His role as “The Professor” in the international hit series Money Heist made him an international star. And that’s how he got cast in the Amazon production, The Wheel of Time.

A veteran television actor with his own theatrical company, Álvaro Morte is now one of the stars of Boundless, the new series on Amazon that was co-produced with RTVE. The historical drama celebrates the 500^th anniversary of the revolutionary journey around the world by Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan (original Portuguese name: Fernão de Magalhães) who was in command of five ships and several hundred sailors.

The world’s first circumnavigation was culminated by Juan Sebastián Elcano three years later with a ship in very poor condition with 17 survivors on board,  on September 6, 1522.

Directed by British filmmaker Simon West (Tomb Raider), the ambitious production stars Morte as Elcano and Rodrigo Santoro as Magellan. The television miniseries also stars Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Adrián Lastra, Pepón Nieto and Bárbara Goenaga. Boundless can be seen in the Spanish-speaking world from June 10 and in the United States, from June 24.

The following are excerpts of our Zoom interview with Morte who was in Spain.

How much did you know about Juan Sebastián Elcano before you were cast in the series, Boundless?

Apart from the fact that he was the first person to complete a circumnavigation around the world and that he was Basque, I knew absolutely nothing. It is a problem that we have here in Spain, from the training and research of some of our historical characters that we should give more value to.

If you ask people on the street, surely a majority would not know much about this period of history that was so important.

Did you do any research about your character or did you just go by the script?

Sometimes the type of project is what determines how you prepare. They told us that the series is going to promote entertainment above all so we allow ourselves certain licenses in favor of the storytelling. For example, Ferdinand Magellan and Elcano were on different ships but to make the story progress better and generate more conflict between these two characters, we put them on the same ship. That helps to make the story more accessible to the viewer.

Beyond the script, which, of course, is something that has to be your mantra, something that you take and that you make truly yours, I did a research on what Elcano was like, what that period in time was like, and why, at that time, spices were more valuable than gold.

It’s a series of things that help you get into the skin of the character, mix all that real data with those that are in the script, what you talk about with the director, and what the production asks you to do. At the end of the day, I am an actor who is going to make an interpretation, not of what Elcano must have been but of our vision in the production.

But this is a series based on real events. There were many things that could have been discussed about Elcano but only one period of this man’s life can be summarized, more precisely three years of history, in six chapters. I was interested in talking about some things about the character and that was what I concentrated on the most.

What is interesting about Elcano is that he was really a survivor because he arrived on that ship somewhat forced by his personal circumstances. Then he ended up the head of the expedition since almost everyone on board died…

It was terrible. We wouldn’t like to ever be in that kind of situation. That also shows a lot of the spirit of the time, where people survived as best they could.

In fact, the life expectancy by staying on land or by enrolling in one of these sea expeditions was not that different after all. With the level of poverty that existed in the country, you could die of hunger on land or you could die in a shipwreck on one of those ships.

So there were many people who were not professional sailors but signed up for expeditions because they had no other alternative but to take the risk to see what would happen. And if they were successful, things could become somewhat important. In the case of this expedition, five ships set sail and only one returned with a very small surviving crew. Not only Elcano but also a few other survivors.

The series you previously starred in reached the whole world and that will probably happen again with this production. How do you feel as an actor that your work is seen all over the planet?

I try not to think about it because otherwise, I would get very nervous when it comes to getting work. When I start a project, I think of myself every day as if it were the first of a series that hasn’t had any success, even if it’s the fifth season of Money Heist, and I mention that one because it was the first to have that incredible popularity.

I always try to approach it that way. I can’t stop to think about all the people who would be watching me because otherwise, I would tremble and the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. So I just try not to speculate on that.

How was your experience working with Rodrigo Santoro, who is also an actor working both in Brazil and Hollywood?

We were talking about how it seemed very interesting to us that they were two very contrasting characters, very far from each other, with very different ideas about the expedition. But that there were certain things they respected in each other in an implicit way, without resorting to any verbalization. I think you can see a certain connection between them.

Elcano admires Magellan’s ability to pursue a goal no matter what, and Magellan, who is an absolutely authoritarian and totalitarian guy, envies Elcano’s connection with the rest of the crew. There are times when Magellan gives an order and the people looked first at Elcano to see if they would comply or not.

What was it that most attracted you to the character when you first read the script?

One of the things that most attracted me to the character was Elcano’s democratic thinking, as opposed to the monarchical way in which there were kingdoms, where one person decides everything what happens and you have to follow those orders. This is not an expedition that starts with the idea of ​​going around the world.

He had the purpose of opening a commercial route with the Spice Islands, and when Elcano finds himself in the position of commanding the trip and reaching that point, he considers the situation they are in and thinks of continuing going forward instead of going back, without caring about the orders of a monarch. Because what was beyond was much more important for humanity, no matter how dangerous that might be. He was going to enter some routes that already belonged to the Portuguese and half the world was waiting for him to turn around. At that moment when he decides to go ahead, he offers the crew the chance of going with him or going back. That attitude seemed incredible to me for those times.In fact, my concept of the character stems from that idea, that of a person who seeks consensus, who feels like an integral part of the crew and not the one in charge. I thought I could get the entire essence of what Elcano is in that.

On the other hand, it seemed to me that talking about the history of Magellan and Elcano was necessary because most people do not know the adventures, hardships, battles, storms, hunger and everything that they went through over three years.

We always talk about Christopher Columbus performing a marvelous achievement sailing around two months to discover America but these people spent three years at sea and yet Columbus is considered a more important historical figure than Magellan or Elcano.

You made The Wheel of Time, which is a great Hollywood production. However the Boundless series is also really impressive. Do you feel that there are still differences between shooting a project in Spain or doing it in the United States?

We continue to be at another level, even below, despite the fact that we have been lucky that the platforms are coming to generate products here, and for this reason we are experiencing a wonderful moment. I would be lying if I said that if this series had been shooting in the United States, it would not have a bigger budget. It’s a shame – I think we’re learning to reach those levels and that’s the way. Hopefully, in the near future, we can say that we are making productions the same as the American ones because we are reaching that level of success. Money Heist has gone around the world in the same way that The Wheel of Time has – why would one have a bigger budget than the other just because of the mere fact that it was shot here or there?

We have to be consistent when it comes to saying, if a project has certain needs in terms of production, why don’t we invest the money that is needed, no matter where it takes place? Hopefully, there will be a time when that will be the way.

Translated by Mario A. Amaya