movie monologue on girlfight

"I was a tomboy growing up. All the girls around me were into satisfying boys, looking good and going to the mall and I was like, 'It's not fun!' So I played manhunt or baseball with the guys or went round ringing doorbells and running away.

I quit school four years ago, at 17, and worked as an extra in films such as Summer Of Sam, Cradle Will Rock and For Love Of The Game. I was just about to give up when I heard about an open call for Girlfight, about this Latina chick who finds herself by becoming a boxer.

There were so many people at the audition. I stood there with a pessimistic attitude and I think that's what got me a call-back. I did a very raw, unpolished reading. But I guess they saw something in me because they wanted me to work out with a professional boxer.

When I got into that ring, he started whacking me and laughing and running away. I couldn't catch him. I turned into an animal and that's when the director pulled me aside and said, 'I think we've found our star.'

I trained for four-and-a-half months. It was rejuvenating and, at the same time, excruciating. It relieved all my body's stress, even though the next day I would be in agonising pain. They wanted me to go pro at the gym. But I stopped boxing after the film. I'm not competitive. Besides, I want to keep my teeth."

Copyright 2001
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