Kaci Walfall (left), Camila Moreno, Daniel Puig and Will Myers in Naomi. (Photo: Boris Martin/The CW)
By Julio Martinez After recently graduating from acting school, Camila Moreno is basking in her opportunity to make her onscreen debut on The CW’s highly anticipated superhero series Naomi. The teen action show premieres Jan. 11.
Directed by Oscar-nominated and Primetime Emmy-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay, the series follows the adventures of vivacious Naomi (Kaci Walfall), a teen girl who journeys from her small northwestern town to the heights of the multiverse after a supernatural event shakes her hometown to the core. It is based on the bestselling DC’s Wonder Comics series of the same title co-written by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker.
Moreno is both astonished and excited to be a series regular, playing Lourdes, one of Kaci’s close friends. “Lourdes is a great character to play,” says the Puerto Rico-born and raised actress. “She has a sarcastic sense of humor and works in a vintage collectibles shop.” Lourdes has things in common with the central character; she also has feelings for her. “She has an unrequited crush on Naomi, and she shares her friend’s obsession with classic comics,” Moreno reveals. “She is delighted to join in on Naomi’s adventures."
Camila Moreno (Photo: Stan Demidoff/Courtesy of Actress)
Lourdes is Moreno’s first big role in Hollywood following her 2019 graduation from Tisch, the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. “This is so different than my experiences at Tisch, where I played such classic roles as Irina (Three Sisters), Cordelia (King Lear) and Ophelia (Hamlet),” says Moreno, referring to Anton Chekhov’s and William Shakespeare's plays. “Now I am playing a modern teenager amongst an amazing, talented group of people. I really like them and I feel we are going to bond very well as the series progresses.”
Moreno grew up attending a bi-lingual school focusing on math and science. Following high school, she attended the University of Puerto Rico, where she majored in acting. There she won the Victoria Espinosa Award for best actress in her graduating class. Before finishing college, she auditioned for NYU’s prestigious Graduate Acting Program and became one of 16 applicants to be accepted out of a pool of 800. Moreno went on to graduate with a master of fine arts.
Although she is new to television drama, Moreno feels fortunate to have gotten support from the two female executive producers, DuVernay and Jill Blankenship. “One of the things that's been so great about working on the show and having this be my big first experience is that there's such openness to talking to Ava and Jill,” she says. “And they’re so open to discussion. I am very curious about my character's background, who she is and why she likes the things that she likes.” So far, the actress is impressed by her character’s fearlessness. “Basically, Lourdes (is) not afraid of anything, which is one of the things that I really love about her. I've been able to ask all the questions that I've wanted. That makes me very invested in her journey, what she has to offer and bring to the table.”
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