Why Tally Brunner From FUBAR Looks So Familiar
Netflix's action-comedy series "FUBAR" may primarily focus on the father-daughter spy duo of Luke Brunner (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Emma Brunner (Monica Barbaro), but they aren't the only members of the Brunner family that appear in the series. Indeed, Fabiana Udenio brings Luke's ex-wife and Emma's mother Tally to life throughout the series — a character whose presence allows the show to dive deeper into just how this family dynamic got so FUBAR in the first place.
If audiences find Tally to look rather familiar, it's probably because Udenio has spent decades acting in all manner of notable roles. She's guest starred in episodes of "Full House," "Cheers," "Quantum Leap," "Baywatch," "Babylon 5," and "CSI: Miami," along with minor roles in big movies like "RoboCop 2" and "The Wedding Planner." However, readers may be most surprised to learn about a couple of the actor's biggest credits, which many will find quite recognizable.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Fabiana Udenio has been acting in TV and film since the 1960s, but arguably her most 60s-style movie came some 30 years later when she starred as part of the cast of the classic spy send-up "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." In the movie, Udenio plays the secretary of the villainous Number 2 (Robert Wagner), a character named — sigh — Alotta Fagina. Her use of both the arts of deception and seduction make her arguably a more capable foe to Austin than her bosses, though she, too, is thwarted by the end of the movie.
In an interview between Udenio and Winslow Leech, the actor said that she was shocked when her agent told her about the part and what the character was named. Nonetheless, she decided to take the plunge knowing that Mike Myers was spearheading the project. "Basically, shooting it was a constant surprise, just seeing the words and the characters and the vision behind the project come to life."
90210 (2008)
Roughly a decade after her role in "Austin Powers," Fabiana Udenio would land a recurring role on an extra-popular TV series in the form of the teen dramedy "90210." Throughout the first three seasons of the show, Udenio sporadically appears as Atoosa Shirazi, the mother of major character Navid (Michael Steger). She tries hard to be a supportive mom to Navid, though she struggles with some of the character's more extreme choices, like raising a child that isn't his and wanting to get married at a young age.
Just like a certain "90210" storyline that disappeared without a trace, Atoosa was strangely absent from the show during its final two seasons. However, one could only imagine that she spends quite a bit of time being worried sick over Navid off-screen, especially when considering everything that the character has gone through by the time that "90210" finally comes to a close.
Jane the Virgin (2015)
In 2015, Fabiana Udenio finally landed a role in one of the best shows on The CW and possibly the only one that could out-drama "90210," with that being the telenovela-inspired "Jane the Virgin." Further mirroring her "90210" part, the actor recurs on the show for only the first three seasons of its five-season run and she plays the mother of a main character — only this time, she's far less of a compassionate figure.
In the show, Udenio portrays Elena Di Nola, the mother of Rafael (Justin Baldoni) who once operated as a crime lord in Florida decades prior to the start of the series. Elena ostensibly abandoned Rafael as a child, though the two crossing paths in the present day gives the former a chance to explain just how complicated the situation actually was. It's good that Rafael gets this context when he does, as Elena meets a shockingly dark fate at the hands of her other estranged stepdaughter. Tough luck.