Penélope Cruz
Search results
Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey (born 26 May 1986) is a Spanish and French actress and model. She is best known for playing Suzanne in The Sea Wall, the mermaid Syrena in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Sofi in I Origins. She also played the Mage in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
In 2011, Bergès-Frisbey made her English debut as the beautiful mermaid Syrena in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). She was personally picked by director Rob Marshall and producer Jerry Bruckheimer after a whirlwind of auditions in France, Hollywood, and the UK. More at IMDbPro.
- January 1, 1
- 1.71 m
- Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Overview
- Biography
- Appearances
- Notes and references
"I think I was 16 when the first came out and of course, you have to enjoy it. It's a perfect, entertaining movie with really detailed characters. And what I like in this coming one, is we find again the precision of the characters. Everybody was really excited about the script."
―Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey
Early life and career
Born in Barcelona to a Catalan father and French-American mother, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey originally set her sights on a career as an osteopath, but turned towards acting after graduation. She studied drama at the Cours Simon and with Steve Kalfa at the Atelires de l'Ouest in Paris. Bergès-Frisbey is fluent in Catalan, Spanish, French and Italian. She started learning English for her role in Pirates of the Caribbean. In 2007, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey made her acting debut on French television. Although Bergès-Frisbey was cast by Director Jean-Jacques Annaud in a small role in Sa Majeste Minor, it was edited out for the final cut. But she was then cast by Bernard Stora in the France 2 television movie Elles et Moi as a lead alongside Danielle Darrieux and Ariadna Gil. Bergès-Frisbey spent four months in Cambodia to make her feature début in the 2008 film The Sea Wall, an adaptation of Wikipedia:Marguerite Duras' novel Un barrage contre le Pacifique directed by Rithy Panh, as the daughter of Isabelle Huppert. She then traveled to the Alps for Lucien Jean-Baptiste's La Première Étoile. During the fall of 2008, Bergès-Frisbey appeared on stage at the Théâtre Marigny in a production of Peter Shaffer's Equus, followed by the feature film Bruc, directed by Daniel Benmayor, with Juan José Ballesta and Vincent Perez. She began modeling in 2010, fronting French Connection's spring/summer and autumn/winter campaigns. She also appeared as a lead in the 2011 film La Fille du puisatier, a 2011 remake of Marcel Pagnol's 1940 film of the same name, directed by Daniel Auteuil.
Pirates of the Caribbean
On April 15, 2010, Walt Disney Pictures announced that Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey had been personally picked by producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Rob Marshall to star as Syrena, a "beautiful and alluring young mermaid" in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, after a whirlwind of auditions in France, Hollywood, and the UK. Bergès-Frisbey became one of eight credited mermaids featured in the film, but the enigmatic Syrena plays a vital role in the story. On Stranger Tides served as her U.S. and English-language film debut, in which she had to learn to speak English for the role. Bruckheimer and Marshall, along with U.S. Casting Director Francine Maisler and U.K. Casting Directors Lucy Bevan and Susie Figgis, embarked on a worldwide talent search to cast the younger leads of the story, the mermaid Syrena and the stalwart missionary Philip Swift, with Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey and Sam Claflin selected from thousands of candidates. Bergès-Frisbey and Claflin were both in their early 20s and with some experience in their respective countries, but as yet unproven on an international level. On Bergès-Frisbey's Syrena, Marshall stated they were looking for someone otherworldly for the mysterious mermaid. "We saw that immediately in Astrid—she had this ethereal quality. She is incredibly grounded and very true, and so beautiful as well." Bruckheimer added that she had "already done some wonderful work in both French and Spanish films, and has a radiant beauty and is very soulful as well." Bergès-Frisbey was gobsmacked when she learned of her selection to star in the newest Pirates of the Caribbean epic. "I couldn't believe I was part of it until I arrived in Kauai for the first fitting. Syrena is different from the other mermaids because, in the story, she connects to the human characters, which changes her. Philip changes Syrena, and Syrena changes Philip because, from the first moment, they see in the other something similar to themselves. Syrena is different to the other mermaids as Philip is different to the other humans. He's a really good person, and Syrena responds to him differently than to other sailors and pirates, who are at war with the mermaids." Before filming, Bergès-Frisbey set forth on researching the legend and lore of mermaids. "From the time of Homer's 'The Odyssey,' everywhere in the world, there are myths about mermaids, seducing with their charm and then killing sailors. Then these myths began to change in the 19th century when Hans Christian Andersen wrote 'The Little Mermaid,' which was a more romantic view. That's now become more common, especially with the Disney animated film of that story and other films like 'Splash.' I think that Syrena is a link between the frightening older stories and the more romantic, recent versions of mermaids." When asked about what she thought of the first three Pirates movies, Bergès-Frisbey stated, "I think I was 16 when the first came out and of course, you have to enjoy it. It's a perfect, entertaining movie with really detailed characters. And what I like in this coming one, is we find again the precision of the characters. Everybody was really excited about the script." Having watched the first Pirates at the cinema with her family, she revealed that she met Johnny Depp for the first time in-costume as Jack Sparrow. During the entire two months of filming in Hawaii, Bergès-Frisbey was restricted from going out in daylight in order to retain the pale skin complexion that a mermaid must have, living as they do mostly underwater. Bergès-Frisbey laughed, "I had to live like a vampire, staying indoors during the day and only able to come out at night!" Despite this, as Bergès-Frisbey looked back on her experience, "I remember one day, when I had been filming in Hawaii for maybe a week, and I saw Geoffrey [Rush] and Johnny [Depp], and Kevin McNally too. And I think I've never seen two or three actors all having such fun before, it's unbelievable how much they love their respective parts, and how much they like to act. And for a young actress like me, it's like a dream. I want to have this much fun after years and years of my career.
•Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Syrena
The First Star. Acting. Directing. Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey (born 26 May 1986) is a French-Spanish actress and model. She is best known for playing Suzanne in The Sea Wall, the mermaid Syrena in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Sofi in I Origins.
May 16, 2011 · We recently talked to Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, who plays the main mermaid Syrena in the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. She told us about her mermaid history and what...
People also ask
Who is Strid Bergès-Frisbey?
How old is Astrid Berges-Frisbey?
Is Astrid Berges-Frisbey a mermaid in Pirates of the Caribbean 4?
Who is Astrid Berges Frisbey?
Apr 5, 2021 · Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey Reveals How She Connects Pirate Of The Caribbean To The Vault - Exclusive. Sony Pictures/TF1. By Christopher Gates / April 5, 2021 8:30 am EST. Ask Àstrid...
