By David Jerome
Correspondent

Marisa Quintanilla has lived in Idyllwild for about 2 1/2 years. Her business here, Wildland Organics, is about to celebrate its anniversary Oct. 31.

An active vocalist, photographer and visual artist, she is best known as an actor. Her role as “Huilen” in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” embedded her in the mythos of modern film vampires. Her recent guest starring appearance as the warrior “Sheila” in the TBS series “Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail” was, for her, a “dream role.”

Her life has taken her to many interesting places. Born in McAllen, Texas, and like many creatives, she felt the pull of the metropolises — first to the East Coast and Brown University, (with an interlude in St. Petersburg, Russia), then to the West Coast and Hollywood. Like all of us here, she finally found Idyllwild.

TC: How did you end up here?

“My husband and I were living in a van, ‘van life-ing’ across the country, then Canada, all the way to Cape Breton. We came back to the West Coast and went down to Baja. We had left LA to find a new place to live. We had a few places in mind we thought we wanted to live, but nowhere felt like home … We thought, ‘Maybe closer to LA.’

“We were on the 5 heading toward the 10, trying to get Realtors in Arrowhead or Big Bear, but no one was answering their phones. It was the best thing that ever happened to us. We asked, ‘What is south of the 10? What is all that green on the map? What is Idyllwild?’ We took a right instead of a left.

“What’s special, what ‘hit home,’ was when we stopped into Café Aroma for lunch. Everyone was so welcoming. We stayed from 2 p.m. until they closed … It was the most wonderful night of people and music … The band started playing my favorite song and I started to cry. I looked at my husband and we said, ‘We’re home.’”

TC: What inspired this business, Wildland Organics?

“Living simply, living in the van, before that in a tiny house, but still living luxuriously. I set my mind to make really beautiful multi-use products that are effective, organic and luxurious.”

Wildland Organics products aim to “simplify” and “declutter” daily life while satisfying the senses and the spirit. Their “Super Bar” is one product for bathing, hair and shaving. Everything is mindfully sourced and packaged (refills, anyone?), and their own products are made here in Idyllwild.

Having found her new home, Marissa made a transition from acting to the Wildland business. She stepped away from her former career, telling her manager and agent she had no intention of acting again.

“I had settled into my quiet mountain life. Until I got a phone call and was offered a guest-starring role opposite Steve Buscemi. I got offered my dream role; comedy, action, socially relevant and written by a native woman. I spent a week starring alongside Steve. Action, riding horses, a period piece, socially relevant themes handled in a comedic way, not heavy handed.

“At the end of the shoot everyone on the set knew a lot about Idyllwild and everyone had a Wildland Organics gift bag featuring my signature hand sanitizer, the same sanitizer I made batches of and gifted to local businesses that were open at the beginning of the pandemic.”

TC: When did you know you wanted to pursue acting as a career?

“In college, at Brown University. I fell in love with acting as a craft … it could be a socially meaningful career because of the impact that film and television have on our community.”

TC: You got a formal acting education at Brown. What important lessons did you learn there?

“How important it is to be selective about the projects you are working on, because the characters you are playing mean something to the people who are watching. If the character you are playing is a stereotype, or is degrading to women or anything of that nature, then you are propagating that negative image. So it is important to choose your projects.

“The character I am playing in ‘Miracle Workers’ turns all stereotypes on their heads. She is a strong warrior, she is not a ‘princess’ waiting for a man to rescue her, she is the opposite, and she is running the show.”

TC: What about your time in Russia. What did you gain as an actor there?

“They act from the heart and soul.”

TC: You seem to have been cast in “action” roles from the beginning. What’s that like?

“I love action roles.”

TC: Are your characters like you?

“Yes, I think that in every character there is a little bit of me that sparks authenticity. In theater they want to see you transform into something different. In these kinds of roles (film and TV) they cast what they call ‘an essence match;’ the essence of the character is also in the essence of your being. So it is an easy fit. Within your wheelhouse.”

TC: What were your most difficult and enjoyable moments on set?

“I think it was one and the same. In this role (Sheila in ‘Oregon Trails’) I had to learn that entire fight sequence in one day. And then I had to perform it the next day, multiple times, in the freezing rain and hail. The magic of the cinema makes it so you can’t even tell it was raining, but I sure felt it.

“All the cues were based on me. There were horses running and weapons flying and (prop) shot guns going off, and I had to hit my marks perfectly on every step in order for the scene to work. It was so hard; there was so much pressure. It was definitely the scariest moment of my career, at the beginning. At the end it was the absolute best.

“As soon as the director yelled ‘cut’ the entire crew started applauding for me and a sea of people came over to congratulate me. As they began to drift away I saw that Steve Buscemi was waiting for me, to give me a fist bump. And he had such pride in his eyes, and he said, ‘You done good, kid.’”

TC: Any hints about upcoming roles?

“If they offer me something as meaty as Sheila I will certainly show up.”