The Talk With Nichole Galicia - Actress

Actress and Philanthropist Nichole Galicia, who will soon be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s highly anticipated film "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood” starring Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie is our latest guest. This is not the first time Nichole has worked with Tarantino, most notably, he hand picked Galicia for his film Django Unchained, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx. Galicia garnered much buzz for her portrayal of “Sheba,” DiCaprio’s love interest and since, she has been extremely well received in the fashion industry
Born in Panama and raised in New York, Galicia focused on her brains, not beauty. Nevertheless by high school, with a 183 IQ, Nichole had rapidly evolved into a striking and vivacious young woman inexorably caught up in the highly competitive fashion industry. To date, Galicia’s modeling credits include ad campaigns for: The Gap, Pepsi, Neutrogena and Hanes. She has graced the pages of GQ, Vogue and Elle and oh, and who can forget the edgy shoot she did with Tarantino for W magazine.

Photographed by Ryan West

Galicia starred as the sassy Yvonne Freedman in Nick Cannon’s film Love Don’t Cost A Thing and in DIRTY playing opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. She was also the female lead in And She Was My Eve a short featured in Ron Howard's Project Imaginat10n Film festival and played a seductress to Oliver Platt’s character Russell on Showtime’s Emmy Award winning drama, !Huff, also starring Hank Azaria and Blythe Danner.

Even more fascinating however is Nichole’s taste for art. Her favorite artist is Diego Velazquez and favorite museum is the Prado in Madrid. In fact, she owns dozens of engravings and serigraphs, a few of which appear in a book she wrote called "Equipo Cronica: The Nichole Kent Collection."

When Galicia is not modeling or acting she devotes her time to charities focused on developing the esteem and confidence of youth. Nichole actively serves on the board of the Junior Committee of the New York Center for Children; a charity dedicated to raising awareness and fighting child abuse.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: How did you start your Hollywood career?

Nichole Galicia: I started as a model, traveling the world when my booker suggested I take acting classes. I booked the very first acting audition I went on. I wish it was always that easy. This career is rewarding but nothing about it is easy.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: You recently filmed your second Tarantino film "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood." What is it like working with Quentin Tarantino?

Nichole Galicia: Working with Tarantino is phenomenal. He’s very cool and down to earth, passionate about his work and in love with his actors. I could not have imagined a better experience.

Photographed by Ryan West

Giulia Juliet Belkin: You had a dream role of every female out there, playing Leonardo DiCaprio's love interest in Django Unchained. How charming is he? Share some fun moments from set.

Nichole Galicia: I’m so lucky, you should totally be jealous. I kissed Leonardo Dicaprio, twice. OK it was Calvin Candie but same difference! The man spilled wine and had to change his shirt on set and silenced a room of 150 people. It was amazing.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: What got you into arts?

Nichole Galicia: My mentor Kent introduced me to art. Introduce is such an elegant word, he forced me into art. I spent my summers in museums on guided tours, I spent my evenings watching art documentaries, I spent our vacations analyzing architecture and culture. If I dared try to change the subject, Kent was the master of redirecting by finding art in everything. I once stopped to pet a dog and Kent lectured me for 30 minutes on Goya’s ‘The Dog’ and how it’s arguably the first modern painting. Kent raised me, he gave me culture, he molded my world view, he taught me how to be a lady and a business woman.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: What's unique about Equipo Cronica?

Nichole Galicia: Equipo Cronica is art about art. It’s political, steeped in culture. It’s an amazing way to learn or teach art. I still get excited when I’m at the MOMA or Prado and discover a Picasso reference that’s embedded in one of my Equipo Cronica’s that I never recognized before.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: You've done some fashion modeling in the past. Who is your fav designer today?

Nichole Galicia: I love Olivier Rousteing from Balmain, Tom Ford, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Christian Louboutin, Giusppe Zanotti. I love hyper feminine, uber sexy but elegant. Michael Costello also makes my mouth water.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: Tell us more about The Orchid Foundation you founded 4 years ago? How did that come about?

Nichole Galicia: I’m fortunate to have so much and wanted to be able to give back. I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in mouth and so I needed to go back and help some some girls that may have been dealing with similar circumstances. Equally as important as my girls is that I’m in some small way assisting their mothers. I didn’t know I was poor because my mom, like most amazing mother’s worked extra jobs to provide me with what I needed and most of what I wanted. She never complained or broke a sweat in front of me so I had no clue until I was an adult all that my mom was making the impossible look effortless on a daily basis. It is my hope that the services I provide to my Orchids is one less thing that their phenomenal mom’s have to worry about. Please check out our website: www.theorchidfdn.org We are a 501c3 nonprofit so all of your generous donations are 100% tax deductible.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: Great quote by the way, “It is better to have a $10 purse with $1000 in it, than a $1000 purse with $10 in it.” What is the goal for young Orchids?

Nichole Galicia: I was 17 years old, I did a huge modeling job and I went out and purchased $3000 worth of designer luggage. My mother asked me how much money I had in my purse? “You have $8 in a $2000 bag? You look like an idiot.” Yeah I never made that mistake again. And of course she made me return everything. My goal for my Orchids is that they are bigger and badder than me. That they go father than I ever could.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: What motivates, inspires you today?

Nichole Galicia: Kind people motivate me. People who help you just because they can without expectations.

Giulia Juliet Belkin: What would you do differently if you had the chance to turn back the time?

Nichole Galicia: A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS! I don’t know who these ‘I have no regrets because it made me the person I am today’ people are. I would change the hell out of a ton of things. Do I get to keep the knowledge but go back and make corrections? Absolutely.

Photographed by Ryan West

Giulia Juliet Belkin: What is next for Nichole?

Nichole Galicia: This is where I should say something fun or witty but I don’t know what’s next and I’m cool with that. Steve McQueen will find me when he’s ready or maybe I will find him. Until then I will go back to raising the coolest, smartest girl squad ever through The Orchid Foundation.

The Talk With Wolfgang Novogratz - Actor

Photography/ Nathan Johnson
Interview by Giulia Juliet Belkin

Wolfgang Novogratz has risen to fame for his appearance as Drew in the 2018 Netflix original film Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. He previously appeared as Dave in the 2018 action comedy Assassination Nation.  Made his acting debut in the TV series 9 by Design in 2010. He guest-starred in a 2018 episode of the TV comedy Grown-ish and was cast as the romantic lead Patch Cipriano in the romance film Hush, Hush in August 2018 and oh boy! Doesn’t he remind you of Elvis?! I’ve caught up with Wolfgang in Los Angeles.

You are the oldest in a family of seven siblings. What was it like growing up?

In all honesty, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. There was never a dull moment growing up, good or bad, and my siblings are all wildly different from each other. I have a distinctly unique relationship with each one of my brothers and sisters. As the oldest, I always strived to be a role model and leader for them, but more importantly, someone who they felt they could talk to about anything, without judgement, and I’d always be there for them.

How did you start as an actor?

Well, it’s an interesting story. For as long as I can remember, basketball has always been my entire life. I was preparing to play big time Division 1 college basketball. I trained like a professional athlete and dedicated my whole life to the sport. My senior year of high school, I was extremely fortunate to have many opportunities to make my dream a reality. However, also in my final year, I took drama class for the first time. I had always been fascinated, inspired, and obsessed with movies, but had never acted before. I remember visiting all these colleges that I had worked my whole life towards and thinking to myself, “I did it”. I felt a feeling of completion that I had proved to myself that I could play at the highest level. I now found a new passion, and I wanted to start a new chapter in my life. So, I turned down all these opportunities, and said to my drama teacher, “I’m going to be an actor, what should I do?” He said, “If you want to be a good actor, you should spend some time doing classical theatre in London”. So, the week after I graduated high school, I moved to London to start a new chapter in my life

You are Netflix’s newest leading man. How did you get there?

Haha, I don’t know about all that, but I’ve just tried to make the most of the opportunities that have come my way. I’ve been acting professionally now for around 2 years, and what really helped my career get started was after I did my first movie “Sierra Burgess Is A Loser”, I produced and acted in a production of Kenneth Lonergan’s “This Is Our Youth” in Los Angeles. Doing this play led to me getting my agent, and many more opportunities. I’m in it for the long game though. I continue to study consistently. My focus is on how I can become the most honest, and skillful actor I can be, and if I’m lucky enough, hopefully one day have a body of work that I can look back on and be proud of.

Share with us about your Netflix roles?

My first film, “Sierra Burgess Is A Loser”, I played the part of Drew.

I first read for the part of Spence. Then, they brought me back in for the lead role of Jamie. I ended up making it to the final five actors reading for the producers and director. I was doing a play in Orange County called “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” by Christopher Durang when I got the call that I hadn’t gotten the lead part because I had never done a movie before, but that they liked me so much, that they wanted to have me in the film in a smaller part.

A cool little piece of trivia, is that for the football scene, where Drew is the opposing line-backer who tackles Jamie, I asked production to wear number 61, which was my Grandfather’s number when he was an All-American at West Point, the United States Military Academy.

The Last Summer, I played the part of Foster.

When I originally read for the role, Foster was written as a more “stereotypical, two-dimensional, shallow, douchebag”. However, I made the choice that his major motivation behind making this list of girls, and his desperation to get laid, was that he was a virgin. So, when I got the part, I shared all my ideas with the director Bill Bindley, and we started working together on rewriting Foster. I came up with the backstory that he used to be quite overweight, never got attention from girls, and was very insecure about that. Then, for his final summer before college, he has reinvented himself. He’s lost weight, he’s studying good “pick-up lines”, and he’s doing whatever it takes to score. The scene between Jacob’s character Alec and I where we learn he’s a virgin was only written a couple of days before we filmed it. I was based a lot of the character on some guys I’ve known in my life.

The Half of It, I play the part of Trig Carson.

Trig Carson is the big man on campus. He’s the most popular guy in school, the Prom King, Student-Body President, and loved by everybody. However, he is quite narcissistic, shallow, and vain. He’s not a bad guy, but he just doesn’t live his life with a lot of depth, introspection, or complexity. The Director, Alice Wu, and I spoke about making sure he is not like Bradley’s Cooper character in Wedding Crashers. He’s not the prototypical mean boyfriend that the audience says, “Why is the main girl with him and not the nice main character?” On paper, he’s perfect. He’s wealthy, good-looking, nice, and happy. The only issue is, is that he’s just not the guy for Aster Flores. He is in love with the idea of her, but he doesn’t really see or understand the fullness of her.

 You always land the role of a teenager. How do you manage it?

Well, I only graduated from high school three years ago, so it’s not that much of a stretch to be that age again. However, as a young actor really just starting out, those are where the most opportunities are. There aren’t a ton of movies and television shows being made about kids in college or young adults just starting their lives.  

 What is your dream role? 

First off, the dream is to be a working actor, because there are so many talented and deserving actors who are not. If I am lucky enough to become that and then have choices in my career, the dream is to work with the best filmmakers you can on the best scripts you can, in any genre. I said this earlier, but my goal is to become the leading man I want to be and hopefully be able to work with some of the most creative, talented people in the world. However, being Superman would be out of this world as well!

Any Hollywood actors you look up to?

That’s a long list, but for the sake of time, I’ll try to narrow it down to about 5 actors. I would say Spencer Tracy, Denzel Washington, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Tom Cruise.

What is one fun fact about Wolfgang that not a lot of fans know?

Shortly after I was cast in “Hush, Hush”, I was extremely fortunate to get connected with Hugh Jackman. Over the last several months, he has become a mentor, teacher, and friend of mine.

What is next for Wolfgang Novogratz?

I am finishing work on “The Half of It”, and then I’m set for the film-adaptation of the New York Times Best-Selling Book Series, “Hush, Hush,” in the lead part of ‘Patch Cipriano’ opposite Liana Liberato as ‘Nora Grey’.