Celebrity Hair Stylist Ricardo Rojas Makes Acting Debut in “And Just Like That…”

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Since he was a child, Ricardo Rojas dreamed of being an actor, but due to a matter of economic survival, he relegated it to the background and dedicated himself to being a hairdresser. He jumped from one of the smallest cities in his native Argentina to New York, Paris, London and Milan to accompany Hollywood stars and the world of fashion as a stylist.

After decades in the beauty industry, the time has come for Rojas to demonstrate his acting skills in nothing less than “And Just Like That…”, the sequel to his favorite series “Sex and the City”.

Starting in June, Rojas, who for decades has styled celebrities such as Donatella Versace, Cher and Mariah Carey, will appear in two episodes of the second part of the series starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Dixon and Kristin Davis alongside Sarita Choudhury. Reports have also surfaced of a cameo in which Kim Cattrall would return as Samantha Jones.

“These are moments that you wanted so much and it came to you, and I couldn’t believe it,” Rojas said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “This was one of the last things I wanted to start doing. And I think that’s what life is: beginning. I’m always starting, that doesn’t mean I’m leaving. I am renewing. I am being reborn.”

In his role, Rojas will play Juan José, Seema Patel’s (Sarita Choudhury) stylist. But despite the similarities to his role in real life, Rojas did not want his character to be a caricature of himself. In fact, he considers himself much calmer than the energetic Juan José, whom he describes as the king of blow-drying in New York.

It was his first time in front of the cameras, and not behind the scenes accompanying the stars. She now had a stylist, a make-up artist and her own dressing room.

He said that in the series he appears in a hairdresser’s, where he felt comfortable, at home. He knew how to operate the hair dryer and how to move his own hands like a professional stylist. However, he indicated, he was not familiar with the movements of the cameras, or the lights, although that did not stop him from enjoying the moment.

“Although you can be a little nervous, you have the option to say this is my moment and if you are going to do it, you are going to do the best,” said Rojas, who spoke in English and Spanish in an interview at a posh Miami Beach hotel.

Although he offered few details because the new season of the series has not yet been released, Rojas announced that it was wonderful to be in his scenes and to have shared one of them with Chaudhury.

To distance his character from the real Rojas, he dared to incorporate some changes to the original script that had been offered to him, and they were accepted, he said. Among them, the name of the character, so that it is Latin.

“When you’re acting, you’re creating a character and you have the tools to create those characters,” he explained.

Raised in a working-class, middle-class family in Tucumán, in northwestern Argentina, Rojas’ beginnings were rocky. He dropped out of architecture at a public university because he couldn’t afford the materials for the projects. He then thought of dedicating himself to hairdressing, a fascination he had since he was a child, when he combed and cut the hair of his grandmothers, sisters and his mother at home.

After dropping out of university, he traveled to Córdoba, a larger city in the center of his country, where he hoped to find more opportunities. There he started working in a well-known hairdressing salon, first as an assistant and then became one of its owners. But his ambition was great, and he took him to New York. He made several trips, until he finally decided to settle there and start again from scratch, drying hair.

Little by little he got to know the environment and made his way. He has been the stylist for actresses like Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, and for models like Kate Upton. His work has been featured in Vogue, Harper Bazaar and ELLE, and he has created looks for models at Versace, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana and Gaultier.

But deep down, his desire to be an actor never faded.

His love for acting was born at the age of six, when his father took him to see his first Charlie Chaplin movie at the theater. From time to time he would improvise a performance, like when Donatella asked him after some exhausting event, that he act to amuse her children.

He had been taking acting and dance classes for a long time, and one day, while he was in California presenting his line of hair products, he was surprised by a call from his agent saying that he had an offer to act in “And Just Like That… .”.

After several tests he got the role. Now he expects to receive many more calls like this. She dreams of working with the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, the Mexican Guillermo del Toro and in Hollywood movies.

“I’m very excited about the acting part,” he said. His advice to everyone: “If there is the possibility of jumping into the pool, let him experiment, because life is about achievements, it is about experiences.”