Leslie Grace shares personal connection to Translators doc and how she feels about Batgirl
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Leslie Grace may have stepped out of the limelight for a little while, but she returns to use her voice for something she felt a deep, personal connection to — a documentary short.
Translators, directed by Emmy-winner Rudy Valdez (2019's The Sentence), follows the lives of three immigrant children who are responsible for translating for their first-generation Latino elders. Having grown up in a first-generation Dominican American household, Grace (In the Heights, the now-canceled Batgirl) knew this experience well and became an ambassador for the doc.
"I think it's important, for those of us who know how common this experience is, to do our best to amplify these stories for people who haven't had this experience firsthand and might not be aware that a third of Hispanics in this country aren't fluent in English and they contribute greatly to our country," Grace shares in an interview with EW. "And for all of these important things that help them make a living in this country, most of that weight falls on their children or their grandchildren."
Ian Eastwood Leslie Grace talks 'Translators' documentary
The actress and Latin Grammy Award-winning singer points out the benefits of a doc like Translators. "It allows organizations like U.S. Bank to generate awareness of the shared experience of these 11 million translators across the nation," she explains. "Additionally, it opens the door for other companies and organizations to develop tools and resources that will help alleviate the burden of these younger folks."
Grace shares more about her connection to the documentary, what she hopes people who don't speak Spanish get from the short, and what she learned from the Batgirl experience.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you get involved with the Translators documentary as an ambassador and how personal did it get for you?
LESLIE GRACE: It's so personal. I was taken back in time and reminded of my experience and my siblings' experiences. I'm the youngest so I got to see some of my older siblings put in a lot of time in translating for my grandma, who speaks very little English. She understands a lot, but she's the first to migrate here to this country. She's the reason why we're all here. I had the benefit of being able to see the doc being shared by Rudy and his team, and becoming an ambassador to just amplify the stories of these families.
Courtesy Image 'Translators' documentary
We're talking so much about mental health now and how it affects Black and brown communities, do you hope this alleviates some of those struggles that so many of us have carried into adulthood ourselves?
Absolutely. It's skewed our own perception of our worth and how worthy you are of taking up space in a country. It changes the way that you see value if you've had that experience. I think a documentary like this is not just for awareness in general, but for just being seen, to feel like if you've had that experience that you're not alone. That, I think, is one of the biggest things that can make it feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders at a young age. So for those kids that are doing that currently in their household, I think it will be very, very healing in a way to know that their stories are important.
You are such a fighter for diversity and inclusion. Given what happened in 2022, and how we watched Latino-led TV shows and films get shelved and canceled, is there any scene from Batgirl that you wished Latinos could have seen?
Oh man. I mean, I just wish they could have seen the whole movie. I wish we could have gotten to share what we spent so much time making. A lot of us were excited about not just the story of the film, but the story of what a person like myself being cast in a film like Batgirl meant for our community. I definitely was made very aware of that from the moment that I was cast. I was very on and excited to do my very best to carry that with pride, and carry it well.
Courtesy Image 'Translators' documentary
Did you learn any particular lessons from the Batgirl experience that you're taking with you on your next projects?
Something that's really important is being able to know how culturally you're going to be coming in, and where you're from is going to be included in the story somehow. To be able to have a voice in the room in terms of how that's included in the storyline and make sure that it's authentic and that for everyone, that weight is understood of what it means in the zeitgeist, I think having some skin in the game in those rooms where it all happens is important. I think in the future, I am fighting to be in a place to produce things and to be more in development because it allows you to be a part of those conversations in a collaborative way. If you're just an actor stepping in for a role, maybe you don't have access to those rooms. You might not have that opportunity in every role, and sometimes that's perfectly fine. But I think it's really important for us to build our own things — the ownership — and just building equity in that way. I think that's really important.
Translators will screen during New York's Tribeca Film Festival on June 13.
This interview as been condensed for clarity and brevity.
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