Imagine if the ordinary sounds you hear daily transformed into intricate musical rhythms in your head — cars honking in traffic, kids playing basketball in the street or a co-worker tapping a pen on a desk.
That’s what happens in the mind of Rudy Mancuso. The Brazilian American actor, musician, puppeteer and internet personality was diagnosed with synesthesia, which allows him to interpret sounds differently than other people. For example, Mancuso might hear the sound of rain pattering on a tin roof and associate it with different colors, shapes and personifications.
Mancuso’s synesthesia is underscored in the romantic musical comedy Música. Written and directed by the man himself, the film tells the story of Rudy Mancuso, a creative albeit struggling street performer who can’t seem to get his life together. When he meets Isabella (Camila Mendes), however, he begins to find meaning beyond the music that consumes him.
During an interview with the Current, Mancuso and Mendes talked about their favorite and least favorite sounds and how their real-life relationship affected their chemistry on the set. Mancuso also talked about his puppet, Diego, who’s featured in the film and in the content that he creates for Awkward Puppets, a TikTok account that currently boasts 1.9 million followers.
Música premieres April 4 on Prime Video.
Rudy, what non-musical instruments make the best sounds in your head?
Rudy Mancuso: You know, I love plastic garbage cans. They have this natural bass. You get these different, percussive tones all in one. When you use thick, plastic garbage cans and forks and knives as drumsticks, you’d be surprised how full they sound.
Camila, did making this film make you more conscious about the sounds around you that maybe you hadn’t noticed before?
Camila Mendes: Absolutely. I already have a sort of sensitivity to sound. I can get kind of overwhelmed and hypersensitive to it. But I definitely think this movie opened up my perception of music. The definition of it expanded with this movie.
What are your favorite sounds in everyday life?
RM: I like birds chirping in the morning.
CM: I don’t live near water, but I love the sound of ocean waves, or a fountain. Anything that emulates physical water moving. It’s really soothing. Stuff like construction [and] traffic are on the other side of that spectrum.
You should add babies crying on airplanes to that list.
RM: Yeah, it’s hard to turn babies crying into music.
What percentage of the film is based on things that actually happened to you? For example, did you really get shot by a stray bullet?
RM: No, that part was the 10% to 20% that was fiction. I’d say a good 80% to 90% of the film is authentic. [Getting shot by a stray bullet] did happen to a close friend of mine that I went to school with. He was on a date in a car and in mid conversation, he got shot. It was a freak accident. The bullet ricocheted and hit him in the shoulder. He remembers being so shocked and unable to process it. I stole that story.
Did you know from the start that Diego was going to be such an integral part of the film?
RM: I always knew that Diego was going to be an instrumental part of this story. I didn’t know he would have as many scenes as he ended up having. Every time we shot [with Diego], he wouldn’t stop talking.
Camila, when you first saw Rudy perform as Diego, what did you think?
RM: Yeah, were you creeped the hell out?
CM: No, I was fascinated. I’ve never watched a puppeteer in action. It was really cool. And it’s like I got to see this whole other playful side of [him]. That was fun.
I know you both are now in a relationship together. How did your real chemistry on the set affect the chemistry of your characters?
RM: It enhanced it. It elevated everything because it was real. It was physical. It was palpable.
CM: I think the story is so personal to [Rudy]. So, playing himself was very easy for him than it was for me. I tried to personalize Isabella as much as possible, so that I could match that level of intimacy.
I had open heart surgery when I was a teenager. The reason I’m telling you this is because they put a mechanical heart valve in me that actually ticks like a watch. It’s like a built-in metronome. So, as I was watching the film, Rudy, I kept thinking about how you might react if you lived with something like that.
CM: Wow.
RM: Do you feel it?
No. Most of the time, I don’t even realize that it’s ticking.
RM: That’s really interesting. I’ve never heard that before. You’re a walking metronome. I need you to sit right next to me while I’m playing piano and wearing a stethoscope. I’m going to play to the beat of your heart.
And if you need the tempo to speed up, I’ll just run in place.
RM: (Laughs)
CM: (Laughs)
When is Diego going to get his own movie?
RM: Diego’s in negotiations right now.
CM: Yeah, he’s very demanding.
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This article appears in Mar 20 – Apr 2, 2024.