Inside 'Instintos': Pregnancy, Dark Instincts, and Kate del Castillo's Boldest Role Yet

"They treated me like I was really pregnant," Kate del Castillo says with a laugh. On the set of Instintos, her latest thriller, she wore a prosthetic belly so convincing that crew members constantly offered her chairs, asked what she craved, and reminded her to take it easy.

"I could eat whatever I wanted, and nobody would notice," she joked during an interview with The Latin Times and ENSTARZ.

But the film is no laughing matter. Directed by Sebastián Borensztein, VIX's Instintos is a psychological thriller that places Del Castillo in her most vulnerable position yet—playing Maggie, a woman in the final days of pregnancy whose supposed sanctuary turns into a nightmare. Alongside her, Mexican actress Daniela Schmidt embodies Cara, a mysterious woman whose darkness grows scene by scene. Add Bruno Bichir as Maggie's husband, and the story becomes a claustrophobic game of fear, secrets, and survival.

Playing With Fear and Motherhood

For Schmidt, stepping into Cara meant exploring shadows she hadn't visited before. "It was about carrying that darkness inside without letting it break me," she explained. The script, she said, guided her through a constant push and pull: how much to reveal, how much to keep hidden. Cara becomes both tormentor and mirror, revealing secrets while burying others, in a role that demanded restraint and intensity at the same time.

Del Castillo, meanwhile, described Maggie as one of her most physical performances. The fake belly was more than a costume, it became part of the tension. Walking like a penguin, leaning into exhaustion, she said the prosthetic made her forget, at times, that she wasn't actually expecting. "Everyone treated me as if I were really pregnant," she recalled. That realism added to the atmosphere of terror, where every scene heightened the audience's anxiety about what could happen to both mother and child.

When Instincts Save You—Or Betray You

The title Instintos sparked a revealing exchange during the interview. What role do instincts play in your lives?

For Schmidt, instincts are almost ancestral, "an inheritance from our ancestors, a wisdom deeper than intellect." She described them as a voice that has protected her in moments of danger.

Del Castillo's response was blunt. "Ignoring my instincts has made me screw up many times," she admitted. In her youth, she confused fear with instinct and often regretted not listening to herself. Today, she says, that internal voice is the first thing she pays attention to. The confession resonated with the film's theme: instincts can guide you to safety, or lure you into danger.

A Reunion With Bruno Bichir

Instintos also marks a reunion between del Castillo and Bruno Bichir, with whom she last worked years ago in Julia. "I've known Bruno my whole life," she said. "He's hilarious, and in a film that's basically a nightmare, that kind of humor was essential." Their on-screen

Even in promoting the film, the actresses leaned into contrasts. At the junket, both appeared in lacy corset looks, teasingly acknowledging the glamour of fashion before diving back into the dark heart of their film. Del Castillo joked about being styled "like a doll," saying she simply let the wardrobe team dress her and played along. It was a reminder that even in a thriller about terror and motherhood, there's room for humor, beauty, and play.

Kate del Castillo's Current Era

If Instintos feels like a bold new step, it's only part of a creative burst for del Castillo. Over the past two years, she's moved fluidly across genres and platforms:

• On Vix+, she starred in and produced Volver a caer (2023), a modern reimagining of Anna Karenina.
• She lent her voice to Sisiki in The Casagrandes Movie (2024), the animated Netflix/Nickelodeon hit.
• In *The Biggest Fan (2025)**, now streaming on Netflix, she plays an actress navigating cancellation culture in a biting comedy.
• On Fox's The Cleaning Lady, she joined as Ramona Sanchez, adding her presence to a fast-paced network drama.
• And coming this fall, she stars opposite Dave Bautista in the action thriller Trap House (2025), set to hit U.S. theaters in November.

This string of roles underscores her versatility. Del Castillo is not simply returning to form—she's expanding it, from psychological thrillers to comedy, family animation to cartel dramas.

Motherhood and survival

Spanish-language thrillers rarely get the spotlight they deserve, but Instintos changes that. It's a story written with nuance, directed with precision, and powered by performances that keep viewers on edge. As del Castillo put it, "It's not just a thriller, it's a delicious mystery in our language."

For audiences used to seeing her as the iron-willed Teresa Mendoza in La Reina del Sur, or the Drug Boss Ramona in The Cleaning Lady, Maggie in Instintos offers something startlingly different: fragility, fear, and the fight to protect new life. With Schmidt delivering equal weight on the opposite side of the conflict, the film becomes a conversation about motherhood, trust, and survival.

By the end of the interview, del Castillo gave the best pitch of all: "Follow your instincts to go see Instintos." Between fake pregnancies, real confessions, and a reunion with some of the biggest names in Latin American cinema, the film is set to keep audiences talking long after the credits roll.