Laia Manzanares Tomàs (born 30 March 1994) is a Spanish actress best known for her role as the cheerleader and love interest in Tame Impala's 2015 music video for "The Less I Know the Better", which became a sleeper hit and cult classic in the late 2010s. She is also known for playing the role of Ukrainian student Oksana Casanoves in the Spanish television series Merlí.

Laia Manzanares
Manzanares for Naturgy in 2017
Born
Laia Manzanares Tomàs

(1994-03-30) 30 March 1994 (age 30)[1]
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
OccupationActress

Early life

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Laia Manzanares Tomàs was born in 1994, to a Valencian father and Catalan mother.[2] She was educated at the Institut Públic XXV Olimpiada high school and the Col·legi de Teatre, for two years, in Barcelona.[3]

Manzanares was inspired to act professionally after watching Uma Thurman as Beatrix "The Bride" Kiddo in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1 and being impressed by the character's strength of personality.[4] Hoping to inspire others in the same way, Manzanares expressed her hope to work with high school or elementary school students to help instill self confidence in young people going through the "most vulnerable" periods in their lives.[4] Between castings she worked as a waitress and had she not become an actress she would have studied psychology.[4]

Career

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In the music video for "The Less I Know the Better", the surrealist Tame Impala music video, she is a cheerleader and the lover of a high school basketball player who is seduced by the gorilla mascot "Trevor".[5]

In television roles she has appeared in series such as Merlí, Cites [es], El día de mañana, Ray, and Matar al Padre.[6] In theatre roles, she has portrayed Amanda Todd (a Canadian teen who committed suicide due to cyberbullying and revenge pornography) in a dramatization called Amanda T. for TNC's youth theatre.[2][7]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Director Notes
2016 Waste Alejo Levis and Laura Sisteró Short film
2017 Sol creixent Laia Guillem Manzanares Short film
2018 Proyecto tiempo Eva Isabel Coixet Film for Naturgy
2019 La Tierra llamando a Ana Ana Fernando Bonelli Short film with 43 award wins[8]
2021 Alegría Yael Violeta Salama [9]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 Cites Laia Farràs 1 episode
2016–2018 Merlí Oksana Casanoves 27 episodes
2018 Matar al padre Ruth 1 episode
2018 El día de mañana Party guest (uncredited) 1 episode
2018 Vilafranca Eva Television film
2019 Estoy vivo Carlota Limited series
2019 Hache Sisilia Netflix series
2022 La noche más larga Sara Netflix series

Theatre

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Year Title Role Director Venue
2014 Malnascuts Txiki Blasi Sala Beckett
2014 Esquerdes Txiki Blasi Nau Ivanow
2016–2017 Odisseus Quimet Pla y Oriol Pla Sala Beckett
2018 Temps salvatge Ivana Josep Maria Miró Teatre Nacional de Catalunya
2019 Amanda T Amanda Todd Àlex Mañas Teatre Nacional de Catalunya

Awards

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Fugaz Awards

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Year Category Short film Result
2019 Best Actress La Tierra llamando a Ana Won

International Film Festival of Wales[10]

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Year Category Short film Result
2020 Best Actress La Tierra llamando a Ana Won

References

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  1. ^ Sensacine: Laia Manzanares
  2. ^ a b "Laia Manzanares: "Oksana ha llegado a 'Merlí' dispuesta a dar caña"". El Periodico (in Spanish). 10 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Laia Manzanares, en 'su' jardín: Montjuïc". El Periodico (in Spanish). 9 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "LAIA MANZANARES: "Me siento un poco en deuda con el arte, pero de buen rollo"". Vanidad (in Spanish). 13 December 2019.
  5. ^
  6. ^ "Laia Manzanares: "He viscut un dol horrorós posant les paraules de l'Amanda T en boca meva"". ara.cat (in Catalan). 3 January 2019.
  7. ^ "'Amanda T.': el acoso a los jóvenes por las redes llega al TNC". El Nacional (in Catalan). 9 January 2019.
  8. ^ La Tierra llamando a Ana - IMDb, retrieved 22 March 2023
  9. ^ "Violeta Salama refleja la diversidad de España en su film "Alegría"". eldiario.es. 8 October 2021.
  10. ^ "IFFW 2020". Film Festival Guild. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
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