In his book The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss wrote: “If you find a person like that, someone who you can hold and close your eyes to everything else, you can consider yourself very lucky. Even if it only lasts for a minute, or a day,” to describe his protagonist's parents—two troupe artists so deeply in love with each other and their craft that it is hard to believe such a couple could exist outside of fiction. However, after talking and spending time with Fernanda Castillo and Erik Hayser… well, it’s easy to understand that, maybe, just maybe, somewhere within his own world, Rothfuss did find a pair of real people who inspired him to write those words.

Choosing to intertwine your life with someone else is no simple task; yet, we do it. We find someone and build bridges where our goals, passions, talents, virtues, and flaws meet. In Fernanda and Erik's case, one of these bridges places them side by side on the actor's journey—a demanding vocation, both physically and psychologically. What more could anyone ask for than to have a life partner who truly understands both the grandeur of your triumphs and the complexity of the most intricate moments of your art? Firsthand, speaking the very same language.

However, sharing a vocation does not mean their methods blend into an indistinguishable amalgam. For Fernanda and Erik, respecting each other's individual process is sacred. Both confess that, unless self-doubt knocks on the door to ask for a second opinion on an audition or an idea, the creation of their characters happens on separate paths.

It is within the disconnect where they truly find their refuge. As Fernanda aptly points out, when the work becomes heavy, the key lies in allowing oneself to step away from it: “Being able to step out, be present in life, and distract yourself helps so that, when you return to a process, you can find things you couldn't see before. That is where we truly find each other.”...

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