NYWIFT Blog

By Lily Della Pietra

Welcome to NYWIFT, Monique Gabriela Curnen!

Monique Gabriela Curnen is an actor and producer known for a string of critical and commercial successes, including Half Nelson, The Dark Knight, Contagion and Birth/Rebirth. While working with Warrington Hudlin at the Black Filmmaker Foundation, she started producing short films. She continued producing independently, including the Joe Holt short Noël, which sold to ShortsHD. 

She served as executive producer on the award-winning feature documentary, A Run For More (PBS, Amazon) directed by Ray Whitehouse. She’s currently in development on the narrative feature Sheila & the Punk Rock, written and directed by K. Lorrel Manning.

In our interview, Monique discusses the roots of her career, her experience working on large-scale productions, and how she overcomes challenges within these realms. Get to know her in our latest interview!

NYWIFT Member Monique Gabriela Curnen

Welcome to NYWIFT! Can you give our readers a short introduction to who you are?

I’m an actor and producer. NYWIFT members might know my work from such films as Half Nelson, The Dark Knight, Contagion, and Birth/Rebirth. My television credits include The Unusuals for ABC, Sons of Anarchy for FX, and Power and Powerbook II: Ghost for Starz. Some of my favorite films include Daughters of the Dust, The Lives of Others, Central Station, and Short Term 12. 

I grew up just outside Boston – my parents were both teachers, my mom from Puerto Rico, and my dad a New Yorker of Irish and German descent. My childhood loves were reading, watching old black-and-white Hollywood movies with my grandmother, acting in school plays, and playing lacrosse. While it sometimes feels hard to make enough time to read with work-life demands, I am currently reading Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez. 

I’d say I’m a late bloomer, and was fortunate to explore a career in curating and museum work, before finally listening to the voice inside urging me to return to theater and acting. For several years now, I’ve also been devoting my energies to producing short films, and am currently working on helping to produce a feature film. I love how all those career choices have opened my horizons, nurtured my curiosity and creativity, been fun, and challenged me to grow and think critically.

What brings you to NYWIFT?

I have admired how NYWIFT nurtures community and has such generous offerings for professional development, as well as showcasing members’ work. I had been meaning to join, and a friend urged me to do so at the end of 2024. I’m excited to learn from fellow members and find ways that I can support NYWIFT programming.

Monique Gabriela Curnen on Powerbook II: Ghost

You have an incredibly diverse background in film and television, from acting to producing documentaries and short films. What has been the most fulfilling part of your career so far, and how has each genre shaped the way you approach production?

I have been truly fortunate and found fulfillment in many facets of my career: going toe-to-toe with Katey Sagal during our scenes in Sons of Anarchy; shadowing the director and producers on an episode of Tim Roth’s show Lie to Me; being approached and hearing how passionate Power fans are about that show’s characters, twists, and turns; and witnessing audiences being deeply moved by Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe’s story as the first trans woman to run for office in San Antonio, Texas in the documentary A Run For More. 

Working in front of and behind the camera has been very fulfilling. I love witnessing and being part of the collaboration and creative process with crew members across departments. My approach to production has not been shaped so much by genre, but rather by the people and teams associated with each production.

For example, with A Run For More, I was approached by PJ Raval, a gifted director and producer working in documentaries and narrative features. PJ and I had worked together several years prior on Sunset Stories, the indie feature directed by Silas Howard and Ernesto Foronda. I starred opposite Sung Kang, and PJ was the cinematographer. PJ was producing A Run For More and introduced me to the film’s director, Ray Whitehouse. I was so impressed by Ray, his friendship with Frankie, and the years he had dedicated to capturing her journey. I was deeply moved by the story, and they had an early cut of the film for me to view and weigh in on as I came on board as an executive producer. 

So, my approach to a project is always about the people involved with making the film, my belief in the story, and then figuring out if and how I can be of service to the film reaching as many viewers as possible. I’ve also learned that while narrative features can take years to get made, depending on the subject matter, documentaries can often require even more patience and stamina.

Monique Gabriela Curnen BTS of AWAY

Can you tell us about your role in the critically acclaimed film Half Nelson and how you feel this breakthrough role has influenced your work?

I auditioned for Half Nelson not knowing anything about who was attached or Ryan Gosling’s burgeoning star power at the time. I had worked with one of the film’s producers – Paul Mezey, on Maria Full of Grace – and thought the script was phenomenal. It was also set largely in a public school, and since both my parents were public school teachers, I felt a strong identification with my role and the story. It is a very special film. 

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden put their everything into writing and directing the film. They had started out with a short film and developed the feature, which was supported early on by the Sundance Institute programs. The producing team was stellar: hands-on, present, accessible, and always there problem-solving each day on set. And the casting by Eyde Belasco was next level with Ryan, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie, and Denis O’Hare stirring things up in the teacher’s lounge. 

Being part of the film was instructive on how much love, thought, planning, creativity, pressure, work, hustle, and magic go into making an independent film. I often think back and am influenced by having observed that producing team at work. And I draw inspiration from other actors in the film whose work has continued to captivate me, like Ryan, Denis, Ron Cephas Jones, and Adepero Oduye.

Curnen with Tatiana Kelly and Valerie Stadler

You starred in many incredible films, like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, as the tough Detective Ramirez. What was your experience like working on this project?

Working on The Dark Knight was a dream come true. I had seen Memento and loved that and Batman Begins. I then went and found a way to watch his early short film Doodlebug and his first feature Following. After seeing Batman Begins, I remember thinking I’d really love the chance to portray a complex character that inhabits one of Christopher Nolan’s worlds. So I had to pinch myself when it happened. That was my first time working on such a giant production. It was a well-oiled, smooth-running machine, and so thrilling to be a part of it. 

My scenes were shot in London and Chicago. My first scene to shoot on my first day of work was a walk-and-talk with the great Gary Oldman, one of my favorite actors of all time. I was incredibly nervous and excited, but he put me at ease right away by saying, “You want to rehearse?” and we jumped right in.

It was inspiring to witness all the departments have so much joy in their work as they collaborated to fulfill Chris’s vision. Lindy Hemming was the Costume Designer and a total delight – when you stepped into her offices, it was like a magical design lab of drawings and fabrics. The stunts department was abuzz with their work. I got to witness the preparation and execution of the incredible 18-wheeler truck flip stunt in downtown Chicago. 

In reflecting on both The Dark Knight and Half Nelson, even though the two films are at opposite ends of the budget spectrum, both sets shared an electric energy of excitement among cast and crew – a feeling that we were part of making something quite special.

Curnen with Gary Oldman on The Dark Knight

What challenges have you faced as a producer, and how have you overcome them in your projects? Are these similar or different to your experience as an actress?

Financing, patience, and endurance; financing, patience, and endurance. Thankfully, with the short films I’ve worked on, my team and I have been able to secure financing from a single donor or groups of donors. I have to say that with the budget in place, things flowed really well for permitting, locations, selecting cast and crew, and filming. I have worked with friends and acquaintances from prior jobs, so there was always good time allowed for prep, which definitely helped. 

Clear communication, both verbally and via email, is key. I’ve definitely carefully observed how sets run as an actor, and taken notes on what to do and not to do for my producing work. Features are bigger, of course, and have been tougher. I’m now at work on producing my first feature film, and all the lessons I’ve learned along the way inform my preparation for that.

Curnen on the set of TDK as Detective Ramirez

Are there any projects you are currently working on that you would like to share?

Yes, I’m currently working on the narrative feature Sheila & the Punk Rock. It’s a vibrant coming-of-age film set in the 1980s, written and to be directed by K. Lorrel Manning. Our producing team includes Carl Effenson (Mudbound, Bob Trevino Likes It), Michael Cuomo (The Light of the Moon, Brooklyn, Minnesota), and Ben Fuqua (Jockey, Find Your Friends). I’m also working on a short film script that I’ll shoot later this year.

Connect with Monique Gabriela Curnen on Instagram @moniquecurnen!

(All images courtesy of Monique Gabriela Curnen)