WEBVTT - “Big Breaks Part 1” 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:11.600 Welcome to those amigos. 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:13.480 Welcome to to amigos. 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:19.080 Here we go, ready boom, What are you sapping on there? Uh? 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:20.160 You know a little? 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:25.599 Do you know that today felt like a cup of 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:28.080 teach today? I started my day super early today. 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:29.400 What was your car time today? 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.479 So today I didn't have to be on set, but 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:34.280 I started. 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:36.760 I did a workout in the morning, and then I 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:38.680 had a couple of little things that I had to do, 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:42.320 and then I had a bunch of meetings, a comting 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:47.360 for some top brass help for the company as we're 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:49.640 expanding some other ways, you know, so where I have 0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:51.800 meetings like back to back to back all day today 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:52.960 and it's just and you can. 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.280 Throw my voices a little rasping. 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:56.400 It just ended down. 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:56.960 Yeah. 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:00.080 Oh, I didn't realize that it just kept going today 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.720 and so it was a really long day, but it 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:04.440 was It was nice. 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:05.399 But what was your day? 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:05.480 Like? 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:07.440 What did you do today? Good? 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:11.080 Same? Some exercise, some uh you know stuff. 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:12.200 At the house. I work on the blutes. 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:18.880 Glutes. No, No, today's Monday, right, it's. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.160 Like the chest day, the chest yeah, chest. 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.199 What time does your workout start in the morning? 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:27.720 It depends on the cold time. Like if I if 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:29.160 I have a seven a m. Cold time, I try 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.120 to get in there at four thirty am. Wow, four, 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:33.959 you know, and that's more often than none. Yeah, So 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:35.840 I for thirty in the morning, I get it done. 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:39.680 If I have a late call, I'll work out like eight. Yeah, 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:41.440 I try to sleep in a little bit and spend 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:42.440 a little of time in a cano. 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:45.120 Maybe take her as cool if I can. Yeah, And 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:47.720 then it worked out. But you work out in the 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:49.080 morning till you get out of the way. You do 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:49.639 it like whenever. 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:52.040 Yeah, you know, a little later in the afternoon. You know. 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:57.920 Morning is like coffee, meditation, you know, prayer, you know, 0:01:58.000 --> 0:01:58.600 stuff like that. 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.040 I try to get that in first then and you 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:03.120 do prayer home or you do go somewhere. 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:05.840 Yeah, do you go? Do you go to church on 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:07.840 the weekends? Yeah? 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:09.679 Yeah, here and there. 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.160 Well, I guess we'll talk about where they're yeah, yeah, 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:17.079 you know, because I've been looking for church. Well, it 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:22.440 leads us perfectly into our theme of this episode. You know, 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:24.480 we we in the last couple of episodes, we took 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:28.400 a lot of time to understand one another in levels 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.399 that we hadn't before. Kind of go back to who 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:36.560 our families really were before we were any possibility. We 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:40.320 went right into how we became not just a possibility, 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:43.600 but then the operating in the environment in which we 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.639 grew up, the sacrifices some of our parents have to 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:48.960 make for us to kind of have a notion that 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.160 we can do a little bit or go a little 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:55.040 farther than they did. And you know, now we enter 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:57.040 like a realm of like, how do we get here? 0:02:57.720 --> 0:02:59.400 Right? How do we get here as actors? How do 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:00.560 we get here? As in retainers? 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:03.919 It's individuals who like, you know, when you do all 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:05.720 the odds and you do the math, you know, we 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:09.680 had no business making it this far. You got that right, right, 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:11.600 So I guess the big question is like, what was 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:16.280 that first job that that you're like, you know, I 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:16.839 got one. 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:23.280 I got a funny story before well it, let me 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.600 just explain when I was. When I was like fourteen 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:30.280 fifteen years old in Chicago, they used to make these 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:37.240 things called industrial films, right, So the National Heart Association 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:39.960 was doing an industrial film, I guess, so they could 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.520 watch it internally in the company, and I landed it, 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.960 and I was going to make seven hundred dollars and 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:52.640 I was like, Yo, fourteen fifteen, seven hundred dollars. I 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:54.560 was like wow. I was already planning what I was 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:56.960 going to do with the money. And it was my 0:03:57.040 --> 0:04:01.000 first time on set. And I don't it sag because 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:03.200 I was there almost like twenty four hours. It was 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:06.000 mad illegal. You know. I was a minor and I 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:08.160 should not have been there that long. But but I 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:10.160 felt like a working actor. 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:10.440 Man. 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:13.200 I was in front of the camera, I was acting scenes, 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:17.600 and I was so excited to not only see it, 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:20.000 but to get that seven hundred dollars. 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:21.160 That's crazy. 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:23.800 So I waited a week, right, the seven hundred dollars 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:25.599 is not there. I waited two weeks or three. I 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:27.680 waited three weeks and I was like, man, the money 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.840 hasn't arrived yet. I said I should go to the 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:34.000 agency to see where my money is, right, And I 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:37.279 remember going to that agency and taking the elevator up, 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.799 and as the elevator approached the floor that the agency 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:42.040 was at, the agency was empty. 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:46.599 No bro, the chairs were on the desk. It's like 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:49.960 a boiler room, man, that's like literally boiler room movement. Man. 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:54.280 They made out with my seven hundred bucks, and I 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:57.760 was like, wow, I'll you know, I like swore off agents. 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.440 I'll never have an agent again. Man, I'm going to 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:04.400 like stick to theater in Chicago and like, you know, but 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:06.599 about a year later, I got an agent and the 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.719 rest is history. 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:11.760 So that's my So that's my first fora and that 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:13.880 was that was your that was your Chicago. 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:17.359 That was my first Chicago agent. And then that's when 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:21.839 I signed with the big agency there Suzannai. Plus. 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:25.960 So I was going to this night class on Wednesday nights. 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:28.400 I had gone to this. 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:31.520 Well you know, so when I was a little kid, 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.040 you know, we drive down and there was a commercial 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:37.680 online and it said like are you between the agents. 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:38.279 And blah blah blah blah. 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:39.800 You know, you think you got what it takes to 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.640 do national commercials and Saturday morning shows, then come and 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:45.279 show up to the La Ex Hilton and you know 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:47.680 you're going a lot. You do have some a panel 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:49.320 of experts are going to deem to see if you 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:50.280 got what it takes. 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:53.640 And so I so I convinced my dad. 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:55.080 You know, it's like, hey, Dad, I heard that if 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:56.640 I do a little commercial here and there, I make 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:58.000 a little money and bring them to the house. 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:00.600 My Dad's like, okay, me is see what's up. 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:04.000 So we went over to you know, we went over 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:06.839 to the Hilton and Lax and it was like a catacle. 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:07.040 Bro. 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.039 It was like that's how they got people. They threw 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:12.080 the fish net out on this radio station. People would 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:14.599 show up and their kids, you know, walk over there 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:17.279 and they walk on this plank. They get to the 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:21.159 end of the runway, they look into camera and they 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:25.719 say their name, their age, and where they're from, and 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:29.880 they turn around. And then that's what the expert needed 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:32.200 to see to gim you. 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:37.039 Whether you're a store yes, that X factor right right? 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:39.159 And why you said your name? 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:41.280 Yes? Yes for sure? No man, you I had just 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:42.640 learned to speak English. Okay. 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:44.839 So I get on stage and I walk down that 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.080 plank and I get to the front of it, and 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:51.359 I said, hello, my name is we mad about that? 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:53.920 You know? We met about that rama. Uh. 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:58.919 I'm sixteen years old and I'm from Venezuela, Columbia, Venezuelan, Colombia. 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:01.039 I turn around and I walk away. 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:03.600 But but did you feel like you had to say 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.760 it in a way that was like no, I'm gonna 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:08.359 stand out, I'm gonna no. 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:10.840 I thought like, okay, they're just slating and I just 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:14.760 said that, and somehow, surprise, surprise, I had what it took. 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:15.440 You. 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:21.120 But but in my and in everyone's defense, everyone had 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:23.920 what it took. Everyone got pushed to the front of 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.120 the desk and then they asked you, hey, you know, 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:28.800 here's how it works. You're gonna pay this many licessions. 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:30.440 And you know, it was basically going to those things 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.160 where they just get your money, you know, you they 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:37.520 you know, you pay for commercial slate classes, you know, 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.480 drama classes, comedy classes, audition classes. 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:43.200 And there was this thing called Beverly Hills. 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:46.320 Studios, Beverly Hills Studio, and I don't even think it 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:51.720 was a perfect name. Yes, yes, Beverly Hills every pretty prestigious. 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:54.000 Pretty prostigious, and you know, and and I don't even 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.920 think it was in Beverly Hills, you know. So so 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:00.200 my dad is like looked at the money. He's like, oh, 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:00.760 this is. 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:02.080 I remember how much it was. 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:07.520 Yeah, it was something like like six hundred dollars for 0:08:07.760 --> 0:08:10.960 you know, ten classes of commercial and then another three 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:15.240 hundred dollars for scene work and cole read yeah, you know, 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.440 so just eleven hundred dollars damn. 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:18.800 And that's a lot. 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.680 Bro, you kidding. We weren't making that in three months. 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:25.200 But my dad found a way, you know, and borrow 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:26.600 some money and he just. 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:27.640 Put me in there, you know. 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:30.040 And and I went to the school and I only 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:32.600 telling you this part of it because you know, I 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:36.040 then this teacher named Sela's Boy started teaching me for 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:39.280 free at her house on Wednesday nights, who was originally 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.079 a part of that part of that teacher. And she's like, yeah, 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:42.480 I like to teach you on Wednesday nights. 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:44.400 So she so I was like, oh, that's cool. 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.959 So I went and started, you know, taking classes and 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.000 there was like thirty year olds and twenty year olds 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.240 and I was sixteen and I was doing scenes with 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.640 so many different ages and it was like really good practice. 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:55.000 Wow. 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:59.800 And she introduced me to this agent, very similar situation, right, 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.400 and and you know this agent had these other you know, 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:05.679 small sized agency and he says, I'm not going to 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.240 represent you, but I'm going to take you out of 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:11.080 some auditions and see what happens. And like, I went 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:17.120 out on one, I think one Dorito's commercial did not 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:21.200 get it, but the feedback was like, hey, pretty funny kid. 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:23.120 Pretty funny kid. But he has an accent. 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:24.559 Oh wow. 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:26.760 So so that's why I couldn't get the part. 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:32.320 They wanted a Latin person, but he couldn't sound right, 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:36.200 so I didn't get the part. And but then he's like, well, 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:37.720 let me see, I want to send you something else. 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:41.200 And then so my first thing was I know this audition. 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.000 I don't know how, but I get booked to this 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:48.400 region of commercial for a smart yellow Pages commercial, Yellow 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:52.520 Pages yellow Pages commercial and it was so California only, 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.080 and what's funny, It's like it was the Spanish. It 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:57.920 was for the Spanish market, for the Spanish speaking market, 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:02.880 and I go and I grabbed the Yellow Pages and 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.760 I look right to camera and I say the Pacific 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:07.559 Bell Smart yellow Pages. 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:09.520 But with a really strike accent. 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:14.680 The accent was crazy in English, in English, in English. 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:17.760 But the whole commercial was in Spanish, you know, and 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:19.640 you know, I had my fake mom, I had my 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:21.280 fake sister and the whole thing. I was like, oh 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:23.000 my god, I'm doing it. But my whole part was 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:26.960 just like yeah. And that was my first commercial. And 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.079 so with that money, I got that. 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:29.959 Money and what did you make? 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:30.640 How much did you make? 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:33.040 I think it was six hundred bus sixteen hundred bucks. 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.200 Sixteen hundred No. 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:38.760 Yes, it was sixteen hundred bucks because it was a 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:41.160 complete like buyout thing and whatever and on that and 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.360 so with that money was no, it was twelve hundred bucks. 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:49.240 So with that money I paid my my Screen Actors 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:52.320 Skill member thing, and that actually I could apply now 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.040 and they. 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:57.240 And then you know, I paid my dues and I 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:58.200 became a SAG member. 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:00.760 Of course that membership was you know, we got to 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:02.959 pay a lot of money at the beginning, and and 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:15.400 so I became a SAG actor after that. What was 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.000 so obviously it's a journey. Yeah, right, as soon as 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.320 you start, like you taste blood for a second, you're like, 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:25.560 oh I can do this, you know, and you start editioning, addition, auditioning. 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:28.959 How long did it take until you got that one 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:32.439 gig where you were like, oh I do this? 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:37.199 Oh wow. So so after that movie I was telling 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:40.600 you about, I was doing pretty okay in Chicago. You know, 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.040 I was pounding the pavement. I think covered this in 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:47.480 the other episode. Did you know an episode of of 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:51.200 like television that was coming through Chicago at that times? 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.360 John Wells thing this other thing did a couple of commercials, 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:57.760 but it wasn't until I did a film called The 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:01.480 Walk in the Clouds. That was really my first first 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.960 movie that turned where I I got to turn pro, 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:08.320 you know, And so sometimes I describe it to people like, 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:11.360 you know, I was kind of like Lebron or like Kobe, 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.040 you know, I just kind of went pro right after 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:14.720 high school because I never got a chance to go 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:18.720 to college yet. So that happened, you know, high school 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:20.800 was over. I was doing pretty good in high school. 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.920 I was booking stuff in Chicago, and everyone in my family, 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.280 pretty much all my brothers and cousins all went to 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:32.240 college after so obviously the pressure was on for me 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.400 to go to college and I wanted to act, you know, 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:37.839 so I you know, my dad was on me, people 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:39.480 were on me, and I was like, look, just just 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.000 give me a year. Okay, give me a year. Let 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.719 me pound the pavement. Let me see what I can 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.600 do with it. This year. And that year was an 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:51.360 incredibly dry year and nothing was happening. I had to 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:54.560 take this like third shift job at this like legal 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:57.800 common place, you know, working from like midnight to eight 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:01.080 in the morning, and nothing was happening. And then Eventually 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.240 I was like, Okay, I guess it's time for me 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:04.960 to sort of wrap it up and go back to 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.880 school and to figure something out. And then I landed 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:12.920 an Illinois lottery commercial and I was like, oh, okay, 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:16.400 the tide is changing. Things are picking back up. And 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:19.240 then I landed this movie called The Fence with this 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:21.720 guy Billy Worth who was in The Lost Boys, and 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.800 I played him when he would have flashbacks in the movie, 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:28.000 and I was like, I landed in an indie film. Awesome, 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:33.880 all right, this is starting to work. And then Merchant 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:37.240 of Venice came through Chicago at that time. Now I 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:39.600 may be wrong, and John Ortiz may be able to 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:43.280 correct me on this, but I believe it was elaborate 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.600 theater production, and I believe it was John Ortez and 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:50.680 Philip Seymour Hoffman came through Chicago at the Goodman Theater 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.360 and they were very interested in me being in the 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.360 play because I was a local. Now, for those who 0:13:57.440 --> 0:14:00.480 don't know, the Goodman Theater in Chicago, the good Men 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:03.319 and the stephen Wolf and those theaters are like Broadway 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.760 to us, right, and so I was always too young 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:09.520 to do those theaters. And I was finally at the 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.080 age to get to do those theaters. So I was 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.360 super psyched that they were that they wanted me to 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:18.720 be a part of it. Then I got an audition 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:22.480 for this twentieth Century Fox movie, A Walk Into Clouds, 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:26.640 and it was Keanu Reeves and it was Anthony Quinn 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.560 and it was Keanu's follow up movie to Speed. 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:30.680 Oh my God. 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.360 And so they were putting me on tape in Chicago, 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:35.920 and I thought, well, you know, man, I'm in Chicago. 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:38.520 Like you know, I didn't even think anything of it. 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:42.800 I went in auditioned once. I auditioned twice, like three times. 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:46.240 I auditioned in Chicago. Finally I get a call that 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:48.200 they were going to fly me out the screen test 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:51.080 at twenty century Fox in LA out of Chicago. 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:52.640 Have you been in LA before? 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:56.200 Never? Dude, Dude, I had never really even been out 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:57.600 of Chicago. Yeah. 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:00.640 And so all of a sudden, I do West Coast. 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:03.680 I'm like this nineteen year old kid. I'm staying at 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:06.560 this crazy expensive hotel over an Avenue of the Stars 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:10.200 and in Century City, you know, the Fox line is 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.960 over like on Pico, And they bring me on the 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:15.800 Fox lot and it was like it was the most 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:16.880 magnificent thing. 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:18.920 It's a magnetic saying when you're working in. 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:21.040 Anybody who comes to LA when they drive to the 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:24.880 twentieth century lot, you enter those gates and as soon 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:28.800 as you're received by these massive sound stages and you 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:30.880 just know something went on in here, you know that 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:32.080 you probably grew up with. 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:33.800 I mean, it's just legend there, dude. 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.160 You just feel the history when you walk in, you know. 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.920 And I was so taken by it all. And I 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.600 remember going in the audition and I was like the 0:15:42.640 --> 0:15:46.200 only guy auditioning and I would have like the wardrobe 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:47.920 person coming up to me and like, hey, all right, 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:50.320 let me take your measurements. And you know, it was 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:52.520 like I almost had it, but I had to go 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:55.560 in and still like do the screen test. And it 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.320 turns out that it was just sort of like a formality, 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:00.080 you know. I went in there, I screen test. They 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:01.600 were like all right, all right, thank you. They're like 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:04.040 go in the next room and go get your makeup 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:04.680 done and like. 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:05.280 Figure it out. 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:07.320 And that day they told me I got it. 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:12.120 You know, dude, well went through your mind. I was myself. 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.520 I was by myself, you know, I was still telling. 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.280 Cell phone to call anyone on cell phone. 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.600 I was still technically living at my parents' house, you know, 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:23.880 I was. I was like a like a snotty nose 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.720 theater kid from Chicago. All of a sudden, I landed 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:30.160 this gigantic movie. It was so overwhelming. I didn't know 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:32.360 how to how to process it, you know, I just 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.160 I just went back home and got ready and then 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.680 shipped off for three months by myself to go shoot 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.360 this movie with Canter Reaves and Anthony Quinn. And it 0:16:41.400 --> 0:16:43.680 was our phone so owls follow up movie to Like 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:44.560 Water for Chocolate. 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:46.800 Yes, yeah, it was incredible. Yeah. 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:50.240 At that time, Like Water for Chocolate was the highest goes. 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:54.360 Oh my god, it was the highest grossing for foreign 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:55.280 film of that time. 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:56.400 Yeah. Uh. 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.000 And this was his follow up movie to it. Gean 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:02.440 Carlo Jannini played my dad, which is a legendary Italian 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:06.919 actor on Helicott. I go on all of these wonderful 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:10.920 actresses from Mexico City and then the crew was all 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.520 from Mexico City, right. So uh. Emmanuel Lubeski five times 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:19.159 Oscar winning DP was this was his first American movie. 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:21.920 Achievo as we call him. Shout out to the Chievo. 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.280 Oh, yes, of course, I mean the guy. He's the man. Oh, 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.639 he's he's like a legendary guy. He's impossible to have 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:29.920 a meeting with him right now, you know. 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.879 Dude, Yeah, after those five oscars, Yes, sitting on his desk. 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:36.119 And so I remember I phone so Al going like, 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.320 you see that guy that's in Chievo Man, we call 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:40.879 him the boy wonder. He must have only been a 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.119 few years older than me. Man, he looked so young, 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.480 you know. And the B camera operator on that movie 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:52.160 was Rodrigo Garcia, who is a wonderful film and television director. 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:55.080 He eventually became one of six feet under his most 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:59.440 prominent directors. He was the showrunner on In Treatment on HBO. 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:01.560 But he it was the B camera operator, and they 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:03.960 were all like kids. They were all just so happy 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:05.720 to be there. And it was the first time I 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:09.600 had gotten like the taste of what the film community 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.600 must have been like in Mexico City. Even when we 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:14.800 were filming the movie. I remember one time our phone 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.440 Soo says, Hey, I want you to meet somebody man. 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.040 He just directed this movie called I think it was 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:23.359 called Little Women, and it was our phone Quarn and 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:25.520 he had come from Mexico City to come and hang 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:27.960 out with all his guys, you know, on the set. 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:31.199 You know. So I didn't really understand what I was 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:33.920 experiencing at that time. You know, I was just a kid. 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.080 I was nineteen. I was just happy to be there 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:38.800 and I was there with like a ton of legends 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:39.679 and didn't even know. 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:41.880 And he goes, tell you how long they've been doing 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:43.360 it too? Yeah, you know what I mean, you think 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:45.280 about how long they've been on that same grind. 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:46.000 Yeah. 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:48.040 So you get the part and you're. 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:52.600 Like, uh, like what now, Like so when do you. 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:53.040 Have to shoot? 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:55.760 After you got the pall Like immediately it was like, 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.000 you know, a week or two later, they were like 0:18:58.000 --> 0:18:58.840