most important thing is to love yourself.”
Can you talk a little bit about the "Guzmán Caye Rebe" short story? What was it like filming a short-form version of Elite and acting out scenes where all of you were high on mushrooms and trying to fend off drug lords?
Miguel: You did not expect that, right?
Georgina: It was amazing. It was the [funniest shoot] I've ever been in, and Miguel, Claudia [Salas, who plays Rebe], and I are very, very close friends. It was hilarious. We were laughing all the time in all the scenes. We loved doing that because I felt it was like an opportunity to be on Elite, on the same show, but doing a different thing.
Miguel: Yes.
At the end of this season, Ander (Arón Piper) and Guzmán leave indefinitely. Miguel, if you’re able to answer, will you be coming back for the fifth season?
Miguel: I think I can’t answer it, but—
Georgina: [Joking] But I’m gonna say it anyway!
Miguel: I think they’re leaving indefinitely, but they will always be there. They will always be there, no matter what, for sure. And they’re two best friends, traveling around the world. And Guzmán for sure is going to go to New York at some point to see Nadia. And Lu [Danna Paola].
Well, that’s it folks, and thank you for chatting with us, Georgina and Miguel! I don’t know about you, but I’m going to take that last quote and run with it (aka manifest a Lu and Nadia appearance, as well as a series regular return for Miguel and Ander). You can stream Elite Season 4 on Netflix.