Why Nyssiana From Alita: Battle Angel Looks So Familiar
"Alita: Battle Angel," released in American cinemas in 2019, was a landmark film of sorts for a long-running Japanese media franchise. The source material for what would become the "Alita: Battle Angel" film was a manga series titled "Battle Angel Alita," the serialization of which began in 1990. None other than James Cameron — who, for those unaware, directed two of the most profitable movies of all time in "Titanic" and "Avatar" – became a fan of the series in the late 1990s. Soon after that, Cameron began to work on a film adaptation of "Alita." Then, after a period of 20 years, "Alita: Battle Angel" was finally released, albeit sans James Cameron in the director's chair.
In the world of the film, the titular Alita has to fight against a variety of evil cyborgs. Nyssiana is one of those evil cyborgs, bearing an insect-like cybernetic body with long blades for arms. Her only apparent human feature is her face. Despite the character's largely bionic appearance, some viewers of the film may have nevertheless recognized that face as belonging to Eiza González. However, if that name doesn't ring a bell, González most likely looks familiar due to her work in one of the following projects.
González starred in Lola: érase una vez and Sueña conmigo
Eiza González's first role, and arguably her breakout role, was in the teen telenovela "Lola: érase una vez" (which can be translated as "Lola, Once Upon a Time"). Like many telenovelas, the episode order of "Lola: érase una vez" is considerable. That said, González and series co-lead Aarón Díaz were the only two cast members to appear in all 223 of its episodes. Since "Lola" aired in Mexico, fans outside of the country may not recognize her from her starring turn in the series, but those with access to Mexican TV very well may have tuned into one of her many appearances in the show at one point in time.
González returned to the telenovela world in "Sueña conmigo" (or "Dream About Me"), which aired on Nickelodeon in some Spanish-speaking countries. While, again, the series may be unfamiliar to viewers outside of those countries, González appeared in its lead role for a grand total of 150 episodes, making her telenovela work easily her most prolific.
González took over for Salma Hayek in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
"From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series," which aired for three seasons beginning in 2014, continues the storyline of the 1996 film "From Dusk Till Dawn." The TV series' source material was written by none other than Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez (who would later direct "Alita: Battle Angel," too). Though Tarantino's involvement in the film's TV series sequel was nonexistent, Rodriguez returned as its showrunner.
In "From Dusk till Dawn: The Series," Eiza González plays the role of the vampiric Santánico Pandemonium. The character was first portrayed by Salma Hayek in the original film, leaving big shoes for González to fill. Furthermore, "From Dusk Till Dawn" was González's first big role in an American production. González ultimately remained a part of the series for all 30 of its episodes, paving the way for her involvement in a number of subsequent Hollywood projects.
Eiza González was Darling in Baby Driver
Eiza González immediately followed up her starring role in "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series" with a supporting role in the musical heist film "Baby Driver." Ansel Elgort stars in "Baby Driver" as Baby, a stoic getaway driver for a criminal organization. The film's musical element comes into play as a result of Baby's own personal passion for music. Many of the film's action sequences are choreographed to the film's diegetic soundtrack, which is oftentimes comprised of songs Baby is listening to through an ever-present pair of earbuds.
González plays Darling in "Baby Driver," a member of the criminal organization Baby works for and the wife of fellow criminal Buddy (Jon Hamm). In an interview with PopSugar, González cited Darling's strength as a key factor that drew her to the role, describing her protectiveness of Buddy in particular as like that of a lioness. Though her filmography includes a fair number of grounded roles, "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Baby Driver," and "Alita: Battle Angel" cement González as a bona fide action star.
González was a civilian researcher in Godzilla vs. Kong
Most recently, Eiza González appeared as one of the supporting human characters in the monster movie mashup "Godzilla vs. Kong." While the film's focus is, of course, on the two titans in its title, one of its key human subplots involves representatives from a tech company called Apex Cybernetics journeying to the hollow center of the Earth, from which Kong and possibly other giant monsters originated. González is Maia Simmons, the daughter of Apex Cybernetics' founder and one of the representatives from the company to join the expedition to the Earth's core.
In an interview with Collider, González explained that she was surprised, upon working on the film, by the strength and independence of its female characters. She found the inclusion of capable women, including Maia, to be a subversion of the damsel in distress trope present in a number of prior monster movies. Though it doesn't quite require the action film heroics of her prior appearances in "Alita" and "Baby Driver," her role in "Godzilla vs. Kong" is nevertheless the latest in a lineage of powerful women in González's filmography.