EXCLUSIVE: Borrego’s Olivia Trujillo Talks Lucy Hale, Dirt Bikes, & Bringing to Life the New Movie

Olivia Trujillo stars alongside Lucy Hale in the new survival thriller, Borrego. We got the chance to sit down with Trujillow to talk about how she came to be a part of the movie, working with Hale and so much more. Check out what she had to say below.

How did you come to be apart of the movie?

“I actually had the privilege of being in the short film version of Borrego back in 2017. So I got to really see Alex grow and develop into the story. And so Jesse [Harris] called me back to audition for Alex, which was really, really exciting. And I was excited because her story just developed into this crazy story. I mean, it was somewhat similar [in the short film], but with much less development. So yeah, it was really, really special.”

How did you get to be a part of the short film?

“I just auditioned. I think we auditioned at a college or something and it was just in the middle of the week, I just happened to audition for a short film. And then booked it and we filmed it and it was great. I mean, I was a daughter of the drug mule. It was a completely different character. So it was really crazy to get to be someone in the film as someone just different and amazing. I mean, she’s great. I love Alex.”

You can read the rest of our interview with Trujillo under the jump. Head’s up, the rest of the interview contains minor spoilers, so read at your own risk. Borrego is now in theaters and On Demand.

Can you talk a little bit about working with Lucy Hale to form the relationship between Alex and Elly?

“I think the key to our film was that everything felt really natural and organic. Because we were in such a small bubble in Spain, we were all so close off camera which made our relationships on camera that much easier. My first scene with Lucy, we fell down a mountain in rocks, which was hilarious and it made our time filming that more fun.

Everything was so natural. She made it so easy to work with her and she’s extremely talented and experienced. I got to learn from her the whole time, but I think working with someone who’s so experienced and so talented just pushes you to be the best version of yourself you can be and the best actor that you can be. So everything is just so natural working with her and working with all of the actors was very natural because of how close we were off camera.”

Was there anything that you guys would do off camera that you think personally really helped you create that relationship with them?

“I think honestly, just going to dinner every night or going to coffee in the morning. Just talking nonstop when we were all staying in the same hotel. You would just run into everyone, the cast and the crew. So just being around them 24/7, it just forms bonds, you form friends. I never thought that I would get this close with people, but I was and it was really beautiful to see how close everyone got.”

Now, your character rides a dirt bike in the movie, did you have to learn how to ride a dirt bike for the movie?

“I rode a little bit and I had rode one before, but I had an amazing stunt double. Her name is Julia and she was amazing. She rides dirt bikes herself  But I did do a couple of scenes on the dirt bike and it was moving occasionally, which was really scary. I didn’t know how to ride one, but it was really fun. And it’s crazy that that’s like her main thing and I hadn’t done it before, but it was really, really fun to learn.”

Now that you’re done film the movie, have you found yourself wanting to get back on a dirt bike?

“You know what? I think I’m going to leave it to Alex. If Alex ever decides to come out of me and wants to ride a dirt bike, sure. But I think I’m going to stay off of them for now.”

You had the opportunity to film in Spain. Can you talk a little bit about what that was like?

“Well, because we were in a global pandemic, most of Spain was pretty much closed and for safety precautions we didn’t go out much. We were basically in a really, really small town with pretty much nothing. But I think that’s also what made us so close. Because there was nothing else for anyone to do, we were all just together all the time, whether it was at restaurants or going for walks. We stayed on the beach, so we would go on beach walks and things like that. It just made us that much closer. I mean, being in Spain during a global pandemic is crazy. Being in Spain in general was crazy. So to just be with everyone, it kind of made us that much closer because there wasn’t anything to do. We were literally in the desert.”

What was it like though filming in that desert? Was it lonely at times?

“I think we were really lucky. Because there was an never a dull moment on set. It really never felt lonely because we were that close with the crew as well because the crew stayed in the same hotel. So we were just laughing at all times. We tried to make it, I think, as fun as possible because it was like an hour drive into the desert as deep as you could possibly go. Which looked amazing, it looks great, the landscapes are beautiful. It’s totally worth it, but it gets super hot during the day, very cold at night. So we tried to make it as best as it could possibly be. And that’s why I think we were also close because we’re in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, but talk to each other.”

Do you have a scene that just stands out to you as being the best one for you to film?

“Ironically, the gasoline scene I think was my most fun scene. Because it was one take, we shot it in literally one take, that’s the take that made it to the film. I think Jorge [Jimenez] really did a great job at just being protective of me off camera before the scene and then just completely destroying me during the scene. I think that’s probably my favorite and most memorable. I mean, to do it in one take was crazy and just that really pushed my limits as an actor. I’d never done something like that before. So it was a really intense scene for me, but one of my favorites for sure.”

Was that scene nerve racking to film?

“You know what, the first time I saw it, my palms were sweating. Watching pretty much every moment of the scene, it’s so much anxiety watching the film. But I knew she was a badass and that’s what I wanted to portray in it. Like her fear, but also her badass self trying to get away. So it was kind of a mix of both anxiety and knowing that she’ll make it out.”

To sneak in one last question with you. What are you hoping fans get from the movie?

“It sounds bad, but I hope they feel the intensity and the anxiety that we feel. And I hope that they feel that the film is natural. And that they take away that drugs are a really big part of our society right now, and they’re a very prevalent issue right now. So I hope that they take that into consideration and I hope they enjoy it, but I hope they learn from it.”

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity