By: Brinlee Edger
Photography: Frederico Martins
When Daniela Melchior joins the Zoom, she’s soft-spoken but sharp, the kind of person who fills a room without even trying. Her warmth lands before her words do — a quiet kind of confidence that doesn’t need to announce itself. It’s early morning in Lisbon, but she’s glowing through the screen, casual and funny in the way people are when they’ve already made peace with who they are. Within a few minutes, it’s obvious why she’s become one of Hollywood’s most magnetic new faces.
Next up for Melchior is Anaconda, an action comedy from SONY Pictures premiering on Christmas Day. The film stars Jack Black and Paul Rudd, two buddies on a quest in the Amazon to remake their favorite film, 1997’s campy Anaconda, starring Jennifer Lopez.
The thing that stands out most with the film is her curiosity. When Melchior talks about Anaconda, she lights up. “Shooting a comedy is so different,” she says. “It’s laid-back, it’s all about rhythm and play. Steve Zahn would just move his eyes, and I’d start laughing. The energy was incredible.” She calls it “a masterclass in timing,” then smiles. “And they’re just good people. That’s what makes it work.”
But Melchior’s story doesn’t start in Los Angeles or London. It begins in Portugal, where her first stage was a classroom and her first audience was a few classmates. “I started drama classes outside of school when I was still a kid,” she says. “At first, I was just doing impressions, funny, cliché characters from different parts of Portugal. But when I saw people actually listening, I thought, okay, maybe I have something here.” What she found wasn’t fame — it was the power of attention, the rush of being seen and heard.
Nothing about her background pointed toward acting. “Not a single artist in my family,” she says. “My grandparents worked in the fields. My grandfather worked in submarines. Acting wasn’t even an option.” Still, passion seemed to be a family trait. “My parents had jobs that required heart, not just money,” she says. “So when I told them I wanted to act, they said, ‘Whatever you choose, we’ll support you.’”
Clothing by BA&SH; shoes vintage
That support paid off faster than anyone expected. During her final year of acting school, she landed a role on a Portuguese soap opera. “It was my first real job, and from there, I just kept working,” she says. For her parents, it was proof she hadn’t made a mistake; for her, it was proof that persistence could actually build something real.
Even now, with international fame and credits like The Suicide Squad, Road House, and Fast X, Melchior talks like someone still a little surprised by how far she’s come. Her modesty doesn’t sound practiced — it feels instinctive. “I never had a plan for Hollywood,” she admits. “When I started, I was just happy on stage. Everything else came later.”
That humility doesn’t mean a lack of drive. Over seven years, she’s built a career defined by range — from the dark humor of The Suicide Squad to the romantic intensity of Road House, where she starred opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. “It was easy to pretend I was falling in love,” she laughs. “We were shooting in the Dominican Republic. The beach was beautiful, the sunsets were perfect — everything helped.”
For someone whose talent looks effortless, Melchior is intentional about everything she puts into the world. She admits that music has always been another love — one she’s still a little scared of. “I’ve always loved to sing,” she says, “but I never saw myself in musicals. My voice isn’t high like pop singers. It’s lower, more soul, more jazz.” A classical voice teacher once told her she didn’t fit the mold. Instead of discouraging her, it gave her a new purpose. “Now I just want to do music that feels meaningful,” she says. “Everything we listen to changes how we feel. It should matter.”
That belief — that art carries weight — runs through everything she says. It’s also how she thinks about the modern world, especially when it comes to social media and AI. “People say AI will destroy jobs and ruin lives,” she says. “But who made AI? Humans. It’s not technology that scares me, it’s losing our soul. We could have all this progress and still keep our hearts, but some people choose not to.” She pauses for a moment. “We’re not doomed because of technology,” she adds softly. “We’re doomed because of the soul we’re losing.”
Blazer by Isabel Marant; Skirt by A LINE
Her outlook isn’t cynical, rather it’s hopeful in a grounded way. She believes that influence only matters if you use it for good. She tells a story about her late great-uncle, who donated most of his savings to charity. “None of us knew he’d been giving money away every month,” she says. “When he passed, he left a little for his sisters and the rest for charity. It inspired everyone. Because what’s money really for, if not to do good?”
That mix of conviction and empathy seems to define her. When she talks about working in the U.S., her tone shifts again — more thoughtful, but still bright. A recent trip to Los Angeles left her buzzing with energy. “The mindset there is different,” she says. “Everyone’s talking about what’s next. It’s not just small talk. People want to make things happen.” She’s started developing her own projects as a producer, determined to help shape the stories she wants to see. “I left L.A. inspired,” she says. “People weren’t just patting me on the back. They were saying, ‘Let’s do it.’”
That forward motion is what she loves most about the industry — the collaboration, the openness, the mix of old and new. “I just finished Violent Night 2 with Jared Harris and Joe Pantoliano,” she says. “They’ve been doing this for decades, but they still sit down with younger actors and ask about our process. That’s what being a real artist is, always learning.” The film also stars Kristen Bell and David Harbour and is set for December 2026 release. In addition to Anaconda and Violent Night 2, Melchior has the buddy comedy, Ball’s Up, directed by Greg Farrelly, and also stars Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser.
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Her respect for the craft is obvious, but so is her humor. When asked about possibly moving to the States, she laughs. “Everyone tells me I’m secretly a New Yorker,” she says. “I’ve only been there twice, but I get it now. The city moves fast, people are ambitious, proactive. That’s very me.” She grins. “There’s a little New York in everyone who wants more.”
As our conversation winds down, Melchior’s manager pops onto the call to remind her of another meeting. She waves goodbye with the same easy warmth she had at the start, unhurried, genuine, present. That’s the thing about her. She’s not trying to perform humility or confidence; she just is both.
“I want to keep growing,” she says simply. “As an actor, as a person, as someone who tries to do good with what I have.” Then she smiles, that quiet, grounded kind of smile that feels like both a promise and a truth. “Everything else will come if I stay true to that.”
CREDITS:
Photographer: Frederico Martins
Digi-tech: Pedro Sá @ Lalaland Studios
Stylist: Nelly Goncalves
Hair: Claudio Pacheco
Makeup: Beatriz Texugo
Retouching: Tânia Castro @ Lalaland Studios
Special thanks to LX Factory – Lisboa and Rita Graça