May 29, 2025 • 61 mins
In this interview I sit down with Bronx-born actor David Zayas for an intimate conversation that traces his incredible journey from the streets of New York to the big and small screens. Born to Puerto Rican parents, Zayas opens up about his early years in the Bronx, joining the U.S. Air Force, and then serving as an NYPD officer all before he ever stepped foot on a stage.
While still on the force and juggling Fatherhood, Zayas began pursuing acting, eventually landing iconic roles in shows like Dexter, OZ, and Gotham. We talk about the importance of staying true to his roots as a Latino actor, his work in theater, and his deep connection to LAByrinth Theater Company, where he helped build a cultural space that’s thrived for over 30 years.
He also shares heartfelt stories about being a proud father and grandfather, including how Bad Bunny helped him connect with his granddaughter. Plus, he talks about his marriage to the incredible Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear), and teases what’s next in the Dexter universe.
This is more than a career retrospective it’s a love letter to art, culture, family, and staying grounded while dreaming big.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Come Again, a podcast by Honey.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
German Bim Benito that beats Sijas to grassyas Come Again.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
I am so happy you're here today.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Me too.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I'm glad I got to shout out a med off
the rip because he was like, I'm gonna make it
this happen.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I'm gonna make this happen.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I was like, did he answer? Did he read your message?
He's like and then he hit me. He's like, good news,
we got David.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
And I was like, awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I was going to Dominican Republic and that just put
me like in a totally different space. I went to
Dominican Republic, happy knowing that when I get back, when
I got back, I was going to sit across from you.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah. No, well it was you know, I saw I
saw James on the show, and then I saw Elizabeth
on the show and I was like.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, would And You're like, you know what if they
if they already tested it out.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well this is not. It's just that like I'm like,
I'm terrible with like, you know, messages and stuff. So uh,
I know, I got a me send me something a
while ago. Oh you mean like replying to messages, replying
the messages sometimes I just miss him.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Listen your living life.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Even my family's like yo, I texted you, you know,
two months ago, what's up? And we're cousins here, you know,
but it's just you know, So I'm glad I was
able to, you know, look at it, find it.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
A Meg was persistent. I wasn't letting up.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Because I am because I did James Nos James, but
I did James because I loved you on Dexter and
I was when I saw him on screen, I said, wait, wait,
hold on, who is this guy and how is he
so amazing at this?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
But we're going to get into James a little bit later.
Puerto Rican born in pons No.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I was born in New York.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
What the Internet does, Eve?
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I tried to change and it doesn't. I was born
New York. Then when I was baby, went to Puerto Rico, Okay.
And then I came back to the Bronx right before
school and I spent the first part in the Milanda
Hunts Point area, Hunts Point area, yes, in Candela, and
then when I went to high school, we moved to
the sound View section and that's where I went to
(01:58):
high school and then until I left her till I
left the house. You're a Bronx boy now and I
still live in Riverdale with my wife.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Really, I love that for you, so it's genuine. It's
not like I'm talking to somebody from the Bronx that
is now so he's like, Hollywood Bronx.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I love that, that's my home. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I know that you're in the Bronx Hall of Fame
or Walk of Fame they have something like that, right, Yes,
that was.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
About eleven twelve years ago. I got into the Bronx
Walk of Fame. What a wonderful weekend that is. It
was like really cool.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
It was just recently.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Well it's again.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, they did Judy tourists.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That's why I did the research and I saw you.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
She's amazing. She's down the hole. She works here too.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, that's what I did, this project called Freestyle went
to the Bronx.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
You know, we definitely don't talk about it, but I've.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Seen Judy is just great.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Now, you said you lived in the Bronx till you
left your house. Where did you go? What age did
you leave your house?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Because I remember before we would of our house eighteen
now is thirty five.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
No, I was. I graduated high school when I was seventeen,
and then I went to like one semester of college.
What college, I don't know. I went to I owned
College in New Roshelle and just for a semester and
then I was like, this is that time, I says,
not for me, and so I joined the Air Force.
So I left my house when I was almost nineteen,
I joined the Air Force. I spent four years there
(03:25):
as went overseas. I served in the UK. This was
in the early eighties when there wasn't much going on.
There was no internet, there was no beepers, there was nothing.
So it was an interesting period living abroad and experiencing
life on my own, and it was. It was fantastic.
And then I got out it was eighty five, and
(03:50):
also had two kids. You know, I was married. I
had two kids with previous wife.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
And from when you were in the service.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Well, I met up when I was in the Bronx
before service, but we wound up getting married and we
had two kids. Early young and I needed a job
and I had when I was sixteen. I took the
police test and the corrections test and the fire department test.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Who said you should do all that?
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Tell me, Dad, claud My dad said, you know, one
day I went up there, I said, Dad, I want
to be an act. I couldn't get it out, so
I want to be an act. And he goes, son,
take the police.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Test, civil service exams, coming to city.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Job is great. He was a sanitation man.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Oh really, that's amazing. My husband retired from sanitation. I
have a soft spot for DSNY forever, and.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
It was it's a great It was a great job
for my dad. And then you know, I needed that.
I was on the list they called me while I
was in the Air Force, so they kept me in
the town.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Sanitation called it no, the police department, okay, and.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I then I needed a job. So I wound up
being an NYPD. Wasn't quite you know, what I really
wanted to do. And about when I was about twenty eight,
I was like, I'm gonna I'm gonna try.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
I'm gonna try acting, Like.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, well, it's just you know, I still did it
for like eight years after I started acting. Oh yeah,
I was how did you juggle this? When you're young
you don't need as much sleep. So I used to
work at midnight shift and then during the day, I
would go to class, I would go do a play
in the evening, or I would shoot a show during
the day and then go to work at night. And
(05:26):
I had a lot of good partners that really helped
me out, and they were very accommodating, and it was
you know, there wasn't a during that time. It wasn't
like it is gonna be hard to do. I was
just this is what you gotta do. You it out,
that's what you gotta do, you know. And if I
sleep two hours one night, that's the way it goes,
you know, and said, but I needed to get to
(05:48):
where I needed to get to.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
You know, do you remember the moment that you were like,
I gotta act.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
It was I went to see a play on Broadway.
I went to see a few good Men, Second Thing
with nine ten eighty nine, nineteen ninety something like that,
And that was also a movie, right, that was a movie,
but before it was a movie, it was a hit
Broadway show, you know, and I went to see it
and watching it, I was fascinated. I was like, I
(06:14):
feel like I can do this. And I was so
excited when I got out of that theater. I was
just it was just an electricity that came over me
and I went and I bought. At that time it
was this I don't even know if they still have
it Backstage magazine or I remember back to Backstage.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
It's a website now.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I think, yes, it's a website now. Yeah. And I said,
well what and I selected an acting school. I went
to the acting school. It wasn't really for me. I
went to another acting school and my first day in class, boom,
I said, this is what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
You knew right away.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I knew right away. I don't know how I'm going
to do it.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
It lit that fire.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but
I'm gonna. I'm gonna do this. I knew right there
in that first day of class that this is my passion,
this is what I wanted to do.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Is that the time of the Labyrinth Theater.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Right before the Labyrinth Theater, that was about a year
before the labyn Theater started. Because then I started trying
to do as much as I can and anything you know,
with acting, like a play here and there, and try
to just be involved somehow. And then they had auditions
for at that time it was called the Latinos Actors base.
(07:24):
It was called lab Oka and it was like, you know,
John Otisse, Paul Calderon, Gary Perez, and David Debringer. They
set up. They said, let's make a theater because there
was this play Death in the Maintenance Broadway, which is
a lot in all Latin characters. It was cast by
(07:45):
white actors, great actors, but they were white. And they
asked them, why didn't you cast to play with Latinos
and they said, because there we don't know any Latino
actors in New York City, which I think you.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Know, but we were there. We we just weren't together
as a clunk.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
No, they were there, they just they were sold out. Yeah,
they weren't sold after. So we started this company and
then like a year into it, we say, you know what,
let's include people that think like us, that represent New
York City that's multi ethnic, and so we opened up
and we call ourselves Labyrinth Theater Company. We started at
a lot of good people started from there, and we're
(08:21):
still so tight. That's the thing. Thirty three years later.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, that's something I was talking about that with Daphne Rubert, yes,
and she was talking about the Labyrinth and.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I was like, how are you guys still so tight?
Speaker 1 (08:31):
I feel like we're still tight. I just saw definitely
the other night. Yeah, it's it's we're like very because
and a lot of the people from Labyrinths have gone
on to do very you know, successful things, amazing things.
But we always we always like regroup, we always stay
in touch, we always together because they're family. We're all
family now, you know, Elizabeth Rodriguez also another one. We're
(08:53):
all just family.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
How much do you feel that has contributed to the
success of so many of you?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I think it's everything. I think to me, if it
wasn't a Labynth Theater company, uh, I don't know. I
don't know what I would be doing, but I wouldn't
be if you look back at the steps of my career,
they all kind of stemmed through Labyrinth and to people
I work with, because it's all about the people you
connect with and the you know, the tribe you get into,
(09:20):
and you know, I don't know where I would be
if it wasn't for that, because all the plays that
came out of there, and working with playwrights like Steve
and Andy Gigers, or directors and actors like Philip Simo
Hoffman and Judy Reyes and Luna Vealez, you know, they
we all My wife Lisa Cologne is.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
That did you meet her through labynth I met her
really Lizard Labyrinth. You owe everything to that, I owe.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I owe a lot to it. Yeah, and I always
That's why I'm always supporting it and hoping the best
that it continues. And so far, so good, you know.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
And it will, you know, regardless of funding and what
happens and what the ship. It's never to cease to exist.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
No, we'll figure it out.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
That's exactly what, you know. I saw some news and
it was like the funding it being pulled with the government.
I was like, we'll figure this out.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
And if you look back, you know, there's only a
handful of theaters that have lasted over like thirty three years,
you know, and not not too many. Most of them
fold or they just you know, fade out. But we've stayed.
We've stayed, you know, vital, We've stayed you know, effective.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It's a staple of the community and it's you know,
so many superstars have come out of there when it
comes to acting that I can't see that we would
ever let it cease to exist.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah, but knowing everybody, it keeps us grounded with our
tribe that.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
You know, and I love that. It's like, you guys
are a little gang. Yeah, big gang, but little gang.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah. And then it turns out, you know, you do
ballways shows, you do TV shows, films, and you always
there's always two or three of us see in those
you know, those plays in those movies, and it's like.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
When I watch them, all's well. In New York, it
was Liza, it was Elizabeth, it was Daphne. I'm like, here,
it is the trifecta.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, yeah, Felix Solice. You had you know a lot
of really great, you know actors that are in Labyrinth
Theater Company.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
It was an amazing project. Now, Liza, how.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Did you do link? Oh? You know, Eliza and great
friends or we clicked right away as friends because we
were with other people. But you know, a couple of
years went by. We just got together and it's been
fantastic ever since. We've been married twenty eight, twenty eight years, solid, yeah, solid,
(11:32):
twenty seven. Yeah. So it's it's it's going good. And
she holds me down, I hold her down. We enjoy
all the aspects of life together. Her success, I'm so
supportive of I'm so happy for her and everything that
she's accomplished. And you know, she's very happy for me
(11:53):
whenever I achieved any form of success.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
And do you think two actors being married helped? Because
you know, a lot of times it's like, you know,
you'll have someone, let's say, like you know, Jennifer Lopez
at the beginning, she would like, you know, a dancer
or someone whose family had a bagel shop, because I
don't know, it just feels like if one person is
the star and the other person just kind of plays
the background, things might.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Be a little easier. How was it both of you
being successful actors?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I think maturity has a lot to do with it.
I think all the I guess the normal aspects of relationship,
whether it's you know, jealousy, whether it's I think you
worked through that. I think e Liza and I are
unique in a way that we've never felt slighted because
(12:41):
someone one of us got success. Everyone. She was very
supportive of me when I started working and doing shows
and television, and and she was she was, you know,
kicking butt in theater. You know again, you know, winning
all these awards in theater, and then when she got
her break in television. I was just like, yeah, I
(13:03):
want to be a plus one.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And one of us. You know, with marriage is like
if one of us wins, we both win.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Absolutely absolutely, But I think it's you know, maturity has
a lot to do with that. I don't and every couple,
every relationship is different. You could only speak to what
Eliza and I went through, you know. So it's and
it's been very positive.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
But twenty years it's a long time, and that's why
I ask. I'm like, how did this work?
Speaker 2 (13:28):
But congratulations to you, you know your children. Liza is amazing.
The Freestyle play, I was there and I saw her
moving around. I'm like, this woman is electrical.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Sometimes I think she's a vampire. I was like, what
is She's ages backwards.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
And I remember I'm the writer or the director of
the play.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Was like, I want you to meet Lies. I want
you to meet Lies. And every time we turn around,
she was like zipping by Lydia.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Lydia Amy is one of the writers. And George Valencia.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
George that's who I was with, and we were talking
and he's like, you gotta meet Lies. You gotta meet
lies and we just couldn't grab her.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yeah, no, Li just so easy to talk to her
and easy to get it all the way. She's very
down to earth and you know it's it's and she's
she's a Bronx skilled too.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
You know, I'm pretty for me and her a vibe
out with no problem. Now with acting, when did you
feel like this is big? Like was it odz or
at one moment did you feel like this is huge?
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I think I never really felt like that. I never
really felt like that. I always felt like I got it.
It's whenever I got a job, I was like, now
I got to earn it. You know, Now I gotta
go and do the work yourself right, And every job
I still feel that way. If I get a job
at tomorrow, I'm like, what I got? You know, it's
like it's like I gotta prove, I gotta I gotta
(14:55):
step up. It's it's less expectation and more now let's
get down to it and let me just, you know,
do what I do. And I think that may and
I think there was an app there was a moment
where I was doing theater and I was doing guest
spots on TV. I was still a cop. And then
(15:17):
I auditioned for this TV show called The Beat that
was done by Tom Fontana and Barry Levins and Mark
Ruffalo was in it. And I auditioned for a part
and they said, read this part. Go outside, take twenty
minutes and read this part, which was like one of
(15:38):
the you know, major supporting roles in the play. So
in the in the TV show. So I went in,
I auditioned, and miraculously I got it. So I would say,
like Tom Fontana is the one that you know, got me,
got me on the map when it came to television
and film, and he'll always be the guy that, you know,
(16:00):
if he asked me to do anything, I'm just gonna
do it, you know, because he's he's the he's the
man that gave me an opportunity. He didn't say, oh,
this is just this guy, it's just a cop trying
to act. He actually saw what I was trying to
do and and he cast me. And then he cast
me on OZ because you finished, he cast me on
OZ and I did three years and if you get
(16:23):
more as yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Not a nice guy, well but you know that show
wasn't filled with nice characters, so you know, I'm not
holding it against him.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I used to work as a cop midnight shift to
get off and then go play a prisoner during the day.
It was just a great. It was a great that show.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
That show is iconic and it's forever cemented.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
You know.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
You would get HBO just to watch because it was everywhere.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
It was just well, it was the.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
First dramatic show on HBO television.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Yeah, I remember that was my father's show. My father
was like, I gotta watch I'm watching OS too.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
It was it was it was like sometimes you read
the script, it was like, oh, this is brutal. They're
gonna allow this on television.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
It was a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
There was a lot of stuff, you know, and but
they did and it really it not only did it
put me on the map and with opportunities, but it
also you're in a room with thirty other seasoned actors
and you're all in the same room because you're in
jail in the show, right, so, and I'm just watching
(17:25):
everybody do their work and I learned. So it was
like going into it like you were absorbing conservatory of acting,
watching all these veteran actors, you know, and how they're
doing things and I'm gonna take I'm gonna steal that.
I'm gonna steal that. I'll steal that. Okay. I see
what they're doing here, I see how they're working for
the camera. And I learned a lot technically about doing
(17:47):
television through that show. And then, you know, Tom Fontana
wrote some of the most amazing scenes that has ever
been written in that show.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
No, this is the writing there was top tier. You know,
the acting was amazing, but the story lines hit. Yes,
were you still working as a police officer and.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Us for the first year, where were.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
You stationed, like, what's your precinct?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Well, in the eighties, I was stationed in uh, Manhattan
North Task Force and we mostly worked like in the
three four up in Washington nights. Yeah, and then when
I when I started acting, I switched over to Midtown North,
which is right there on fifty fourth.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
You wanted to be in the theater.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Disc wanted to be in the theater, you know, yeah, yeah, exactly,
and uh and so then I got there and I
started you know, I had an opportunity to just be
able to go and do other things there and and
you know, it just it worked out, It worked out
really well.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
But the homies at the station. They were like, how
did you like yo? So you were actor and you.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Were listen, I would I would call what I've had
was an unremarkable career as a cop. And as a cop,
you want and.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Remote, that's how you want to go.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Yeah, you don't want to you don't want to be
the guy that you know, Oh I fire my weapon.
I never ever even took out my in my fifteen years.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
That's amazing. I love that.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Right. So, but when I started acting, you know, they
were like, oh, here's this guy trying to you know, Hollywood, right,
and it's not. And the weird thing was, I wasn't
doing it for the money. I was doing it to
just do something that was passionate I did. But they
were all very They used to come to my shows,
very very supportive. And I never had any you know,
(19:31):
bad intention from anybody in the POLICEPT.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
So it's kind of like a brotherhood, it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Was, And I got along with everybody.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
You know, at the end of the day, I'm working
with someone who's on TV. Why would I hate on you.
I'm going to support you.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah, No, But there wasn't. It was I had nothing
but love, nothing but support. You know, I was very lucky.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
That's absolutely amazing. Now let's talk dexter.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Okay, before we started, you said this was twenty years ago.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
How Yeah, we shot the Pie I lived in two
thousand and five in Miami, and that was twenty years ago.
And then when the show got picked up, they moved
it to Los Angeles and we shot it the in
Los Angeles with some exterior shots in Miami. And yeah,
that was you know, me coming into audition for it
(20:19):
and just the right people being in that room that
saw something in me to practicate Batista. Yeah, sergeant Well,
I started off as a detective and then then he
became slogary lieutenant and he's a captain.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Is that how it ended?
Speaker 1 (20:37):
That's how it is now?
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Oh, that's how it is now. Yeah, yeah, we're talking resurrection.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Yes, okay, goodness, and so but let's go back.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Let's go back. Let's go back. Where did you audition
for Batista in New York.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
I was actually in Toronto doing a film, I believe,
shooting a movie, and my manager called me and said,
I think this is his role. You should come in.
You know, because Toronto is a forty five minute flight,
is not that far. She said, you should come in
here and you're working Friday or no, because she should
come in and and come in audition for this part,
(21:09):
because this part is excellent for you. That's why it's
always great to have a I have a great manager.
He's also one of my best friends, Andrew Tevinbaum. Okay,
he's just one of the best. So he was like, yeah,
you should come in an audition for it. And I
was like, you know, I got tickets to the Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays a game. I don't know if I
want to fly in to you know, to audition. And
(21:30):
so we ended the call five minutes that they caused
me back because I really think he called me about
four times.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
You were really think about staying for the baseball game?
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Yeah? Finally I said, well, I didn't know. I knew
nothing about Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
I know it's Yankees or an unknown rule.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, you know the Yankees. So yes, and
I'm a Met fan, I believe it or not. I
don't look at me exactly.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
I looked down right away. Really, this is what he's
gonna do. He for the Bronx.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
He's a mess. I'll tell you why later if you
want to know. Yeah, but I uh, finally I said, right,
I'm gonna I'm gonna come in fine. I flew in.
I auditioned for Angel Batista and I got it somehow
I got it. I went and test it in la
for the role and I got the role. And then
(22:14):
we started in Miami. And uh, I think it was
like September of two thousand and five or something like that.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Did you have to move to Miami?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
No, it was just shooting the pilot in Miami. We
didn't know if the show was going to get picked up. Okay,
we were just They used to just shoot pilots and
depending on the testing of it, it determined whether it
was going to get picked up in the series. But
this one did. I mean I had everyone was a
little skeptical. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I was gonna say, what were your thoughts when you
finished shooting that pilot?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And you said, okay, everyone, it was great.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
It was a great a great show, great script was amazing.
We have some of the best actors on the show.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
The Dexter Verse would have killed me if I didn't
real you back and talk about decks.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah, yeah, and so it's it was like it was
we were shooting in Miami. We had a great time,
but it was during Hurricane Katrina, which didn't hit Miami,
but it had enough tropical storms to stop shooting for
a while. And then after the show, if the show
was going to get picked up, they decided to shoot
it in Los Angeles, you.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Know, so it looked like Miami. I've lived in my.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, but they also shot in Miami as well. Yeah,
but most of the studio.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Was in where the precinct was. Was that Miami. I
just just never felt like Miami. I was like, this
is the only thing I was questioned. I was like,
this cannot be Miami. It's on the water, but it
cannot be no what.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
They had exteriors in Miami that they shot. But then
you know the you know, the magic of movies and
the magic of television exactly.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Now, as far as Dexter goes, did you think that
it was going to go this long? As long as
it went, what did you guys do?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Seven? Eight seasons?
Speaker 1 (23:53):
We did? Initially we did eight seasons and we ended
in twenty thirteen. Eight years later, they kind of they
renewed it and they rebooted it for current times. Up
in upstate New York, which was Dexter new Blood. All right,
so they did the new Blood and then they asked
(24:17):
me what you want to come back as in your
Batista and do a couple episodes.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
I also mad at you in new Blood when you're like,
what are you doing? Let next to live?
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Come on? But these that don't play well, No, I didn't.
I didn't even get to meet him in new Blood.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
I mean what you was about to do though?
Speaker 1 (24:33):
I was like, well, I mean, wouldn't you.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I don't know, because it's like, you have this love
hate relationship with Dexter.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
It's like, but if you have a relationship with like,
you know, you have friendship with you know, I'm let's
say right, and the friendship lasts about twenty twenty five years,
and all of a sudden you find out that he's alive.
He's a he's a serial killer, and he's been killing
people that you've been investigating together. Uh, and then one
of those victims was your ex wife. Oh you know,
(25:01):
and so even that's.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Gonna that's gonna okay, now, it's all yeah, there you.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Go that it's gonna hit you, you know. So it's
it's it's one of those.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
One of those I'm over here, you know, kind of
like segmenting and like, oh, no, he only killed people
who deserved it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
But now that you mentioned, I would say, he did, uh,
you know, kill people that followed that code. But there's
a lot of innocent people there was because of him,
you know. So it's Homie.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
What was the homies name?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
The other detective that was onto him early in the game,
the Black Folks.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Oh, my god, surprise, mother, he's great.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
He was another one who's acting was just so amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
I was like, yeah, he's a tremendous Eric King, He's
a tremendous, tremendous actor. I worked with a lot of
great actors on that show.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
You have You really Lauren? But less you knew her
from before?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Well she was part of the Labyrinth. Oh yes, I
knew her before. I had done os with her.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
You all call her Luna, right, Luna because somebody's like you.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Like Luna, like Lauren. I'm like okay, And oh yeah
she wasn't.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
She was on she was doctor doctor Nathan.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
And the nun was Rita Moreno, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah. Yeah. Now when you're legend.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Well yeah, I can't just say the legendary. The icon.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Yes, yes, one of the best.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
No, for real, man, she paid the way, she really really.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Paid the way. But Luna and I we were already
pretty close and we've worked together, and we we loved
each other. We were just, you know, just like she
was like my sister. She was just she's just have
you met have you met?
Speaker 3 (26:37):
No, we've never met.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
She's just wonderful as a as a human being.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
That's what I've heard.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
She's just a wonderful human being. She's very talented, she's
got a great work ethic, and I like, I like
hanging around.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
She was everything to me in New York. On the cover,
I was like, yeah, she was great. You know, to
see yourself like that.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Oh my god, I liked it like that, Wow, that movie.
I was help But I remember watching that movie.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Yeah, I wasn't that young. She got it.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
No, no, no, no, no, no, because it's like should I
haven't watching them, but I'm thinking back, But no, what
that movie was in the nineties.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
That movie was in the early nineties.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Early nineties, And I remember, I'm like, this is a lot,
but I loved it.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah it was. It was. It was really a great
movie and great people in the John Sata, Elvis and
Alasco super cute. Yeah, a lot of a lot of
a lot of good upcoming Latino actors that you know,
really stepped up.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
And now that they brought Dexter to Netflix, do you
find yourself like in a whole new wave Like.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Yeah, you know, since it's been on Netflix, you know
what it is now it's like eighteen year olds now
that weren't even a lot that's the way you started.
Oh that they couldn't watch it because they were too young.
Now they're starting to watch it and they're into it.
And so sometimes in the street on the subway they
look at me and like they don't know because you know,
(27:59):
I'm a little bit o now, you know. And the
gray hair, you know, I used to have jet black
hair back when we don't.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
And you don't have the Batista outfit because the clothing,
the clothing for Batista was like a big thing.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
It was it was, And I always care for what
the hats that I used now now because yeah, I
don't want it's.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Like, you don't want to feel like you're out in character.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah kind of. I just want to. I just want
to be just normal guy, just out there trying to,
you know, so but that the the you know, there's
certain things, there's the clothes, the you know, the gold tea.
But there's also something about certain lines that I've I
had in the first season that I've forgotten about, like
(28:44):
La Passion. Right when when that first came out, people
wearing t shirts and yelling out in cars La Passion.
I'm like, I don't know what they're talking about, Like
passion is that they And then they say, oh, no,
that's from And then they started showing clips on TikTok
and and I'm like, I was just one that was
(29:05):
just like five minutes of one day in the pilot
that I shot all this second episode and it goes viral,
but it goes viral years later. Yeah, that's that's what's
you know, And you have no control over it, you know.
And and not that I'm complaining, it's it's great to
be associated with anything that people are connected to in
(29:25):
regards to the show. But but sometimes it takes you
by surprise, you know, and you're like, wow, okay, you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Like you got the new generation generation Alpha. Yeah j Z,
they're all watching They're watching Friends, for God's sake.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
I'm watching Friends and and some of them may be
watching OS. You know they're they're watching OS, and you
know that that's not as well. You can still you
can still find OS on Max. You know, if you
go into series and stuff, you can.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
You know, I love it.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Your body of work will forever exist.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Like how amazing is that, you know, because some people
live their entire life and their entire career day in
and day out.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
They work forty years and then it we could watch
you forever. Your children can just turn on the TV.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
You know, when you're gone one day, your grandchildren be like,
I want to watch a Welo. I want to watch Poppy.
That's beautiful. It's like you're leaving behind a body of
work that is your legacy. I'm pretty sure you know
this already, but I just felt like I wanted.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
To say that thank you. I think you know, it's
like sometimes I've had to, at least for me, I
have to stop and think about, oh, of what I've done.
You know, you have to like sometimes stop because I
don't really think about that. I think about what's next,
So I think about what I'm doing at the time,
and that's what I'm like kind of like polarized to do.
(31:02):
But sometimes it's good to stop and and and look
back and you know, understand how lucky I've been and
the opportunities that I've you know, that have been available
to me. And yes, you got to work hard. You
got to have a great work ethic. You got to
(31:22):
you know, you got to be you know, use kindness
and and and and and affect people and you know,
but it's it's just hard to like, you know, pinpoint
all that. While you're doing it, you're just you know,
you're just trying to get the character. But to go
back and then look at the great people that I've
worked with, because you don't never I don't care what
(31:45):
anybody says in there. You don't do it alone. Oh never,
never do it alone. You know. It's like it's like
I've I've been lucky to work with some fantastic actors
that and directors and writers and that have just nourished
my autistic expression, you know, and it's just really, uh,
I got to look back and you know and appreciate that,
(32:08):
you know, and everyone should do that. But that's hard
to do. You know, it's hard to do. You gotta
be you got to be humble to humility goes a
long way. But with that humility comes not looking at
what you've done in the past, you know, and just
being present and you know, being effective now, in present
and in the future.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
That is absolutely beautiful. Now, who do you watch on
what do you watch on TV?
Speaker 1 (32:33):
I watch I watch everything. I watch everything. I watch
as many movies as I can. I watch as many
old movies as I can. I look back, and I
go back and look at like Latino artists. Like my
first play ever to watch, I was fourteen, and I
went to Lincoln Center to see this Kurt Wild period
(32:55):
piece called Three Penny Opera. And I went into the
consented with my class and I had never been to
the theater before. And the play starts and it takes
place in like I think, in the eighteen hundreds, and
these guys come out in these amazing and then this
man comes out he more not really glides out into
the stage and he starts talking this very classical language.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
We're talking Shakespeare type.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
We're talking like, oh, not Shakespeare, but it wasn't Shakespeare,
but it was like it was just a classical way
of speaking. But I noticed and he sounds like my uncle.
Then he had a Puerto Rican accent and it was
Raoul Julia, Oh wow, And I was like, wow, wow, Julie.
And I just was fascinated because you know, he's from
(33:42):
where all my family's from and where I'm from, and
he speaks the way they speak and these mannerisms are similar,
you know, And I was like just engaged in someone
that kind of like sounded maybe you know, like me,
and had that kind of culture on stage doing this,
(34:04):
and it's it opens up possibilities in your head, like
you know, I could I think I would love to
do that. I could do that, you know. And so yeah,
so it's just all the I watch everything, every movie
I could watch, I watch because I just love this
this expression of film, theater, music. I'm very into the
(34:28):
going to see as many plays as I can. So
I'm very I think it's really important and helps you
as an actor to do that.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
Did you catch the one Avista Social Club?
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Not yet, but that's next time.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
I come on. Yeah, that's brilliant to say the least.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Absolutely, real women have curves, did you go see I've.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Not seen just seeing them a shat out because I've
been shooting every day on the new decks, the resurrections.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Okay, you've been busy, You've been busy and busy.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
But I'm going to catch them both, you know. But
you know, I've always admired people from where I'm from,
and Benicio del Toro and John Ortiz and a lot
of these great uh just Puerto Rican actors and a
lot of Puerto Rican actors that I know that we're
a fantastic that haven't had that opportunity yet, but I
(35:20):
know that they're fantastic actors. And you know, it's it's
it's warms my heart to see that.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
Puerto Rico. Do you go back?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
I go back. I went back last year. I go
back as much as I can. Actually, I have family there.
I have a lot of cousins there and well and
San Juan SiO and Bon and the Medio. Yeah, yeah,
which just but it's yeah, my grandfather is from Carolina,
(35:54):
and you know, it's I have a lot of roots
in in in Puerto Rico, and I go there. I
sometimes I'm meet cousins I've never met. I'm like, oh,
and I see the resemblance. I see you know, the
speech pattern, I see the mannerisms. You know, and uh,
I'm like, okay, yeah, it's it's it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
How in tune are your kids with with their you know, heritage,
They listen to Bad Bunny?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
They do I you listen to Bad Bunny. I want
to try it. I'm like, should I a him? If
he likes Bad Bunny?
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Man is the best his representation?
Speaker 3 (36:30):
How brilliant is this?
Speaker 1 (36:31):
He's just brilliant and he brings it to the level
of somebody like my age and then the youth that like.
I think he's one of the most brilliant artists. And
I mean, I've never met the young man, but I
would like to one day.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
But I find him You're gonnap him up for the
great words he's out here doing.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
I find him amazing and I listened to that.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
The way he's forcing, you know the world to just
take notice of how amazing Latinos are in Puerto Rico.
Was he deserves a check from all of us, like
we should put our money together, just paid the man
because what was it?
Speaker 3 (37:06):
What was he Jimmy Fallon?
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Yeah, yeah, he does. He does a lot for the
island as well. You know, it's it's really uh, he's
a he's a great example of someone who is proud
of his of his heritage and where he's from.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
And he's not afraid to speak up, you know when
he brings to like, you know, the gentrification, everything that's
happening in Puerto Rico. Like he did a short film
I watched Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
With you with the Cookie Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. So
when my granddaughter we sat down we watched it together, uh,
in my daughter's house and with my granddaughter who's eleven,
and I thought about it. I was like, how cool
it is We're like watching something that you know that
she's she just learned something new about Puerto Rico and
(37:49):
I'm doing I learned something new about Puerto Rico. And
it's like it's just fifty year difference, right, So it's
it's really an amazing He's an amazing artist. And I'm
sure there's a lot of amazing artists like that in
Puerto Rico coming out and and they'll have this will
help them get opportunities to to show the world who
we are.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
When the whole reggaeton thing happened, we were you outside
with the regato movement.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
I'm talking we sing.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
I knew of them, know. I was like, I was yeah, Well,
I didn't partty much. I worked a lot, you know,
I had a lot of I mean I partied some,
but I worked a lot. And so but I remember
all that.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Time me and New York, it was huge.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Huge, same thing with the freestyle.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Oh yeah, we could take it back one step.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
But now that we talk about you know bad Bunny,
who you know is an extension of reggaeton. I remember
when it was like Domo Mat Daddy Yankee, we singing
yan dial, like what.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
Happened here in New York.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
It's like we were here, but it was like we
are really here, and we take we had club exit
like that Pereo like in Midtown.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
I don't remember fifty sixth Street, right yeah, and I
responded there a lot.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
Okay, no no no, I thought you no, no, no,
A lot of yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
I mean I've I went there a couple of times,
and but I remember that club and it was always
packed that I do remember. So, I mean it's it's
you know, that was huge.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
I feel I felt like for me, it was just
like I'm born and raised in New York, and you
know it's always like black white you know, Latinos existed
like I remember as a child, I'm Dominican and they
were like, oh, you're Puerto Rican. Like it wasn't even
like a thing Like I'm like, no, I'm Dominican.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Where is that? I don't know what that is.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
I was great about Bad Money. Also is that it's
not just Puerto Rican.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
It's we realized that Dominicanouano lo Puerto Ricano. We we
have that same Caribbean blood, you know, yeah, exactly, you
know Caribbean, African. You know, there's Diino, there's so many
We're like, we're from so many different, you know, cultures
(40:11):
that Bad Bunny brings his music where everybody is like
they all like in the same level. And I think
that's beautiful. I think it's fantastic that that he can
do that, you know, and very few artists in our generation.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I think he did like ten shows in Mexico for
his new tour. He had to open up so many shows.
I'm like, I'm like, jeez, Chris, the Mexicanos really really
love Bad Bunny. And it's christ that you bring that
up because it is true. And at times I've been
asked like aren't you afraid of you know, kind of
like gearing towards the Latino content, and I'm like, absolutely not.
Do you understand how many countries speak Spanish. You're then
(40:47):
go Venezuela and Chile, Peruna, Puerto Rico.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
Never, that's who I am.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
Wherever we are, we belong there. And you know what
I'm saying that it's not the whole thing. Oh you know, no,
I never would consider myself a minority. I'm here, I'm
gonna kick the door down, boom, and this is who
I am. But it's like I never really looked at
me in this world, whether it's the acting world or
(41:14):
even in the police department or in the Air Force.
I never felt like I was you know, I was
a minormity. They got an opportunity. I earned that. I
worked hard and I did what I had to do.
And I think most people do that. And so I
always have a little bit of hesitation when I start
(41:34):
talking about, Oh, your minority. No, man, that's just why
I'm here.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
Can we talk about that just a little bit.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
I was at a gala and you know a lot
of people were speaking, you know, about their experience as
a Latino, and I don't know, I felt so disconnected
because I'm like, I don't know, I've always felt so
proud and I've always felt so big. I don't know
if it was a New York thing because here in
New York Latinos were just like josel Latina, I don't care,
and they just we're talking about, you know, all the
(42:02):
struggle and how you know, being a Ladino kind of like,
you know, didn't grant them the opportunities, I guess, but.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
They're they're right, it's it's it is. It is a struggle.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
But I felt so like, why don't I feel more
connected with the struggle. Is it because I fought so
hard against it?
Speaker 5 (42:20):
No?
Speaker 1 (42:21):
I think the struggle is when you don't know anything
else other than that, then it's it's what it is.
It's not I don't there is a lot of you know, listen,
it's it's you got to be really uh, you know.
The racism is real, and.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
I'm pretty sure I've experienced it a ton of time.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
But I've thought back, well, me less than my cousin
because you know, I got white skin, right, So it's
it's it's a different thing, and you have to stay
open and try to understand all the aspects of that
you know, but I never felt that had to be
different with anyone else in any other ethnicity. I'm who
I am, and and they either accept me like that
(43:04):
or I don't. I never found I never saw it
for me. I never felt that it was a climb up.
It was it's to me, it's a climb up for everybody,
especially in acting. You know, you got it's it's a
it's a it's a struggle, it's a you know, it's
a grind for everybody. I never felt that it was
(43:27):
more of a grind for me because I was Latino.
So I think that it's really and.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
I feel connected with you, but sometimes I feel like
not sensitive enough.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
I don't know, I know what I'm thinking.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
I am very I mean, it's like it's like it
was a grind, it was a grind, But I never
be like it was a grind because I was a Latina.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Yeah, I mean, and it could that could be, but
I just, you know, with me, I just couldn't think
that way. But yeah, I I hear. Listen, it's it's
it's it's it's hard out there away from New York.
Speaker 3 (43:58):
If you go, if it's gonna be a grind, it's
gonna be a grind.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
It's gonna be a grind everywhere. Yeah, it's it's uh.
I always felt accepted, and if I wasn't accepted, I intruded.
Speaker 3 (44:12):
Oh hell yeah, we what we doing right? My lines?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Right?
Speaker 3 (44:20):
Have you always primarily played a Latino character in Gotham?
You were Italian?
Speaker 5 (44:38):
Right?
Speaker 3 (44:39):
Can I tell you I didn't recognize you? What did
they do to you?
Speaker 1 (44:45):
No? I think you know. It's like, I mean, it's Gotham, right,
it's Gotham City.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
So you got to be a little distorted, right, you.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Could be a little Yeah, and it was you didn't
have hair, right. I did have hair, not much like
I still don't have much. But uh no, it was
it was a shaved Okay, so the shaved and I
had these great suits, and you know.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
You were amazing by the way, But I just didn't
know it was you. I didn't make the connection at
the beginning.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Yes, I had a great time doing that. That was
that was fun. But yeah, no, I it's I don't
mind playing. In fact, if possible, if I get a
role that's not let's say, really is not on the
page Latino, I want him to I want them to
make him Latino I want to represent. I thank you
(45:32):
for it. Like if my character, if I if I
somehow lucky enough to get a character where I play
and it's doctor Murphy, I wist say make it doctor Rodriguez,
and make it doctor I'm because I want I want
somebody to watch to like show, you know, to understand
that we all have we all have the path to
(45:53):
do what we want to do, and you know, they're
not going to be blocked just because we're Latino. So
if there's a character that is you know, I try
to be now, I try to be very you know,
just observant of the kind of characters that I would play,
you know, yeah, because I want I don't want to
(46:15):
you know, I want to say it all depends on
who's writing it who, you know, what's it for. And
I want to make sure that the representation is correct.
I mean, he doesn't have to be a good guy,
but I want to make sure that everything they show
different layers of this character. And so I am you know,
(46:35):
I do pay attention to some of the characters that
that I auditioned for or.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
They offer to me, and I thank you for that,
you know, because our portrayal and how we're seeing on
the big screen goes far and wide. Yeah, and a
lot of the times, you know, back in the days,
like when we were casted as you know, drug dealers, prostitutes,
you know, people in prison.
Speaker 3 (46:57):
Like it kind of like warps the prison.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
It does. And you know what, I don't mind characters
that are drug dealers and that are murderers. I just
want them to be represented truthfully, because everyone has a struggle.
Nothing is just black or white, and it's very complicated.
It's very layered. So if I have to play a
(47:20):
drug dealer, if I have to play it's got to
be I need to see something of value in that character.
And that's that's the thing. It's not necessarily what you play.
It is how you play it and how it's written.
Speaker 3 (47:33):
And that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
That brings me to Oranges and New Black and how
you know, all the women were in prison, but we
got to see the backstory exactly. We got to see,
you know, with Elizabeth Rodriguez her character at home, with
Dasha Bolanco her character at home, so Selinese's labor, like,
we got to see why they all ended up there,
and we got to see that there is a soft side.
They were mothers, they were you know, daughters and wife.
(47:54):
So I understand where you're coming from.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
The human beings. It's like they have they have love
and their lives. It's just not hate and violence. They
do have love, they do have compassion, and if you're
going to play that character, I want to see that.
I want to see that in that role, you know.
And that's why I loved it. That Angel Batista was
you know, written not without flaws, because he had a
(48:19):
lot of he had a ship with him, but ultimately
it was genuinely honest.
Speaker 3 (48:25):
He was a good guy.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
He was you know, always looked for the best in people,
you know, and and and that I appreciate, and they
wrote something, you know, they wrote a beautiful character based
on that.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
No, Batista was my favorite character. I'm Dexter. You know.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
Dexter was amazing, but I just felt so identified, you know,
with you, with Lauren Blez, with just just that whole dynamic.
Speaker 3 (48:50):
And I tell people all the time, they're I don't
know what to watch.
Speaker 2 (48:52):
I'm like, have you watched Sexter? And they're like, no,
I want to watch something Paladinus. I'm like, Dexter is
Piladino's just getting there.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
That's very multi it is.
Speaker 3 (49:00):
It really is in the music. You know, it's crazy
the music. Every time I'm be like, here's this outside,
here's the minting.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
And it was like, you know, it's it's really uh
because I play a Cuban, right, Cuban American of Miami.
So I wanted to talk to all my all my friends,
uh that that are Cuban, that are actors that I know,
you know, and just to get an essence of the
(49:27):
difference being a Cuban from Miami or from being a
Puerto Rican from New York. And it isn't there. There
ain't that many differences, only culturally where you're at. That
the local culture is what I needed to like familiarize
myself with, and then everything else is kind of similar.
You know. It's it's it's it was. It was wonderful.
(49:50):
It was a wonderful character to play.
Speaker 3 (49:53):
Now, Dexter new Blood. How did this come about?
Speaker 2 (49:58):
Like it's like like Dexter was over and then somebody
decided like we need to bring Duster back.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
Yeah, I'm not quite sure what.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
I got to talk to James about that.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
Yeah, I don't know how it happened. But you know,
the New Blood came out in twenty twenty one, right,
and it was after the show had finished twenty thirteen,
And you know, were you surprised brilliant? I was. I
was a little surprised. Yeah, I was a little surprised.
I thought, you know, after eight years, you'd think it's
not going to yeah. Yeah. And also it wasn't a
(50:28):
thing then to just reboot shows as it is not
that they have original ideas to do it right. So
it was like, you know it when it came back
and they asked me to be a part of it,
I was. I was ecstatic. I was like, yeah, and
you know, what is the update, like what's happened in
the past ten years to Angel Batista to try and
(50:51):
bring that into the character in New Blood? And it
was really it was really interesting. I had a great time.
We shot. I only shot the last two Upsos sos
I believe. And and then three years later, four years later, Uh,
they called me They're going to have Dexter Resurrection. You'd
like to be involved? And I'm like, uh, yeah, of course.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
I was so happy when they brought it back. I
was because it's I don't know, I just felt like
I was missing something.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
Does does that sound weird?
Speaker 1 (51:22):
No, it doesn't. I know what you're saying. I feel
that way about you know, like many shows that I
watch when it ends, why did it end? Why did
the West Wing? And I mean now I got to
put the west wing and just to feel good about
the political atmosphere of this, right, So it's it's really
it was. It was. It's great. It's great that they
(51:43):
brought it back. And uh, you'll see this year it's
gonna be some really interesting moments.
Speaker 3 (51:49):
M I'm so happy this I'm telling everybody is coming.
Speaker 1 (51:53):
It's July eleventh, I think comes out on uh nine
short time Paramount plus.
Speaker 2 (51:58):
Well that's I got everything nowhere about because I need
to stream anything and everything I want to watch at
all times.
Speaker 3 (52:03):
How does that work with streaming?
Speaker 2 (52:05):
Like is your contract different now versus like when you
signed the first dexter? Like this is how much you
get paid while it's on TV streaming forever. I don't
know the workings of this.
Speaker 1 (52:13):
It's very complicated. I know, I don't know really the
exact details. You know, I don't know if the residual
aspect of streaming too, you know, it's it's hard to
I've always wondered.
Speaker 2 (52:26):
Yeah, like when they play your show, let's say, friends,
I'm like, are they getting paid right now?
Speaker 1 (52:30):
I think, yeah, they are. It does how much depends
on the contract and what they.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
Because remember twenty years ago, streaming wasn't a thing.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
Streaming wasn't a thing, but DVDs and VHS's were okay,
and that was the way of that's like a streaming.
Well it wasn't a streaming, but it was a way
for residuals and for other you know, other things that
you would get you know, compensated for, you know, the streaming.
Now you know, it's there's so many of them, and
(53:02):
you know, I'm kind of glad I could watch shows.
I could go and go back and watch Homicide, Life
on the Street, you know, because of streaming and some
shows that I were not, Like, I don't remember seeing
Miami Vice so much when I was younger. Now I'm
watching it, I'm like, oh, okay, I see that. I
see the attraction of this show.
Speaker 3 (53:23):
There's a new Miami Vice. Right.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
Well, there was a movie in two thousand and six
that Michael Mann directed. Okay, that's Elizabeth Rodriguez was.
Speaker 3 (53:31):
Okay, that's what I'm thinking.
Speaker 1 (53:32):
Yeah, and that that was done. But no Miami Advice
ended in the eighties, I think, you know, but it
was it was fun to watch now.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
You know you're thinking back, You're like, look at this,
look at that now watching James play a young baddista.
Speaker 3 (53:49):
How was that? Talk to me?
Speaker 2 (53:51):
And you know, I told them when we had our
I said, you know what, you had a whole cheek code.
You had eight seasons? Were the Davidsias to watch? And
what did you think when you saw that first season?
Speaker 1 (54:02):
The first thing I thought was, Man, he's gonna be
tired of seeing my face. He's gonna be watching me.
He's gonna be like, you know, trying to find.
Speaker 3 (54:10):
You know, he got the role before it came out.
Speaker 1 (54:12):
Yeah, when he when he got the role. That the
timing of it was we had a benefit for labyin
Theater Company. I think it was the thirtieth anniversary of
labyin Theater Company and we had a like a party,
like an event, and he come in. And I had
known James from years back and just crossing paths and
(54:34):
I've done workshops with him. Always sweet and always really
a good actor.
Speaker 3 (54:39):
He's a good guy.
Speaker 1 (54:41):
And so he came to me that day and he
told me because I got the part of Ayr Batista,
and I'm like, I was very happy because he's you know,
I know, he's a good actor. I was like, I
don't think. I mean, I don't know. We don't really
look if you really look hard, No, don't looked that
much alike. But which is which is a you know,
(55:06):
a compliment to him that he wasn't trying to imitate me.
He was trying to see the characteristics of the character
and he found them and with you know, in all
the mannerisms and some of those mannerisms we share. You know,
it's not like he made him up because he saw me,
you know. But watching it, I'm like, oh, okay, and
(55:29):
my man did his work. He did his work and
he's represented, and I was I was really proud of him,
and I was really happy that he got that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (55:39):
I was proud of him. I'm like, is this ai?
Speaker 2 (55:41):
I didn't know what to make of it when I
was watching it, Like we were talking behind the scenes,
and I was just like, immediately I was like, is
James Martinez Davis and his son? Because I'm like, why
does this man act just like this other man?
Speaker 1 (55:53):
No, it's that's him. I mean, that's that's his Yeah,
that's his talent. That's his talent, and that's it him
doing what he has to do for the role. And
and you know, I was very happy with his portrayal.
And I think Christina was amazing too. Yeah, she was amazing.
And again I remember just the first episode of Original
(56:16):
Sin and I was like, oh, yeah, I was never
as good looking as that guy, but.
Speaker 4 (56:22):
I think did right by you because he's a good
looking guy.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
Yeah. Yeah, it was great and a good actor too,
and also a really good guy, good guy overall.
Speaker 3 (56:33):
Listen, James MARTINAZ is great. You solid on this side. Yeah,
you got the coat on from David, got the coat
on from me.
Speaker 1 (56:40):
You told him we need to do we need to
do a project together, you know, because I would I
would love that.
Speaker 3 (56:46):
I'm here for it. And you're talking projects. Any of
your children interested in acting?
Speaker 1 (56:51):
My son his name is David a Is Jr.
Speaker 3 (56:55):
Oh, But listen, David is unr with Liza as a
mom and you as a father. He doesn't inherit that.
Speaker 1 (57:01):
Well, he's a director. Now, he's my son is a
theater director. He also works as my stunt double and
my standing in Dexter, so he's there all the time.
He's experienced a lot, even from way back when.
Speaker 3 (57:16):
You know, he grew up on sets.
Speaker 1 (57:19):
He grew up on sets, he grew up in rehearsal wounds,
both him and my daughter Leanna. You know, I had
when I started acting, I had gotten divorced the first time,
and so I had joined custody, and so whenever I
had to go to an audition or rehearsal, I'd have
these two. I go sit here so he don't bother
any of the actors. We're gonna going to go in
(57:39):
right or during rehearsal rooms, if I got to play
uh there was an adult there, I were like, can
you watch them what I do this scene? And so
it was, it was, there was some interesting times. They
experienced everything in this business. I didn't. I didn't really
shield him about anything. I told him, this is what's
happening here, this is what's happening there. And they knew,
you know, they were very you know, well adjusted, you know,
(58:03):
growing up, even though when they came with me, they
knew it was going to be kind of a We
didn't know what was gonna happen. They might be hanging
out to one in the.
Speaker 3 (58:10):
Morning, you know, so it's unpredictable. It's gonna go down today.
Speaker 1 (58:14):
It was one of those. Uh, it was. It was great.
But my son grew up. My daughter. She has my
two grandkids, which is since Grandpa's sixteen, you have.
Speaker 3 (58:25):
A sixteen year grandchild, never a son.
Speaker 1 (58:27):
And my granddaughter Lea Emma, who's beautiful men wants to
be uh. I think she wants to be an actor.
Speaker 3 (58:35):
Also, this is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (58:36):
I love it because legacy and passing down your talents
and your knowledge is so important to me. That's sometimes
like I don't have children, and I was just having
a conversation. I'm like, it sucks, like I'm not gonna
be able to pass down all this knowledge and all
this and you're able to do something like that, Like
what a blessing?
Speaker 1 (58:54):
Now, yeah, you know it is a blessing because yes,
I'm able to do that. But even if I'm not here,
I'm able to do that. But what they see and
their experiences of when I was here, you know, even
though I'm talking pastimes, but it's like what we do
we'll round, you know, we'll round for a long time.
You know. I watch a Humpy Bogart movie Anthony Quinn,
(59:18):
and they're no longer around, but I know who they
were and when growing up, you know, and uh, I
was very that that's the one. You know. It's it's
a beautiful thing about what we do is that it's
it's a legacy that lasts for a long time and
it affects other people, which is why it's so important
to just maintain the honesty and the integrity of what
(59:39):
you're doing now, you know. And so yeah, very lucky.
And my my daughters Leanna is a wonderful writer also,
so you know, it's yeah, they they're very And that
was really the only artist in my family when when
we were growing up. You know, I come from a
very blue collar family.
Speaker 2 (59:58):
So you don't have to tell me anything else of
the And then your father was z say yes, n
y and made you feel out the application. That's all
I need to know to know the kind of household
that you came from. But I want you to know David,
that we are super proud of you.
Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
Your body of work is amazing. The way you've represented
Latinos and the way you continue to represent Latinos.
Speaker 3 (01:00:16):
I wish I had a trophy to give it to
you right now.
Speaker 2 (01:00:19):
It's absolutely amazing and I want to thank you so much,
you know, for taking the time out to meet with
me today and to share your story with our audience.
Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
It was my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (01:00:28):
And you look good. Thanks for wearing the jacket. I
love it, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
I said, he looks I'm going to go talk to honey.
Speaker 3 (01:00:33):
I said, he looks, he looks nice. He looks nice.
That I really really appreciate.
Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
I was walking out my wife.
Speaker 3 (01:00:38):
You look good.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
I'm gonna go talk to honey.
Speaker 3 (01:00:43):
Share your location.
Speaker 1 (01:00:46):
I really really thank you for having me. It's it's
wonderful to be here, and it's I think this is
an important thing to get out there and let somebody
who may be starting in what we do to hear.
The experience is of you know, and you do it,
and every guest that that's on has really you know,
the articulation of what they've gone through is comes out blaring,
(01:01:10):
and I appreciate you for that.
Speaker 2 (01:01:12):
And these last thirty five episodes, I've learned so much
from every single person that's sat in that chair Grassiers
Come Again.
Speaker 3 (01:01:20):
I Will Grassiers Come Again is a production of Honey
German Productions in partnership with Iheart's Microtura podcast network.
Come Again, a podcast by Honey.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
German Bim Benito that beats Sijas to grassyas Come Again.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
I am so happy you're here today.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Me too.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I'm glad I got to shout out a med off
the rip because he was like, I'm gonna make it
this happen.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I'm gonna make this happen.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I was like, did he answer? Did he read your message?
He's like and then he hit me. He's like, good news,
we got David.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
And I was like, awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I was going to Dominican Republic and that just put
me like in a totally different space. I went to
Dominican Republic, happy knowing that when I get back, when
I got back, I was going to sit across from you.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Yeah. No, well it was you know, I saw I
saw James on the show, and then I saw Elizabeth
on the show and I was like.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, would And You're like, you know what if they
if they already tested it out.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well this is not. It's just that like I'm like,
I'm terrible with like, you know, messages and stuff. So uh,
I know, I got a me send me something a
while ago. Oh you mean like replying to messages, replying
the messages sometimes I just miss him.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Listen your living life.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Even my family's like yo, I texted you, you know,
two months ago, what's up? And we're cousins here, you know,
but it's just you know, So I'm glad I was
able to, you know, look at it, find it.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
A Meg was persistent. I wasn't letting up.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Because I am because I did James Nos James, but
I did James because I loved you on Dexter and
I was when I saw him on screen, I said, wait, wait,
hold on, who is this guy and how is he
so amazing at this?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
But we're going to get into James a little bit later.
Puerto Rican born in pons No.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I was born in New York.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
What the Internet does, Eve?
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I tried to change and it doesn't. I was born
New York. Then when I was baby, went to Puerto Rico, Okay.
And then I came back to the Bronx right before
school and I spent the first part in the Milanda
Hunts Point area, Hunts Point area, yes, in Candela, and
then when I went to high school, we moved to
the sound View section and that's where I went to
(01:58):
high school and then until I left her till I
left the house. You're a Bronx boy now and I
still live in Riverdale with my wife.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Really, I love that for you, so it's genuine. It's
not like I'm talking to somebody from the Bronx that
is now so he's like, Hollywood Bronx.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I love that, that's my home. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I know that you're in the Bronx Hall of Fame
or Walk of Fame they have something like that, right, Yes,
that was.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
About eleven twelve years ago. I got into the Bronx
Walk of Fame. What a wonderful weekend that is. It
was like really cool.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
It was just recently.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Well it's again.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, they did Judy tourists.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That's why I did the research and I saw you.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
She's amazing. She's down the hole. She works here too.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, that's what I did, this project called Freestyle went
to the Bronx.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
You know, we definitely don't talk about it, but I've.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Seen Judy is just great.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Now, you said you lived in the Bronx till you
left your house. Where did you go? What age did
you leave your house?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Because I remember before we would of our house eighteen
now is thirty five.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
No, I was. I graduated high school when I was seventeen,
and then I went to like one semester of college.
What college, I don't know. I went to I owned
College in New Roshelle and just for a semester and
then I was like, this is that time, I says,
not for me, and so I joined the Air Force.
So I left my house when I was almost nineteen,
I joined the Air Force. I spent four years there
(03:25):
as went overseas. I served in the UK. This was
in the early eighties when there wasn't much going on.
There was no internet, there was no beepers, there was nothing.
So it was an interesting period living abroad and experiencing
life on my own, and it was. It was fantastic.
And then I got out it was eighty five, and
(03:50):
also had two kids. You know, I was married. I
had two kids with previous wife.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
And from when you were in the service.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Well, I met up when I was in the Bronx
before service, but we wound up getting married and we
had two kids. Early young and I needed a job
and I had when I was sixteen. I took the
police test and the corrections test and the fire department test.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Who said you should do all that?
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Tell me, Dad, claud My dad said, you know, one
day I went up there, I said, Dad, I want
to be an act. I couldn't get it out, so
I want to be an act. And he goes, son,
take the police.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Test, civil service exams, coming to city.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Job is great. He was a sanitation man.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Oh really, that's amazing. My husband retired from sanitation. I
have a soft spot for DSNY forever, and.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
It was it's a great It was a great job
for my dad. And then you know, I needed that.
I was on the list they called me while I
was in the Air Force, so they kept me in
the town.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Sanitation called it no, the police department, okay, and.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I then I needed a job. So I wound up
being an NYPD. Wasn't quite you know, what I really
wanted to do. And about when I was about twenty eight,
I was like, I'm gonna I'm gonna try.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
I'm gonna try acting, Like.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, well, it's just you know, I still did it
for like eight years after I started acting. Oh yeah,
I was how did you juggle this? When you're young
you don't need as much sleep. So I used to
work at midnight shift and then during the day, I
would go to class, I would go do a play
in the evening, or I would shoot a show during
the day and then go to work at night. And
(05:26):
I had a lot of good partners that really helped
me out, and they were very accommodating, and it was
you know, there wasn't a during that time. It wasn't
like it is gonna be hard to do. I was
just this is what you gotta do. You it out,
that's what you gotta do, you know. And if I
sleep two hours one night, that's the way it goes,
you know, and said, but I needed to get to
(05:48):
where I needed to get to.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
You know, do you remember the moment that you were like,
I gotta act.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
It was I went to see a play on Broadway.
I went to see a few good Men, Second Thing
with nine ten eighty nine, nineteen ninety something like that,
And that was also a movie, right, that was a movie,
but before it was a movie, it was a hit
Broadway show, you know, and I went to see it
and watching it, I was fascinated. I was like, I
(06:14):
feel like I can do this. And I was so
excited when I got out of that theater. I was
just it was just an electricity that came over me
and I went and I bought. At that time it
was this I don't even know if they still have
it Backstage magazine or I remember back to Backstage.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
It's a website now.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I think, yes, it's a website now. Yeah. And I said,
well what and I selected an acting school. I went
to the acting school. It wasn't really for me. I
went to another acting school and my first day in class, boom,
I said, this is what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
You knew right away.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I knew right away. I don't know how I'm going
to do it.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
It lit that fire.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but
I'm gonna. I'm gonna do this. I knew right there
in that first day of class that this is my passion,
this is what I wanted to do.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Is that the time of the Labyrinth Theater.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Right before the Labyrinth Theater, that was about a year
before the labyn Theater started. Because then I started trying
to do as much as I can and anything you know,
with acting, like a play here and there, and try
to just be involved somehow. And then they had auditions
for at that time it was called the Latinos Actors base.
(07:24):
It was called lab Oka and it was like, you know,
John Otisse, Paul Calderon, Gary Perez, and David Debringer. They
set up. They said, let's make a theater because there
was this play Death in the Maintenance Broadway, which is
a lot in all Latin characters. It was cast by
(07:45):
white actors, great actors, but they were white. And they
asked them, why didn't you cast to play with Latinos
and they said, because there we don't know any Latino
actors in New York City, which I think you.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Know, but we were there. We we just weren't together
as a clunk.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
No, they were there, they just they were sold out. Yeah,
they weren't sold after. So we started this company and
then like a year into it, we say, you know what,
let's include people that think like us, that represent New
York City that's multi ethnic, and so we opened up
and we call ourselves Labyrinth Theater Company. We started at
a lot of good people started from there, and we're
(08:21):
still so tight. That's the thing. Thirty three years later.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, that's something I was talking about that with Daphne Rubert, yes,
and she was talking about the Labyrinth and.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I was like, how are you guys still so tight?
Speaker 1 (08:31):
I feel like we're still tight. I just saw definitely
the other night. Yeah, it's it's we're like very because
and a lot of the people from Labyrinths have gone
on to do very you know, successful things, amazing things.
But we always we always like regroup, we always stay
in touch, we always together because they're family. We're all
family now, you know, Elizabeth Rodriguez also another one. We're
(08:53):
all just family.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
How much do you feel that has contributed to the
success of so many of you?
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I think it's everything. I think to me, if it
wasn't a Labynth Theater company, uh, I don't know. I
don't know what I would be doing, but I wouldn't
be if you look back at the steps of my career,
they all kind of stemmed through Labyrinth and to people
I work with, because it's all about the people you
connect with and the you know, the tribe you get into,
(09:20):
and you know, I don't know where I would be
if it wasn't for that, because all the plays that
came out of there, and working with playwrights like Steve
and Andy Gigers, or directors and actors like Philip Simo
Hoffman and Judy Reyes and Luna Vealez, you know, they
we all My wife Lisa Cologne is.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
That did you meet her through labynth I met her
really Lizard Labyrinth. You owe everything to that, I owe.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I owe a lot to it. Yeah, and I always
That's why I'm always supporting it and hoping the best
that it continues. And so far, so good, you know.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
And it will, you know, regardless of funding and what
happens and what the ship. It's never to cease to exist.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
No, we'll figure it out.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
That's exactly what, you know. I saw some news and
it was like the funding it being pulled with the government.
I was like, we'll figure this out.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
And if you look back, you know, there's only a
handful of theaters that have lasted over like thirty three years,
you know, and not not too many. Most of them
fold or they just you know, fade out. But we've stayed.
We've stayed, you know, vital, We've stayed you know, effective.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It's a staple of the community and it's you know,
so many superstars have come out of there when it
comes to acting that I can't see that we would
ever let it cease to exist.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah, but knowing everybody, it keeps us grounded with our
tribe that.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
You know, and I love that. It's like, you guys
are a little gang. Yeah, big gang, but little gang.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah. And then it turns out, you know, you do
ballways shows, you do TV shows, films, and you always
there's always two or three of us see in those
you know, those plays in those movies, and it's like.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
When I watch them, all's well. In New York, it
was Liza, it was Elizabeth, it was Daphne. I'm like, here,
it is the trifecta.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, yeah, Felix Solice. You had you know a lot
of really great, you know actors that are in Labyrinth
Theater Company.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
It was an amazing project. Now, Liza, how.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Did you do link? Oh? You know, Eliza and great
friends or we clicked right away as friends because we
were with other people. But you know, a couple of
years went by. We just got together and it's been
fantastic ever since. We've been married twenty eight, twenty eight years, solid, yeah, solid,
(11:32):
twenty seven. Yeah. So it's it's it's going good. And
she holds me down, I hold her down. We enjoy
all the aspects of life together. Her success, I'm so
supportive of I'm so happy for her and everything that
she's accomplished. And you know, she's very happy for me
(11:53):
whenever I achieved any form of success.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
And do you think two actors being married helped? Because
you know, a lot of times it's like, you know,
you'll have someone, let's say, like you know, Jennifer Lopez
at the beginning, she would like, you know, a dancer
or someone whose family had a bagel shop, because I
don't know, it just feels like if one person is
the star and the other person just kind of plays
the background, things might.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Be a little easier. How was it both of you
being successful actors?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I think maturity has a lot to do with it.
I think all the I guess the normal aspects of relationship,
whether it's you know, jealousy, whether it's I think you
worked through that. I think e Liza and I are
unique in a way that we've never felt slighted because
(12:41):
someone one of us got success. Everyone. She was very
supportive of me when I started working and doing shows
and television, and and she was she was, you know,
kicking butt in theater. You know again, you know, winning
all these awards in theater, and then when she got
her break in television. I was just like, yeah, I
(13:03):
want to be a plus one.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And one of us. You know, with marriage is like
if one of us wins, we both win.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Absolutely absolutely, But I think it's you know, maturity has
a lot to do with that. I don't and every couple,
every relationship is different. You could only speak to what
Eliza and I went through, you know. So it's and
it's been very positive.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
But twenty years it's a long time, and that's why
I ask. I'm like, how did this work?
Speaker 2 (13:28):
But congratulations to you, you know your children. Liza is amazing.
The Freestyle play, I was there and I saw her
moving around. I'm like, this woman is electrical.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Sometimes I think she's a vampire. I was like, what
is She's ages backwards.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
And I remember I'm the writer or the director of
the play.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Was like, I want you to meet Lies. I want
you to meet Lies. And every time we turn around,
she was like zipping by Lydia.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Lydia Amy is one of the writers. And George Valencia.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
George that's who I was with, and we were talking
and he's like, you gotta meet Lies. You gotta meet
lies and we just couldn't grab her.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yeah, no, Li just so easy to talk to her
and easy to get it all the way. She's very
down to earth and you know it's it's and she's
she's a Bronx skilled too.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
You know, I'm pretty for me and her a vibe
out with no problem. Now with acting, when did you
feel like this is big? Like was it odz or
at one moment did you feel like this is huge?
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I think I never really felt like that. I never
really felt like that. I always felt like I got it.
It's whenever I got a job, I was like, now
I got to earn it. You know, Now I gotta
go and do the work yourself right, And every job
I still feel that way. If I get a job
at tomorrow, I'm like, what I got? You know, it's
like it's like I gotta prove, I gotta I gotta
(14:55):
step up. It's it's less expectation and more now let's
get down to it and let me just, you know,
do what I do. And I think that may and
I think there was an app there was a moment
where I was doing theater and I was doing guest
spots on TV. I was still a cop. And then
(15:17):
I auditioned for this TV show called The Beat that
was done by Tom Fontana and Barry Levins and Mark
Ruffalo was in it. And I auditioned for a part
and they said, read this part. Go outside, take twenty
minutes and read this part, which was like one of
(15:38):
the you know, major supporting roles in the play. So
in the in the TV show. So I went in,
I auditioned, and miraculously I got it. So I would say,
like Tom Fontana is the one that you know, got me,
got me on the map when it came to television
and film, and he'll always be the guy that, you know,
(16:00):
if he asked me to do anything, I'm just gonna
do it, you know, because he's he's the he's the
man that gave me an opportunity. He didn't say, oh,
this is just this guy, it's just a cop trying
to act. He actually saw what I was trying to
do and and he cast me. And then he cast
me on OZ because you finished, he cast me on
OZ and I did three years and if you get
(16:23):
more as yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Not a nice guy, well but you know that show
wasn't filled with nice characters, so you know, I'm not
holding it against him.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I used to work as a cop midnight shift to
get off and then go play a prisoner during the day.
It was just a great. It was a great that show.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
That show is iconic and it's forever cemented.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
You know.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
You would get HBO just to watch because it was everywhere.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
It was just well, it was the.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
First dramatic show on HBO television.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Yeah, I remember that was my father's show. My father
was like, I gotta watch I'm watching OS too.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
It was it was it was like sometimes you read
the script, it was like, oh, this is brutal. They're
gonna allow this on television.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
It was a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
There was a lot of stuff, you know, and but
they did and it really it not only did it
put me on the map and with opportunities, but it
also you're in a room with thirty other seasoned actors
and you're all in the same room because you're in
jail in the show, right, so, and I'm just watching
(17:25):
everybody do their work and I learned. So it was
like going into it like you were absorbing conservatory of acting,
watching all these veteran actors, you know, and how they're
doing things and I'm gonna take I'm gonna steal that.
I'm gonna steal that. I'll steal that. Okay. I see
what they're doing here, I see how they're working for
the camera. And I learned a lot technically about doing
(17:47):
television through that show. And then, you know, Tom Fontana
wrote some of the most amazing scenes that has ever
been written in that show.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
No, this is the writing there was top tier. You know,
the acting was amazing, but the story lines hit. Yes,
were you still working as a police officer and.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Us for the first year, where were.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
You stationed, like, what's your precinct?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Well, in the eighties, I was stationed in uh, Manhattan
North Task Force and we mostly worked like in the
three four up in Washington nights. Yeah, and then when
I when I started acting, I switched over to Midtown North,
which is right there on fifty fourth.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
You wanted to be in the theater.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Disc wanted to be in the theater, you know, yeah, yeah, exactly,
and uh and so then I got there and I
started you know, I had an opportunity to just be
able to go and do other things there and and
you know, it just it worked out, It worked out
really well.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
But the homies at the station. They were like, how
did you like yo? So you were actor and you.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Were listen, I would I would call what I've had
was an unremarkable career as a cop. And as a cop,
you want and.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Remote, that's how you want to go.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Yeah, you don't want to you don't want to be
the guy that you know, Oh I fire my weapon.
I never ever even took out my in my fifteen years.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
That's amazing. I love that.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Right. So, but when I started acting, you know, they
were like, oh, here's this guy trying to you know, Hollywood, right,
and it's not. And the weird thing was, I wasn't
doing it for the money. I was doing it to
just do something that was passionate I did. But they
were all very They used to come to my shows,
very very supportive. And I never had any you know,
(19:31):
bad intention from anybody in the POLICEPT.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
So it's kind of like a brotherhood, it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Was, And I got along with everybody.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
You know, at the end of the day, I'm working
with someone who's on TV. Why would I hate on you.
I'm going to support you.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah, No, But there wasn't. It was I had nothing
but love, nothing but support. You know, I was very lucky.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
That's absolutely amazing. Now let's talk dexter.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Okay, before we started, you said this was twenty years ago.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
How Yeah, we shot the Pie I lived in two
thousand and five in Miami, and that was twenty years ago.
And then when the show got picked up, they moved
it to Los Angeles and we shot it the in
Los Angeles with some exterior shots in Miami. And yeah,
that was you know, me coming into audition for it
(20:19):
and just the right people being in that room that
saw something in me to practicate Batista. Yeah, sergeant Well,
I started off as a detective and then then he
became slogary lieutenant and he's a captain.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Is that how it ended?
Speaker 1 (20:37):
That's how it is now?
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Oh, that's how it is now. Yeah, yeah, we're talking resurrection.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Yes, okay, goodness, and so but let's go back.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Let's go back. Let's go back. Where did you audition
for Batista in New York.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
I was actually in Toronto doing a film, I believe,
shooting a movie, and my manager called me and said,
I think this is his role. You should come in.
You know, because Toronto is a forty five minute flight,
is not that far. She said, you should come in
here and you're working Friday or no, because she should
come in and and come in audition for this part,
(21:09):
because this part is excellent for you. That's why it's
always great to have a I have a great manager.
He's also one of my best friends, Andrew Tevinbaum. Okay,
he's just one of the best. So he was like, yeah,
you should come in an audition for it. And I
was like, you know, I got tickets to the Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays a game. I don't know if I
want to fly in to you know, to audition. And
(21:30):
so we ended the call five minutes that they caused
me back because I really think he called me about
four times.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
You were really think about staying for the baseball game?
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Yeah? Finally I said, well, I didn't know. I knew
nothing about Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
I know it's Yankees or an unknown rule.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, you know the Yankees. So yes, and
I'm a Met fan, I believe it or not. I
don't look at me exactly.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
I looked down right away. Really, this is what he's
gonna do. He for the Bronx.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
He's a mess. I'll tell you why later if you
want to know. Yeah, but I uh, finally I said, right,
I'm gonna I'm gonna come in fine. I flew in.
I auditioned for Angel Batista and I got it somehow
I got it. I went and test it in la
for the role and I got the role. And then
(22:14):
we started in Miami. And uh, I think it was
like September of two thousand and five or something like that.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Did you have to move to Miami?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
No, it was just shooting the pilot in Miami. We
didn't know if the show was going to get picked up. Okay,
we were just They used to just shoot pilots and
depending on the testing of it, it determined whether it
was going to get picked up in the series. But
this one did. I mean I had everyone was a
little skeptical. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I was gonna say, what were your thoughts when you
finished shooting that pilot?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And you said, okay, everyone, it was great.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
It was a great a great show, great script was amazing.
We have some of the best actors on the show.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
The Dexter Verse would have killed me if I didn't
real you back and talk about decks.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah, yeah, and so it's it was like it was
we were shooting in Miami. We had a great time,
but it was during Hurricane Katrina, which didn't hit Miami,
but it had enough tropical storms to stop shooting for
a while. And then after the show, if the show
was going to get picked up, they decided to shoot
it in Los Angeles, you.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Know, so it looked like Miami. I've lived in my.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, but they also shot in Miami as well. Yeah,
but most of the studio.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Was in where the precinct was. Was that Miami. I
just just never felt like Miami. I was like, this
is the only thing I was questioned. I was like,
this cannot be Miami. It's on the water, but it
cannot be no what.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
They had exteriors in Miami that they shot. But then
you know the you know, the magic of movies and
the magic of television exactly.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Now, as far as Dexter goes, did you think that
it was going to go this long? As long as
it went, what did you guys do?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Seven? Eight seasons?
Speaker 1 (23:53):
We did? Initially we did eight seasons and we ended
in twenty thirteen. Eight years later, they kind of they
renewed it and they rebooted it for current times. Up
in upstate New York, which was Dexter new Blood. All right,
so they did the new Blood and then they asked
(24:17):
me what you want to come back as in your
Batista and do a couple episodes.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
I also mad at you in new Blood when you're like,
what are you doing? Let next to live?
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Come on? But these that don't play well, No, I didn't.
I didn't even get to meet him in new Blood.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
I mean what you was about to do though?
Speaker 1 (24:33):
I was like, well, I mean, wouldn't you.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I don't know, because it's like, you have this love
hate relationship with Dexter.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
It's like, but if you have a relationship with like,
you know, you have friendship with you know, I'm let's
say right, and the friendship lasts about twenty twenty five years,
and all of a sudden you find out that he's alive.
He's a he's a serial killer, and he's been killing
people that you've been investigating together. Uh, and then one
of those victims was your ex wife. Oh you know,
(25:01):
and so even that's.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Gonna that's gonna okay, now, it's all yeah, there you.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Go that it's gonna hit you, you know. So it's
it's it's one of those.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
One of those I'm over here, you know, kind of
like segmenting and like, oh, no, he only killed people
who deserved it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
But now that you mentioned, I would say, he did, uh,
you know, kill people that followed that code. But there's
a lot of innocent people there was because of him,
you know. So it's Homie.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
What was the homies name?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
The other detective that was onto him early in the game,
the Black Folks.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Oh, my god, surprise, mother, he's great.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
He was another one who's acting was just so amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
I was like, yeah, he's a tremendous Eric King, He's
a tremendous, tremendous actor. I worked with a lot of
great actors on that show.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
You have You really Lauren? But less you knew her
from before?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Well she was part of the Labyrinth. Oh yes, I
knew her before. I had done os with her.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
You all call her Luna, right, Luna because somebody's like you.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Like Luna, like Lauren. I'm like okay, And oh yeah
she wasn't.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
She was on she was doctor doctor Nathan.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
And the nun was Rita Moreno, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Yeah. Yeah. Now when you're legend.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Well yeah, I can't just say the legendary. The icon.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Yes, yes, one of the best.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
No, for real, man, she paid the way, she really really.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Paid the way. But Luna and I we were already
pretty close and we've worked together, and we we loved
each other. We were just, you know, just like she
was like my sister. She was just she's just have
you met have you met?
Speaker 3 (26:37):
No, we've never met.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
She's just wonderful as a as a human being.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
That's what I've heard.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
She's just a wonderful human being. She's very talented, she's
got a great work ethic, and I like, I like
hanging around.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
She was everything to me in New York. On the cover,
I was like, yeah, she was great. You know, to
see yourself like that.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Oh my god, I liked it like that, Wow, that movie.
I was help But I remember watching that movie.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Yeah, I wasn't that young. She got it.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
No, no, no, no, no, no, because it's like should I
haven't watching them, but I'm thinking back, But no, what
that movie was in the nineties.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
That movie was in the early nineties.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Early nineties, And I remember, I'm like, this is a lot,
but I loved it.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah it was. It was. It was really a great
movie and great people in the John Sata, Elvis and
Alasco super cute. Yeah, a lot of a lot of
a lot of good upcoming Latino actors that you know,
really stepped up.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
And now that they brought Dexter to Netflix, do you
find yourself like in a whole new wave Like.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Yeah, you know, since it's been on Netflix, you know
what it is now it's like eighteen year olds now
that weren't even a lot that's the way you started.
Oh that they couldn't watch it because they were too young.
Now they're starting to watch it and they're into it.
And so sometimes in the street on the subway they
look at me and like they don't know because you know,
(27:59):
I'm a little bit o now, you know. And the
gray hair, you know, I used to have jet black
hair back when we don't.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
And you don't have the Batista outfit because the clothing,
the clothing for Batista was like a big thing.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
It was it was, And I always care for what
the hats that I used now now because yeah, I
don't want it's.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Like, you don't want to feel like you're out in character.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah kind of. I just want to. I just want
to be just normal guy, just out there trying to,
you know, so but that the the you know, there's
certain things, there's the clothes, the you know, the gold tea.
But there's also something about certain lines that I've I
had in the first season that I've forgotten about, like
(28:44):
La Passion. Right when when that first came out, people
wearing t shirts and yelling out in cars La Passion.
I'm like, I don't know what they're talking about, Like
passion is that they And then they say, oh, no,
that's from And then they started showing clips on TikTok
and and I'm like, I was just one that was
(29:05):
just like five minutes of one day in the pilot
that I shot all this second episode and it goes viral,
but it goes viral years later. Yeah, that's that's what's
you know, And you have no control over it, you know.
And and not that I'm complaining, it's it's great to
be associated with anything that people are connected to in
(29:25):
regards to the show. But but sometimes it takes you
by surprise, you know, and you're like, wow, okay, you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Like you got the new generation generation Alpha. Yeah j Z,
they're all watching They're watching Friends, for God's sake.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
I'm watching Friends and and some of them may be
watching OS. You know they're they're watching OS, and you
know that that's not as well. You can still you
can still find OS on Max. You know, if you
go into series and stuff, you can.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
You know, I love it.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Your body of work will forever exist.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Like how amazing is that, you know, because some people
live their entire life and their entire career day in
and day out.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
They work forty years and then it we could watch
you forever. Your children can just turn on the TV.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
You know, when you're gone one day, your grandchildren be like,
I want to watch a Welo. I want to watch Poppy.
That's beautiful. It's like you're leaving behind a body of
work that is your legacy. I'm pretty sure you know
this already, but I just felt like I wanted.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
To say that thank you. I think you know, it's
like sometimes I've had to, at least for me, I
have to stop and think about, oh, of what I've done.
You know, you have to like sometimes stop because I
don't really think about that. I think about what's next,
So I think about what I'm doing at the time,
and that's what I'm like kind of like polarized to do.
(31:02):
But sometimes it's good to stop and and and look
back and you know, understand how lucky I've been and
the opportunities that I've you know, that have been available
to me. And yes, you got to work hard. You
got to have a great work ethic. You got to
(31:22):
you know, you got to be you know, use kindness
and and and and and affect people and you know,
but it's it's just hard to like, you know, pinpoint
all that. While you're doing it, you're just you know,
you're just trying to get the character. But to go
back and then look at the great people that I've
worked with, because you don't never I don't care what
(31:45):
anybody says in there. You don't do it alone. Oh never,
never do it alone. You know. It's like it's like
I've I've been lucky to work with some fantastic actors
that and directors and writers and that have just nourished
my autistic expression, you know, and it's just really, uh,
I got to look back and you know and appreciate that,
(32:08):
you know, and everyone should do that. But that's hard
to do. You know, it's hard to do. You gotta
be you got to be humble to humility goes a
long way. But with that humility comes not looking at
what you've done in the past, you know, and just
being present and you know, being effective now, in present
and in the future.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
That is absolutely beautiful. Now, who do you watch on
what do you watch on TV?
Speaker 1 (32:33):
I watch I watch everything. I watch everything. I watch
as many movies as I can. I watch as many
old movies as I can. I look back, and I
go back and look at like Latino artists. Like my
first play ever to watch, I was fourteen, and I
went to Lincoln Center to see this Kurt Wild period
(32:55):
piece called Three Penny Opera. And I went into the
consented with my class and I had never been to
the theater before. And the play starts and it takes
place in like I think, in the eighteen hundreds, and
these guys come out in these amazing and then this
man comes out he more not really glides out into
the stage and he starts talking this very classical language.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
We're talking Shakespeare type.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
We're talking like, oh, not Shakespeare, but it wasn't Shakespeare,
but it was like it was just a classical way
of speaking. But I noticed and he sounds like my uncle.
Then he had a Puerto Rican accent and it was
Raoul Julia, Oh wow, And I was like, wow, wow, Julie.
And I just was fascinated because you know, he's from
(33:42):
where all my family's from and where I'm from, and
he speaks the way they speak and these mannerisms are similar,
you know, And I was like just engaged in someone
that kind of like sounded maybe you know, like me,
and had that kind of culture on stage doing this,
(34:04):
and it's it opens up possibilities in your head, like
you know, I could I think I would love to
do that. I could do that, you know. And so yeah,
so it's just all the I watch everything, every movie
I could watch, I watch because I just love this
this expression of film, theater, music. I'm very into the
(34:28):
going to see as many plays as I can. So
I'm very I think it's really important and helps you
as an actor to do that.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
Did you catch the one Avista Social Club?
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Not yet, but that's next time.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
I come on. Yeah, that's brilliant to say the least.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Absolutely, real women have curves, did you go see I've.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Not seen just seeing them a shat out because I've
been shooting every day on the new decks, the resurrections.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Okay, you've been busy, You've been busy and busy.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
But I'm going to catch them both, you know. But
you know, I've always admired people from where I'm from,
and Benicio del Toro and John Ortiz and a lot
of these great uh just Puerto Rican actors and a
lot of Puerto Rican actors that I know that we're
a fantastic that haven't had that opportunity yet, but I
(35:20):
know that they're fantastic actors. And you know, it's it's
it's warms my heart to see that.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
Puerto Rico. Do you go back?
Speaker 1 (35:31):
I go back. I went back last year. I go
back as much as I can. Actually, I have family there.
I have a lot of cousins there and well and
San Juan SiO and Bon and the Medio. Yeah, yeah,
which just but it's yeah, my grandfather is from Carolina,
(35:54):
and you know, it's I have a lot of roots
in in in Puerto Rico, and I go there. I
sometimes I'm meet cousins I've never met. I'm like, oh,
and I see the resemblance. I see you know, the
speech pattern, I see the mannerisms. You know, and uh,
I'm like, okay, yeah, it's it's it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
How in tune are your kids with with their you know, heritage,
They listen to Bad Bunny?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
They do I you listen to Bad Bunny. I want
to try it. I'm like, should I a him? If
he likes Bad Bunny?
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Man is the best his representation?
Speaker 3 (36:30):
How brilliant is this?
Speaker 1 (36:31):
He's just brilliant and he brings it to the level
of somebody like my age and then the youth that like.
I think he's one of the most brilliant artists. And
I mean, I've never met the young man, but I
would like to one day.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
But I find him You're gonnap him up for the
great words he's out here doing.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
I find him amazing and I listened to that.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
The way he's forcing, you know the world to just
take notice of how amazing Latinos are in Puerto Rico.
Was he deserves a check from all of us, like
we should put our money together, just paid the man
because what was it?
Speaker 3 (37:06):
What was he Jimmy Fallon?
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Yeah, yeah, he does. He does a lot for the
island as well. You know, it's it's really uh, he's
a he's a great example of someone who is proud
of his of his heritage and where he's from.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
And he's not afraid to speak up, you know when
he brings to like, you know, the gentrification, everything that's
happening in Puerto Rico. Like he did a short film
I watched Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
With you with the Cookie Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. So
when my granddaughter we sat down we watched it together, uh,
in my daughter's house and with my granddaughter who's eleven,
and I thought about it. I was like, how cool
it is We're like watching something that you know that
she's she just learned something new about Puerto Rico and
(37:49):
I'm doing I learned something new about Puerto Rico. And
it's like it's just fifty year difference, right, So it's
it's really an amazing He's an amazing artist. And I'm
sure there's a lot of amazing artists like that in
Puerto Rico coming out and and they'll have this will
help them get opportunities to to show the world who
we are.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
When the whole reggaeton thing happened, we were you outside
with the regato movement.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
I'm talking we sing.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
I knew of them, know. I was like, I was yeah, Well,
I didn't partty much. I worked a lot, you know,
I had a lot of I mean I partied some,
but I worked a lot. And so but I remember
all that.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Time me and New York, it was huge.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Huge, same thing with the freestyle.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Oh yeah, we could take it back one step.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
But now that we talk about you know bad Bunny,
who you know is an extension of reggaeton. I remember
when it was like Domo Mat Daddy Yankee, we singing
yan dial, like what.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
Happened here in New York.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
It's like we were here, but it was like we
are really here, and we take we had club exit
like that Pereo like in Midtown.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
I don't remember fifty sixth Street, right yeah, and I
responded there a lot.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
Okay, no no no, I thought you no, no, no,
A lot of yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
I mean I've I went there a couple of times,
and but I remember that club and it was always
packed that I do remember. So, I mean it's it's
you know, that was huge.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
I feel I felt like for me, it was just
like I'm born and raised in New York, and you
know it's always like black white you know, Latinos existed
like I remember as a child, I'm Dominican and they
were like, oh, you're Puerto Rican. Like it wasn't even
like a thing Like I'm like, no, I'm Dominican.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Where is that? I don't know what that is.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
I was great about Bad Money. Also is that it's
not just Puerto Rican.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
It's we realized that Dominicanouano lo Puerto Ricano. We we
have that same Caribbean blood, you know, yeah, exactly, you
know Caribbean, African. You know, there's Diino, there's so many
We're like, we're from so many different, you know, cultures
(40:11):
that Bad Bunny brings his music where everybody is like
they all like in the same level. And I think
that's beautiful. I think it's fantastic that that he can
do that, you know, and very few artists in our generation.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I think he did like ten shows in Mexico for
his new tour. He had to open up so many shows.
I'm like, I'm like, jeez, Chris, the Mexicanos really really
love Bad Bunny. And it's christ that you bring that
up because it is true. And at times I've been
asked like aren't you afraid of you know, kind of
like gearing towards the Latino content, and I'm like, absolutely not.
Do you understand how many countries speak Spanish. You're then
(40:47):
go Venezuela and Chile, Peruna, Puerto Rico.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
Never, that's who I am.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
Wherever we are, we belong there. And you know what
I'm saying that it's not the whole thing. Oh you know, no,
I never would consider myself a minority. I'm here, I'm
gonna kick the door down, boom, and this is who
I am. But it's like I never really looked at
me in this world, whether it's the acting world or
(41:14):
even in the police department or in the Air Force.
I never felt like I was you know, I was
a minormity. They got an opportunity. I earned that. I
worked hard and I did what I had to do.
And I think most people do that. And so I
always have a little bit of hesitation when I start
(41:34):
talking about, Oh, your minority. No, man, that's just why
I'm here.
Speaker 3 (41:39):
Can we talk about that just a little bit.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
I was at a gala and you know a lot
of people were speaking, you know, about their experience as
a Latino, and I don't know, I felt so disconnected
because I'm like, I don't know, I've always felt so
proud and I've always felt so big. I don't know
if it was a New York thing because here in
New York Latinos were just like josel Latina, I don't care,
and they just we're talking about, you know, all the
(42:02):
struggle and how you know, being a Ladino kind of like,
you know, didn't grant them the opportunities, I guess, but.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
They're they're right, it's it's it is. It is a struggle.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
But I felt so like, why don't I feel more
connected with the struggle. Is it because I fought so
hard against it?
Speaker 5 (42:20):
No?
Speaker 1 (42:21):
I think the struggle is when you don't know anything
else other than that, then it's it's what it is.
It's not I don't there is a lot of you know, listen,
it's it's you got to be really uh, you know.
The racism is real, and.
Speaker 3 (42:40):
I'm pretty sure I've experienced it a ton of time.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
But I've thought back, well, me less than my cousin
because you know, I got white skin, right, So it's
it's it's a different thing, and you have to stay
open and try to understand all the aspects of that
you know, but I never felt that had to be
different with anyone else in any other ethnicity. I'm who
I am, and and they either accept me like that
(43:04):
or I don't. I never found I never saw it
for me. I never felt that it was a climb up.
It was it's to me, it's a climb up for everybody,
especially in acting. You know, you got it's it's a
it's a it's a struggle, it's a you know, it's
a grind for everybody. I never felt that it was
(43:27):
more of a grind for me because I was Latino.
So I think that it's really and.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
I feel connected with you, but sometimes I feel like
not sensitive enough.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
I don't know, I know what I'm thinking.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
I am very I mean, it's like it's like it
was a grind, it was a grind, But I never
be like it was a grind because I was a Latina.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Yeah, I mean, and it could that could be, but
I just, you know, with me, I just couldn't think
that way. But yeah, I I hear. Listen, it's it's
it's it's it's hard out there away from New York.
Speaker 3 (43:58):
If you go, if it's gonna be a grind, it's
gonna be a grind.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
It's gonna be a grind everywhere. Yeah, it's it's uh.
I always felt accepted, and if I wasn't accepted, I intruded.
Speaker 3 (44:12):
Oh hell yeah, we what we doing right? My lines?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Right?
Speaker 3 (44:20):
Have you always primarily played a Latino character in Gotham?
You were Italian?
Speaker 5 (44:38):
Right?
Speaker 3 (44:39):
Can I tell you I didn't recognize you? What did
they do to you?
Speaker 1 (44:45):
No? I think you know. It's like, I mean, it's Gotham, right,
it's Gotham City.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
So you got to be a little distorted, right, you.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Could be a little Yeah, and it was you didn't
have hair, right. I did have hair, not much like
I still don't have much. But uh no, it was
it was a shaved Okay, so the shaved and I
had these great suits, and you know.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
You were amazing by the way, But I just didn't
know it was you. I didn't make the connection at
the beginning.
Speaker 1 (45:11):
Yes, I had a great time doing that. That was
that was fun. But yeah, no, I it's I don't
mind playing. In fact, if possible, if I get a
role that's not let's say, really is not on the
page Latino, I want him to I want them to
make him Latino I want to represent. I thank you
(45:32):
for it. Like if my character, if I if I
somehow lucky enough to get a character where I play
and it's doctor Murphy, I wist say make it doctor Rodriguez,
and make it doctor I'm because I want I want
somebody to watch to like show, you know, to understand
that we all have we all have the path to
(45:53):
do what we want to do, and you know, they're
not going to be blocked just because we're Latino. So
if there's a character that is you know, I try
to be now, I try to be very you know,
just observant of the kind of characters that I would play,
you know, yeah, because I want I don't want to
(46:15):
you know, I want to say it all depends on
who's writing it who, you know, what's it for. And
I want to make sure that the representation is correct.
I mean, he doesn't have to be a good guy,
but I want to make sure that everything they show
different layers of this character. And so I am you know,
(46:35):
I do pay attention to some of the characters that
that I auditioned for or.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
They offer to me, and I thank you for that,
you know, because our portrayal and how we're seeing on
the big screen goes far and wide. Yeah, and a
lot of the times, you know, back in the days,
like when we were casted as you know, drug dealers, prostitutes,
you know, people in prison.
Speaker 3 (46:57):
Like it kind of like warps the prison.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
It does. And you know what, I don't mind characters
that are drug dealers and that are murderers. I just
want them to be represented truthfully, because everyone has a struggle.
Nothing is just black or white, and it's very complicated.
It's very layered. So if I have to play a
(47:20):
drug dealer, if I have to play it's got to
be I need to see something of value in that character.
And that's that's the thing. It's not necessarily what you play.
It is how you play it and how it's written.
Speaker 3 (47:33):
And that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (47:34):
That brings me to Oranges and New Black and how
you know, all the women were in prison, but we
got to see the backstory exactly. We got to see,
you know, with Elizabeth Rodriguez her character at home, with
Dasha Bolanco her character at home, so Selinese's labor, like,
we got to see why they all ended up there,
and we got to see that there is a soft side.
They were mothers, they were you know, daughters and wife.
(47:54):
So I understand where you're coming from.
Speaker 1 (47:56):
The human beings. It's like they have they have love
and their lives. It's just not hate and violence. They
do have love, they do have compassion, and if you're
going to play that character, I want to see that.
I want to see that in that role, you know.
And that's why I loved it. That Angel Batista was
you know, written not without flaws, because he had a
(48:19):
lot of he had a ship with him, but ultimately
it was genuinely honest.
Speaker 3 (48:25):
He was a good guy.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
He was you know, always looked for the best in people,
you know, and and and that I appreciate, and they
wrote something, you know, they wrote a beautiful character based
on that.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
No, Batista was my favorite character. I'm Dexter. You know.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
Dexter was amazing, but I just felt so identified, you know,
with you, with Lauren Blez, with just just that whole dynamic.
Speaker 3 (48:50):
And I tell people all the time, they're I don't
know what to watch.
Speaker 2 (48:52):
I'm like, have you watched Sexter? And they're like, no,
I want to watch something Paladinus. I'm like, Dexter is
Piladino's just getting there.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
That's very multi it is.
Speaker 3 (49:00):
It really is in the music. You know, it's crazy
the music. Every time I'm be like, here's this outside,
here's the minting.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
And it was like, you know, it's it's really uh
because I play a Cuban, right, Cuban American of Miami.
So I wanted to talk to all my all my friends,
uh that that are Cuban, that are actors that I know,
you know, and just to get an essence of the
(49:27):
difference being a Cuban from Miami or from being a
Puerto Rican from New York. And it isn't there. There
ain't that many differences, only culturally where you're at. That
the local culture is what I needed to like familiarize
myself with, and then everything else is kind of similar.
You know. It's it's it's it was. It was wonderful.
(49:50):
It was a wonderful character to play.
Speaker 3 (49:53):
Now, Dexter new Blood. How did this come about?
Speaker 2 (49:58):
Like it's like like Dexter was over and then somebody
decided like we need to bring Duster back.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
Yeah, I'm not quite sure what.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
I got to talk to James about that.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
Yeah, I don't know how it happened. But you know,
the New Blood came out in twenty twenty one, right,
and it was after the show had finished twenty thirteen,
And you know, were you surprised brilliant? I was. I
was a little surprised. Yeah, I was a little surprised.
I thought, you know, after eight years, you'd think it's
not going to yeah. Yeah. And also it wasn't a
(50:28):
thing then to just reboot shows as it is not
that they have original ideas to do it right. So
it was like, you know it when it came back
and they asked me to be a part of it,
I was. I was ecstatic. I was like, yeah, and
you know, what is the update, like what's happened in
the past ten years to Angel Batista to try and
(50:51):
bring that into the character in New Blood? And it
was really it was really interesting. I had a great time.
We shot. I only shot the last two Upsos sos
I believe. And and then three years later, four years later, Uh,
they called me They're going to have Dexter Resurrection. You'd
like to be involved? And I'm like, uh, yeah, of course.
Speaker 2 (51:15):
I was so happy when they brought it back. I
was because it's I don't know, I just felt like
I was missing something.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
Does does that sound weird?
Speaker 1 (51:22):
No, it doesn't. I know what you're saying. I feel
that way about you know, like many shows that I
watch when it ends, why did it end? Why did
the West Wing? And I mean now I got to
put the west wing and just to feel good about
the political atmosphere of this, right, So it's it's really
it was. It was. It's great. It's great that they
(51:43):
brought it back. And uh, you'll see this year it's
gonna be some really interesting moments.
Speaker 3 (51:49):
M I'm so happy this I'm telling everybody is coming.
Speaker 1 (51:53):
It's July eleventh, I think comes out on uh nine
short time Paramount plus.
Speaker 2 (51:58):
Well that's I got everything nowhere about because I need
to stream anything and everything I want to watch at
all times.
Speaker 3 (52:03):
How does that work with streaming?
Speaker 2 (52:05):
Like is your contract different now versus like when you
signed the first dexter? Like this is how much you
get paid while it's on TV streaming forever. I don't
know the workings of this.
Speaker 1 (52:13):
It's very complicated. I know, I don't know really the
exact details. You know, I don't know if the residual
aspect of streaming too, you know, it's it's hard to
I've always wondered.
Speaker 2 (52:26):
Yeah, like when they play your show, let's say, friends,
I'm like, are they getting paid right now?
Speaker 1 (52:30):
I think, yeah, they are. It does how much depends
on the contract and what they.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
Because remember twenty years ago, streaming wasn't a thing.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
Streaming wasn't a thing, but DVDs and VHS's were okay,
and that was the way of that's like a streaming.
Well it wasn't a streaming, but it was a way
for residuals and for other you know, other things that
you would get you know, compensated for, you know, the streaming.
Now you know, it's there's so many of them, and
(53:02):
you know, I'm kind of glad I could watch shows.
I could go and go back and watch Homicide, Life
on the Street, you know, because of streaming and some
shows that I were not, Like, I don't remember seeing
Miami Vice so much when I was younger. Now I'm
watching it, I'm like, oh, okay, I see that. I
see the attraction of this show.
Speaker 3 (53:23):
There's a new Miami Vice. Right.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
Well, there was a movie in two thousand and six
that Michael Mann directed. Okay, that's Elizabeth Rodriguez was.
Speaker 3 (53:31):
Okay, that's what I'm thinking.
Speaker 1 (53:32):
Yeah, and that that was done. But no Miami Advice
ended in the eighties, I think, you know, but it
was it was fun to watch now.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
You know you're thinking back, You're like, look at this,
look at that now watching James play a young baddista.
Speaker 3 (53:49):
How was that? Talk to me?
Speaker 2 (53:51):
And you know, I told them when we had our
I said, you know what, you had a whole cheek code.
You had eight seasons? Were the Davidsias to watch? And
what did you think when you saw that first season?
Speaker 1 (54:02):
The first thing I thought was, Man, he's gonna be
tired of seeing my face. He's gonna be watching me.
He's gonna be like, you know, trying to find.
Speaker 3 (54:10):
You know, he got the role before it came out.
Speaker 1 (54:12):
Yeah, when he when he got the role. That the
timing of it was we had a benefit for labyin
Theater Company. I think it was the thirtieth anniversary of
labyin Theater Company and we had a like a party,
like an event, and he come in. And I had
known James from years back and just crossing paths and
(54:34):
I've done workshops with him. Always sweet and always really
a good actor.
Speaker 3 (54:39):
He's a good guy.
Speaker 1 (54:41):
And so he came to me that day and he
told me because I got the part of Ayr Batista,
and I'm like, I was very happy because he's you know,
I know, he's a good actor. I was like, I
don't think. I mean, I don't know. We don't really
look if you really look hard, No, don't looked that
much alike. But which is which is a you know,
(55:06):
a compliment to him that he wasn't trying to imitate me.
He was trying to see the characteristics of the character
and he found them and with you know, in all
the mannerisms and some of those mannerisms we share. You know,
it's not like he made him up because he saw me,
you know. But watching it, I'm like, oh, okay, and
(55:29):
my man did his work. He did his work and
he's represented, and I was I was really proud of him,
and I was really happy that he got that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (55:39):
I was proud of him. I'm like, is this ai?
Speaker 2 (55:41):
I didn't know what to make of it when I
was watching it, Like we were talking behind the scenes,
and I was just like, immediately I was like, is
James Martinez Davis and his son? Because I'm like, why
does this man act just like this other man?
Speaker 1 (55:53):
No, it's that's him. I mean, that's that's his Yeah,
that's his talent. That's his talent, and that's it him
doing what he has to do for the role. And
and you know, I was very happy with his portrayal.
And I think Christina was amazing too. Yeah, she was amazing.
And again I remember just the first episode of Original
(56:16):
Sin and I was like, oh, yeah, I was never
as good looking as that guy, but.
Speaker 4 (56:22):
I think did right by you because he's a good
looking guy.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
Yeah. Yeah, it was great and a good actor too,
and also a really good guy, good guy overall.
Speaker 3 (56:33):
Listen, James MARTINAZ is great. You solid on this side. Yeah,
you got the coat on from David, got the coat
on from me.
Speaker 1 (56:40):
You told him we need to do we need to
do a project together, you know, because I would I
would love that.
Speaker 3 (56:46):
I'm here for it. And you're talking projects. Any of
your children interested in acting?
Speaker 1 (56:51):
My son his name is David a Is Jr.
Speaker 3 (56:55):
Oh, But listen, David is unr with Liza as a
mom and you as a father. He doesn't inherit that.
Speaker 1 (57:01):
Well, he's a director. Now, he's my son is a
theater director. He also works as my stunt double and
my standing in Dexter, so he's there all the time.
He's experienced a lot, even from way back when.
Speaker 3 (57:16):
You know, he grew up on sets.
Speaker 1 (57:19):
He grew up on sets, he grew up in rehearsal wounds,
both him and my daughter Leanna. You know, I had
when I started acting, I had gotten divorced the first time,
and so I had joined custody, and so whenever I
had to go to an audition or rehearsal, I'd have
these two. I go sit here so he don't bother
any of the actors. We're gonna going to go in
(57:39):
right or during rehearsal rooms, if I got to play
uh there was an adult there, I were like, can
you watch them what I do this scene? And so
it was, it was, there was some interesting times. They
experienced everything in this business. I didn't. I didn't really
shield him about anything. I told him, this is what's
happening here, this is what's happening there. And they knew,
you know, they were very you know, well adjusted, you know,
(58:03):
growing up, even though when they came with me, they
knew it was going to be kind of a We
didn't know what was gonna happen. They might be hanging
out to one in the.
Speaker 3 (58:10):
Morning, you know, so it's unpredictable. It's gonna go down today.
Speaker 1 (58:14):
It was one of those. Uh, it was. It was great.
But my son grew up. My daughter. She has my
two grandkids, which is since Grandpa's sixteen, you have.
Speaker 3 (58:25):
A sixteen year grandchild, never a son.
Speaker 1 (58:27):
And my granddaughter Lea Emma, who's beautiful men wants to
be uh. I think she wants to be an actor.
Speaker 3 (58:35):
Also, this is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (58:36):
I love it because legacy and passing down your talents
and your knowledge is so important to me. That's sometimes
like I don't have children, and I was just having
a conversation. I'm like, it sucks, like I'm not gonna
be able to pass down all this knowledge and all
this and you're able to do something like that, Like
what a blessing?
Speaker 1 (58:54):
Now, yeah, you know it is a blessing because yes,
I'm able to do that. But even if I'm not here,
I'm able to do that. But what they see and
their experiences of when I was here, you know, even
though I'm talking pastimes, but it's like what we do
we'll round, you know, we'll round for a long time.
You know. I watch a Humpy Bogart movie Anthony Quinn,
(59:18):
and they're no longer around, but I know who they
were and when growing up, you know, and uh, I
was very that that's the one. You know. It's it's
a beautiful thing about what we do is that it's
it's a legacy that lasts for a long time and
it affects other people, which is why it's so important
to just maintain the honesty and the integrity of what
(59:39):
you're doing now, you know. And so yeah, very lucky.
And my my daughters Leanna is a wonderful writer also,
so you know, it's yeah, they they're very And that
was really the only artist in my family when when
we were growing up. You know, I come from a
very blue collar family.
Speaker 2 (59:58):
So you don't have to tell me anything else of
the And then your father was z say yes, n
y and made you feel out the application. That's all
I need to know to know the kind of household
that you came from. But I want you to know David,
that we are super proud of you.
Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
Your body of work is amazing. The way you've represented
Latinos and the way you continue to represent Latinos.
Speaker 3 (01:00:16):
I wish I had a trophy to give it to
you right now.
Speaker 2 (01:00:19):
It's absolutely amazing and I want to thank you so much,
you know, for taking the time out to meet with
me today and to share your story with our audience.
Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
It was my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (01:00:28):
And you look good. Thanks for wearing the jacket. I
love it, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
I said, he looks I'm going to go talk to honey.
Speaker 3 (01:00:33):
I said, he looks, he looks nice. He looks nice.
That I really really appreciate.
Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
I was walking out my wife.
Speaker 3 (01:00:38):
You look good.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
I'm gonna go talk to honey.
Speaker 3 (01:00:43):
Share your location.
Speaker 1 (01:00:46):
I really really thank you for having me. It's it's
wonderful to be here, and it's I think this is
an important thing to get out there and let somebody
who may be starting in what we do to hear.
The experience is of you know, and you do it,
and every guest that that's on has really you know,
the articulation of what they've gone through is comes out blaring,
(01:01:10):
and I appreciate you for that.
Speaker 2 (01:01:12):
And these last thirty five episodes, I've learned so much
from every single person that's sat in that chair Grassiers
Come Again.
Speaker 3 (01:01:20):
I Will Grassiers Come Again is a production of Honey
German Productions in partnership with Iheart's Microtura podcast network.
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