Episode 890 - Gina Rodriguez
Marc:Alright, let's do this.
Marc:How are you, what the fuckers?
Marc:What the fuck, buddies?
Marc:What the fucksters?
Marc:What's happening?
Marc:What's going on with you today?
Marc:Everything alright?
Marc:Hold on.
Marc:Is there... They're gutting the house across the street.
Marc:Oh, can you hear that?
Marc:You can't, right?
Marc:That's my concern is that I'm going to sell this house and someone's just going to gut it or plow it to the ground.
Marc:What does it matter, right?
Marc:Isn't that true?
Marc:Shouldn't that be...
Marc:My disposition around it is like, look, I'll sell it.
Marc:I get out.
Marc:What do I care what they do with it?
Marc:But it is a little weird.
Marc:It's weird just the fact that I painted everything and everything's painted over in there and the outside's painted and it's fundamentally a different looking house than what I've lived in for the last dozen and change years.
Marc:But what if I sell it and they just fucking rip it all apart?
Marc:There's part of me that thinks like, well, why?
Marc:I wouldn't have put the work in that I did if you were just going to destroy it, which might happen.
Marc:Ultimately, you're doing this minimal amount of work on a house so you can sell it so you can get the best price possible.
Marc:But now that I look at it, it's like this comfortable place.
Marc:Yeah, I think I'd be upset if someone just obliterated it.
Marc:But I got to detach.
Marc:There's some part of me that's just not ready to detach.
Marc:The people that bought the place across the street, like I knew that guy lived across the street.
Marc:He was a nice guy.
Marc:His brother lives next door over here.
Marc:He retired, went elsewhere.
Marc:I have nothing invested in that house.
Marc:I knew that guy.
Marc:He doesn't give a shit.
Marc:And they're probably doing a great thing with it.
Marc:They're going to make it beautiful.
Marc:Why should I have a problem?
Marc:With somebody buying my house and doing whatever the fuck they want.
Marc:I had often thought about just leveling it myself.
Marc:Starting fresh.
Marc:Clean slate.
Marc:Totally.
Marc:Nothing but pipes.
Marc:Nothing but the foundation.
Marc:Something like that.
Marc:It was close.
Marc:But clearly, this is just part of my relationship with this house and that I got to let it go.
Marc:The house I grew up in was sold and they leveled it.
Marc:They just took, they disappeared it and they built something that looked similar from the outside.
Marc:Sometimes people just got to start fresh.
Marc:But there's so much history here, folks.
Marc:You know what?
Marc:I don't give a fuck.
Marc:I don't give a fuck.
Marc:See, now that, see, hear the tone of that?
Marc:That's the tone of like, that's not really, I don't give a fuck.
Marc:That's, um, you know, I care a lot, but I'm just, you know, I'm just going to suck it up and, uh,
Marc:No, I don't give a shit.
Marc:What do I care?
Marc:I don't give a fuck.
Marc:All of those mean it affects me deeply and I'd be very upset.
Marc:Fuck that.
Marc:Who cares?
Marc:Translated, I care a lot and please don't do it.
Marc:That's crazy to think that I would give a shit about that.
Marc:I really do.
Marc:I give a shit and I'm sad right now.
Marc:No, do whatever you want.
Marc:Do whatever you want.
Marc:Seriously.
Marc:Seriously.
Marc:Just go for it.
Marc:Just go for it.
Marc:Please, please don't.
Marc:Don't.
Marc:Please, please, please.
Marc:I'm out of here.
Marc:I really... I need help.
Marc:Please.
Marc:Today on the show, Gina Rodriguez from Jane the Virgin and her new film, the new big film with Natalie Portman, Annihilation.
Marc:She's here.
Marc:She's here.
Marc:Is that all right with you?
Marc:So I got to quit thinking and overthinking.
Marc:Is it overthinking?
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:Look, I have a lot of people on this show.
Marc:I don't assume that I have relationships with people.
Marc:I just don't.
Marc:There are people that I know who have been on this show that were friends before or that people I knew pretty well.
Marc:And sure, I would text them.
Marc:I would text them.
Marc:Not a problem.
Marc:But there are some people that...
Marc:I don't really know them, and they're of a certain level of celebrity.
Marc:I've talked about this before.
Marc:What am I going to do, text them and hang out?
Marc:No, I don't do that.
Marc:I just don't do it.
Marc:It's not my nature.
Marc:I try to do things appropriately in terms of booking, in terms of outreach, and very rarely do I assume familiarity.
Marc:Now, here's the deal.
Marc:Ever since I went to...
Marc:And the SAG Awards and Kristen Bell hosted them.
Marc:I thought to myself, why hasn't she been on my show?
Marc:She made a joke about me.
Marc:She knows who I am.
Marc:I've had her husband, Dax Shepard, on twice.
Marc:Once for a long one and then for a short one.
Marc:And why hasn't she been on the show?
Marc:And somehow or another, the other day, in that moment...
Marc:You know, I thought I could text Dax just to see, you know, to gauge her interest, you know, just to see if maybe his wife, Kristen, would want to do the show.
Marc:So and I don't do this, but I decided Dax, you know, he's a recovery guy.
Marc:I'm a recovery guy.
Marc:We had good talks.
Marc:I feel close to him.
Marc:We don't socialize, but I just feel like he's the kind of guy I could shoot a text to.
Marc:to have him ask his wife about the show.
Marc:So I do it.
Marc:It didn't go well.
Marc:I was completely open-hearted about it and thought I was doing the right thing.
Marc:I checked it through with my business partner and producer.
Marc:I think, you think it'd be all right if I just asked if Dax, if Kristen was interested?
Marc:So I text, hey man, it's Marin.
Marc:I wanted to have Kristen on the show.
Marc:You think she'd be into it?
Marc:That was at 7.17 p.m.
Marc:Then at 11.15 p.m., Dax writes back, I think it's interesting that you ignored my email asking you to be on my podcast.
Marc:Now you're texting me to ask if my wife will be on yours, dot, dot, dot.
Marc:And right then I'm like, oh, what the fuck?
Marc:I was completely blindsided by this.
Marc:I had no recollection.
Marc:No recollection of the email.
Marc:And that's the thing.
Marc:And I was just talking to Sarah, the painter about this, you know, like so much shit falls through the cracks.
Marc:You get so many emails.
Marc:Now I answer emails in my head and texts and I don't actually answer them in reality.
Marc:Like I've, I've shown up at places where I'm like, why don't we have an appointment?
Marc:No, you never, you never confirmed.
Marc:Like I did in my head or like I'll, I'll look at emails and be like, Oh, I got to get back to that.
Marc:I'll get back to that.
Marc:I don't get back to it.
Marc:I don't.
Marc:Brendan said I should start a folder of stuff I have to reply to.
Marc:That would be a nice organizing to do.
Marc:But the point being, he sent that to me and I'm like, oh, fuck.
Marc:This guy's mad at me.
Marc:I don't know how mad.
Marc:I don't know how long ago he asked me.
Marc:I don't remember being asked.
Marc:I went and found the email.
Marc:I found the email.
Marc:It was just a nice little sort of like, hey, the time has come.
Marc:But I could tell.
Marc:from the email that it was not easy thing for him to do.
Marc:Do you know what I mean?
Marc:Like, uh, it was just an email.
Marc:I found it.
Marc:It was like from the end of, uh, December, uh, the day you feared has arrived.
Marc:I would love to interview you on my podcast.
Marc:I know you're crazy busy, so I will, I will have appropriate expectations.
Marc:Also, please feel guilt-free about saying no.
Marc:Hope you've had a fun and joyous break, Dax.
Marc:And so I found that, had no recollection of reading it.
Marc:But when I saw it, I'm like, oh yeah, I kind of remember.
Marc:So now I'm afraid that Dax is just, fuck you, Mark, fuck you.
Marc:Right, dot, dot, dot.
Marc:So I write back, oh shit.
Marc:I spaced.
Marc:I actually don't remember seeing it.
Marc:I get busy and space and things fall through the cracks.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:Sorry.
Marc:So can we fix this or am I just shit now?
Marc:I thought that was a reasonable response.
Marc:It was honest, taking responsibility.
Marc:And then pretty quickly right after, like two minutes later, he said, no, no, you're not shit, but you can imagine from my point of view how that feels, yeah?
Marc:So now I'm thinking like, oh man, there's a second opportunity for me to get him more mad.
Marc:But I did know, I do know.
Marc:Look, I don't know how he feels when people ask about his wife.
Marc:That's a whole other issue, which revisiting it was probably inappropriate.
Marc:But I said, yeah, man, I'm sorry.
Marc:I do so few podcasts and I just realized I've never had her on and I had you on.
Marc:I get it.
Marc:I fucked up.
Marc:If you still want me on, I'd be happy to do it.
Marc:It just fell through the cracks and I'm sorry I asked about her.
Marc:Probably the wrong way to go about it and I obviously had no idea that I offended you or that you even sent the email or I wouldn't have.
Marc:I'll proceed however you want.
Marc:Again, sorry for being rude.
Marc:That was at 11.24 p.m.
Marc:And now I'm just sort of like, well, what's he going to do?
Marc:Is he just sitting there with Kristen in bed going, fuck this guy.
Marc:Fuck him.
Marc:Right?
Marc:Right?
Marc:Isn't that what anybody would imagine?
Marc:Then the next day, I had to wait all night.
Marc:He writes back, first of all, you're working the shit out of the program.
Marc:Thank you for the apology.
Marc:I would love to have you on my podcast and I'm sure she would love to be on yours.
Marc:I think we can all be happy.
Marc:So point being, I went and did his podcast today and we kind of went through this whole thing.
Marc:And it was funny because he told me, he said he didn't go all the way with no problem or all the way with you fucking asshole, you blew me off.
Marc:But he did tell me that it is hard for him to ask people to do things or ask for help, but he went the middle route.
Marc:It was funny because he said I went right in the middle.
Marc:Like not letting you off the hook totally and not being a dick, but I gave you a window to be a dick.
Marc:Like he gave me this opportunity.
Marc:Like, am I, I could have been a dick right there.
Marc:I might've been, but I didn't even think to do it.
Marc:it went great.
Marc:It was great to see him.
Marc:He's a good guy.
Marc:And I'm glad that didn't escalate into something shitty.
Marc:Cause we did realize that it could have on either of our sides for no fucking reason.
Marc:Just cause I let an email fall through the cracks.
Marc:And, and because I, you know, I, I assume familiarity, but, but that seemed to be appropriate.
Marc:I think I can text him again and we're friends, but, but it's just dicey, man.
Marc:Sometimes like you just, you don't pay attention to shit.
Marc:And,
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:I'm thinking, honestly, just getting off email, getting off text, and getting off Twitter and just have people call my landline and leave a message on my fucking machine.
Marc:That's what I'm thinking.
Marc:Let's go analog.
Marc:Fuck this.
Marc:I'll check my messages later.
Marc:I would fall off the edge of culture if I did that.
Marc:Yeah, just leave a message on my machine.
Marc:Call and leave a message on my machine.
Marc:Yeah, that's going to work out now.
Marc:So, Gina Rodriguez is here.
Marc:She is Jane the Virgin.
Marc:And Sarah the Painter is a fan of Jane the Virgin.
Marc:She enjoys the show.
Marc:She told me to have Gina on a while back.
Marc:And the thing is, we got to talking about...
Marc:stuff about Latinos and culture.
Marc:I grew up in New Mexico.
Marc:Latinos were very much part of my life, all my life growing up.
Marc:I'd never thought about it that much in terms of that we're different, but it was just the way New Mexico was.
Marc:But we did have this interesting conversation where
Marc:There's still not a good integration of diversity in the mainstream media.
Marc:And the default is still very white.
Marc:And we all need to be conscious of that.
Marc:Her new movie, Annihilation, opens Friday, February 23rd.
Marc:Jane the Virgin is currently in its fourth season on The CW.
Marc:This is me and Gina in the garage.
Marc:She was dressed real fancy.
Marc:I'll tell you that right now.
Marc:She had a really fancy dress on.
Guest:I have fond memories of patchouli.
Guest:Patchouli is like, I would say, my high school memories.
Guest:Boyfriend memories.
Marc:My high school boyfriend wore patchouli.
Guest:Probably still does.
Marc:You know, it's weird because it's not necessarily a dude thing, and I don't meet too many dudes that wear it, but I've been wearing it forever.
Guest:It's a good smell.
Marc:Yeah, it is, right?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Does it bring back a wave of uncomfortable memories?
Guest:No, they weren't uncomfortable.
Guest:Are they good?
Guest:I don't know if I have any uncomfortable memories.
Marc:Well, you should be very grateful for that.
Marc:Not one uncomfortable memory.
Marc:Is it just because you accept them?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's because I accept them.
Guest:Right.
Guest:So then I rework them in my mind.
Marc:Right.
Marc:You're sort of like, well, that could be uncomfortable.
Guest:I changed the narrative.
Marc:There you go.
Guest:So I just fucking lied to myself.
Marc:Well, you know what?
Marc:That's how a lot of people get through their day.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:I think that's how I'm getting through my days these days.
Marc:Really?
Marc:I would think that things are going okay for you right now.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But I guess I know that.
Guest:But life doesn't stop.
Marc:That's right.
Marc:Life can still suck even when things are going okay.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:They are not mutually exclusive.
Marc:That's true.
Marc:And people don't really know that.
Marc:It's just that when you're at a certain level, you're not really allowed to complain too much.
Guest:May I take off my shoes?
Marc:Whatever you need to do.
Guest:What do you wear?
Guest:They're hot boots.
Marc:So you were just where?
Marc:Which show?
Guest:I just did The Talk.
Marc:The Talk.
Guest:I just directed my first episode of Jane, the show that I'm on.
Guest:Yeah, I'm familiar with this show.
Guest:Jane the Virgin.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:I watched a few to get up to speed.
Guest:Ooh.
Guest:I wonder which ones you chose.
Marc:The last few.
Guest:Oh, good.
Guest:Okay, yeah.
Marc:I didn't have a guy.
Marc:My girlfriend watches it.
Guest:Does she?
Marc:It's like her secret thing.
Guest:It's a guilty pleasure.
Marc:Right, a guilty pleasure.
Guest:It's like Red Velvet Cupcakes or Justin Bieber.
Marc:Exactly.
Marc:Neither of which I love.
Guest:There you go.
Guest:Are those your guilty pleasures?
Guest:I just feel like maybe I just confess they're both my guilty pleasure.
Guest:I mean, yeah.
Guest:I am a 30-year-old that loves Justin Bieber.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:I want to love red velvet cupcakes, but they look great.
Guest:The best.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Have you ever tried one?
Marc:Sure, of course.
Guest:Okay, then you're just not into it.
Guest:No, no.
Marc:I mean, they're good cake.
Marc:It's good cake.
Marc:I think I like chocolate cake better, probably.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:Red velvet's good, but I never liked the icing that much.
Marc:It doesn't matter.
Marc:So she watches the show, and I told her we were going to talk.
Marc:But it's one of those shows where she's like, oh, you can just jump in anywhere.
Marc:But...
Guest:Then she tries to explain.
Marc:You know, like she's trying to get me up to speed on like 75 episodes of a thing that goes all over the place with all these different characters and murder and affairs and twins and weirdness.
Guest:And life.
Guest:Real life.
Marc:No, I think that's true.
Marc:I mean, I saw some real life even when I just watched one or two episodes.
Guest:You know?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:And real life.
Marc:And I like the colors.
Marc:It reminds me of an Almodovar movie.
Guest:It's poppy and pretty.
Marc:Everything's really poppy.
Marc:That's some serious set deck.
Marc:So you're on the talk.
Marc:The talk shoots here, I'm assuming.
Guest:The talk is here, yeah.
Marc:And is it an afternoon or a morning show?
Guest:It is a morning.
Guest:So you did a pre-tape?
Marc:Did you go live?
Guest:It's a pre-tape because they were on my episode that I directed of Jane.
Guest:So we have my dad on the show and Brooke Shields.
Guest:They are on the talk to discuss male postpartum depression.
Guest:And so they were, it was like men, they were in our show.
Guest:So we went to promote them being on our show on Friday.
Marc:But what did it have to do with male postpartum depression?
Guest:That's what our storyline is having.
Guest:Really?
Marc:Oh, because the guy's got the baby.
Guest:The guy's got the baby.
Guest:He's a stay-at-home dad and he's depressed.
Right.
Marc:Right.
Marc:I saw the episode leading up to this one.
Marc:He got bored.
Marc:He thought it was going to be the end all.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he meets another woman that has postpartum depression and he's like, I haven't.
Marc:So he's got postpartum depression.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:But not really.
Guest:But not really.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's ridiculous.
Guest:But it's fantastic because especially in this climate, in this world, they talk about a lot of like social issues.
Marc:Right.
Marc:Sure.
Guest:Without commentary, without judgment, like in a little sprinkle.
Guest:It's like, hey, talk about that.
Marc:Right, and you make it a little funny.
Guest:And we make it a little funny.
Marc:Yeah, like I talk about male eating disorder all the time.
Guest:Which is a thing.
Marc:I have it.
Marc:I mean, I'm not terrible.
Guest:What do you, body dysmorphia?
Guest:What do you have?
Marc:I have some of that, yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:If I'm not comfortable with my body, I don't necessarily think I'm a very good person.
Marc:For sure.
Guest:Your self-worth is balanced on it.
Guest:Are you joking or do you really feel this way?
Marc:Out of nowhere, I'm just going to start joking about that.
Marc:That's my idea.
Marc:I'm just going to start joking about my fake eating disorder.
Guest:No, it's real.
Guest:It's true.
Guest:I mean, I feel you.
Guest:And now, so how are you doing on the show?
Guest:How do you like seeing yourself on Glow, which you're fantastic in?
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:Some days it's an issue.
Marc:Because I'm wearing the same pants.
Marc:I literally wear the same pants for the entire show.
Guest:Phenomenal.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And there are these jeans, these bell-bottom jeans.
Marc:And you got craft services.
Marc:So by the end of a fucking shooting a season, I'm like, I can't go another.
Marc:By the time we're done, I'm like, I can't get in these pants.
Marc:I can't do it.
Guest:Oh my God, that's gotta be so tough, having to balance your life around these fucking jeans.
Marc:Well, I think I looked all right.
Marc:I don't think they ever got so tight but in your head.
Guest:Do you have it?
Guest:Yeah, of course.
Marc:So it doesn't have any bearing on reality, but if your pants are feeling tight one day, maybe they are, maybe they aren't, who knows, but you've decided.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But seriously though, craft services.
Guest:I'm having a better time talking to myself about that.
Guest:Body dysmorphia, watching myself on screen, being able to see myself fluctuate, weight.
Guest:Really?
Guest:Being able to like say, okay, so that's for that.
Guest:That's a character or that's, you know, I went to Thailand last year.
Marc:Really?
Guest:And I trained in Muay Thai for a month.
Marc:Is that in martial art?
Guest:Yeah, for like four hours a day.
Marc:Really?
Marc:And you went to the source?
Marc:And I went to the source.
Marc:Couldn't do it here.
Guest:Yeah, I couldn't do it here.
Guest:No.
Guest:No.
Guest:Oh, and Bird and all those amazing badass trainers live there.
Guest:So, went there for a month, got so strong, came back to Jane.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I'm not working out four hours a day.
Guest:There is craft services.
Marc:Oh, isn't there?
Guest:I'm shooting 14 hours a day, and sometimes when you don't have a social life, Hot Cheetos and Little Madeline Cookies are your companions.
Marc:Those are them?
Marc:Hot Cheetos?
Guest:Hot Cheetos is mine.
Guest:What are hot Cheetos?
Guest:They're delicious.
Guest:What are you talking about?
Guest:What do you mean you've never had hot Cheetos?
Marc:How do you make them hot?
Guest:They make them hot.
Marc:Oh, you mean spicy Cheetos?
Guest:Spicy Cheetos.
Marc:Here I'm thinking like temperature hot.
Guest:No.
Marc:I'm like, how do you do that?
Guest:That's true.
Guest:That would be interesting.
Guest:I'm sure somebody said fried them at some point.
Guest:People figure out- Fried everything.
Marc:People take shitty, horrible food that's bad for you and make it worse.
Marc:It seems like it's their, like fried ice cream, whatever it is.
Guest:Fried Twinkies?
Guest:Sure.
Guest:That sounds awful.
Guest:No, it's terrible.
Guest:Or maybe delicious.
Guest:I mean,
Marc:once, half a one.
Guest:Sweet and salty.
Guest:Yeah, a bite.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Okay, spicy.
Marc:Spicy Cheetos.
Guest:Got it.
Guest:So, yes, I agree.
Marc:Body to Smurfy is real.
Marc:What do you got at the craft services?
Marc:But, like, we're on the set of Glow, man.
Marc:It's like every two hours.
Guest:And it's Netflix.
Guest:Y'all got money, so you guys are getting food.
Marc:Right.
Marc:It's like a cruise ship.
Marc:Like, there's a full buffet.
Damn.
Marc:Every two hours.
Marc:So unfair.
Marc:There's like someone on a microphone.
Marc:There's Thai food at Crafty.
Guest:Jesus.
Guest:There's Indian buffet at Crafty.
Guest:I love my craft services.
Guest:Jeannie, Frankie, I love you so much.
Guest:Please don't be offended.
Guest:But craft services does not do me justice.
Marc:What do they have over there?
Guest:We have a limited budget.
Marc:But is it thematic?
Marc:Is it thematic with the show?
Guest:For sure.
Guest:I mean, we have tacos.
Guest:We have empanadas.
Guest:Come on.
Marc:Empanadas.
Marc:We get those too sometimes.
Guest:Those are apparently very good.
Marc:Oh, you stay away from them?
Marc:What about donuts?
Guest:I mean, I've been on this show for four years.
Guest:You learn where to like, the bathrooms are far from the stages.
Marc:So that's the incentive?
Guest:Yeah, you gotta just be careful.
Guest:You just gotta choose your battles.
Guest:And I have a lot of battles already, so I'm just gonna like...
Marc:I can't like, but my thing, the problem with it is the last two weeks of the shoot, that's where I just come unhinged.
Marc:And I'm like, I'm going to eat the fucking donut.
Marc:I'm going to eat the whole donut.
Marc:I'm not just going to break off a piece and then circle around a few times.
Guest:Yeah, I do that every day almost.
Guest:With the morning donuts, take a little piece and I circle back.
Guest:Just hoping that- Do lunges on my way back to it.
Yeah.
Marc:Half hoping someone took it.
Marc:Like, I hope it's not there.
Guest:Yeah, exactly.
Guest:Or that they won't have maple today.
Guest:Don't have maple.
Marc:Oh, you like the maple?
Marc:Love the maple long johns.
Marc:Oh, like on the old fashioned?
Guest:God, this whole talk is going to be about, yeah, the old fashioned.
Marc:Yeah, I love old fashioned donut.
Marc:I like them straight up though.
Marc:I'll take them glazed.
Guest:Or, no, yeah, I'm like vanilla or maple.
Marc:On top of them?
Marc:All right, so you directed.
Guest:I directed.
Marc:I did that once or twice on my show when I had Maren.
Marc:It's tricky, but when you're in it and doing it, you got to lean on the DP a lot, right?
Guest:DP and the writer.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So what was the experience like for you directing?
Guest:And really just believing in my instincts.
Marc:Sure.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Because you got to go out and like, okay, I see the frame.
Marc:I'm going to go in it now.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I'm going to do this thing.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, I got some really great advice from some badass women.
Marc:Like?
Guest:Like America Ferreira.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Guest:Where she said, set up a system.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, like, decide how many takes you're going to do and then...
Guest:decide to watch playback after, you know, checking in with your writer or DP.
Guest:There was no, like, camera mistakes.
Guest:If we had anything technical, we needed to... So I kind of set up a system where I'd do it once, take a look at it, fix all the things I wanted, and then I'd go in and do three runs.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Three runs.
Marc:Do the coverage?
Marc:Three runs in each shot?
Guest:Three runs in, like, each shot.
Guest:Okay, okay.
Guest:Yeah, if I felt like I needed more, then I'd go back and do more.
Guest:But if not, I'd move on.
Guest:Because we do, like, 10, 11 pages a day.
Marc:That's insane.
Guest:It's insane.
Guest:Why so much?
Guest:We get about 70 page scripts each week.
Marc:Oh, because you have all those other elements.
Marc:Yeah, so much.
Marc:Things you add, Instagram elements, text elements.
Guest:Magical realism, split screen.
Marc:Right.
Guest:So it's a tough show.
Guest:And tonally, it's very tough.
Marc:But I would think with 70 pages of effects, you would not shoot 11 pages of dialogue a day.
Guest:Well, we don't have too, too many effects.
Guest:But then also it's like a way for our creator to really carve out the story.
Marc:Yeah, right, right.
Marc:You have a lot of options.
Guest:Yeah, you've got options.
Guest:You've got space.
Guest:So we pound away at this show.
Guest:Like we have been working our ass off.
Marc:How much part of the, outside of doing the directing, what are you, like 80 episodes now?
Marc:How many have you done?
Guest:I think mine was like 73.
Guest:I think we're on like 75.
Marc:So are you part of the creative process in general at this point, writing-wise or story-wise?
Guest:No, no, no, no, no.
Guest:I do not touch that world.
Guest:No, Jenny Ehrman is a island.
Guest:She is an island of brilliance, and she is a very clear vision for Jane, and she has a very clear arc of where we're going and where we're ending.
Marc:Right.
Marc:Right.
Guest:So it's.
Marc:Oh, really?
Marc:You know where it's going to end?
Guest:I know where it's going to end.
Marc:But what episode?
Marc:I mean.
Guest:I mean, I don't know if I'm even allowed to say, but I know that we, I know our end.
Guest:There is an end.
Guest:There is an end.
Marc:But is it like, you know, like here, this is what the end is going to be, but we're not exact.
Marc:We can fill it out.
Marc:Like there's room between now and the end.
Guest:No, I know where the end is.
Marc:Oh, wow.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:There's an end.
Marc:Oh.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And it's, but that's both like.
Marc:I'm assuming it's, it's not for at least 30 episodes.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:Come on.
Marc:You want to syndicate.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, is that the world we're living in still?
Guest:No, it is not.
Guest:It isn't.
Marc:But it kind of is.
Guest:But it's exciting.
Guest:It's an exciting milestone.
Marc:You want to get over 100?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah, sure.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I think it kind of is the world.
Marc:I mean, look, the network you're on, don't they run...
Guest:I mean, they run 15 years a show.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And those, man, the actors preserve.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:They're taking some kind of youth serum.
Guest:I'm like, how is that even possible?
Guest:Some of the shows can last.
Marc:But you know with TV, though, sometimes you turn the cameras off, you get up close, you're like, oh, that's much different.
Guest:Well, lighting can be a good friend.
Marc:It's a little tricky with the high def for some of those older cats.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:They're like, oh, everything now?
Marc:You can see everything?
Marc:All right, so you directed it.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And did you love that?
Marc:Is that something you want to do?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:yeah i mean like after i did it i was like this is this pace this is where it's at i mean i started as a professional dancer i started as a dancer okay let's go back then if you're gonna go back yeah where'd you grow up chicago really yeah chicago northwest side of chicago city city what's what's northwest side
Guest:Like right outside of Lincoln Park.
Guest:Have you heard of Lincoln Park?
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:So the hood.
Marc:Okay.
Guest:So a few hoods deep into Lincoln.
Marc:A few hoods deep.
Guest:Yeah, like, yeah.
Marc:What kind of hood when you talk about the hood?
Guest:Oh, mostly Puerto Rican and like Polish.
Marc:Puerto Rican and Polish.
Marc:There's always a Polish contingent.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:No matter what hood you're in.
Marc:There's a few Polish people around.
Guest:But it's very interesting because there was a lot of like Polish immigrants.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:So they really understood the struggle of feeling like an outsider or disenfranchised.
Guest:And like a lot of the Latinos in the neighborhood felt that way.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And so like the Polish people were like, we totally get you.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:So there was a bonding between the... The ultimate bond, the bond of feeling like an outsider, for sure.
Marc:And also you had the Catholic thing, Poles and Latinos.
Guest:For sure, yeah.
Guest:We were all going to the same church.
Guest:You were, right?
Guest:Yeah, 100%.
Guest:It was fantastic.
Marc:So how big's the family?
Guest:I have two older sisters, an older brother from my father's first marriage, but he's my brother.
Guest:I always feel like that's always such a strange thing.
Guest:I'm like, I'm going to tell you that he's not fully my brother, but he's my brother.
Guest:No, yeah, I grew up with him.
Guest:He's significantly older than myself.
Guest:He's the eldest and the youngest of four.
Marc:How old is he?
Guest:I believe he's 45.
Guest:He's going to be mad at me.
Guest:45, 48.
Guest:Oh, yeah?
Marc:Somewhere in that area?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So a lot older.
Guest:Yeah, I'm 33.
Guest:So we have two more in between us.
Marc:So he was sort of out of the house for a good part of it.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest:Exactly.
Marc:And then there's a couple other older sisters?
Guest:And then two older sisters.
Marc:Are they in show business?
No.
Guest:the eldest runs a private equity firm the middle child is a doctor a doctor yeah i'm a piece of shit you figure like they they pleased your parents in those ways yeah well it was still very difficult because my father wanted me to be a lawyer a lawyer yeah he wanted the trifecta and he would say it right he wanted to say it yeah he wanted to say a lawyer a doctor and a banker
Guest:Yeah, and a stock broker.
Guest:Yeah, and he got that instead.
Marc:But look how well you did.
Marc:You've got to be the most popular one at this point.
Guest:Oh, man.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:They're very proud.
Guest:My father was a professional referee for boxing, and so he was always on TV.
Guest:And so growing up, he was like, don't forget, I'm the one that's on TV first.
Guest:Oh, really?
Marc:As a professional boxing referee?
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:But he was like a real deal referee?
Guest:Real deal referee.
Guest:In Chicago.
Guest:Badass.
Guest:All over the world.
Guest:I mean, yeah, we grew up.
Guest:I mean, I grew up in Chicago, but he.
Marc:Oh, so he was.
Guest:All over.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, his final fight that he retired on was Pacquiao versus Algieri in Macau, China.
Guest:And I was able to go to it and watch him and like cheer him on for his retirement.
Marc:Really?
Guest:Yeah, so he's like, he was... You weren't watching the fight?
Marc:You were watching your dad?
Guest:I was watching my dad.
Guest:Yeah, I mean, I love Pacquiao.
Guest:I knew Pacquiao was going to destroy.
Guest:I'm sorry, Chris.
Guest:Chris, you're a great fighter as well.
Marc:So you follow boxing.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:I guess you would have to.
Marc:Yeah, all my life, yeah.
Marc:Yeah, because, I don't know, it seems like your brother was pretty old.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:But your dad probably wanted one of you to like fighting.
Marc:Do you all like fighting?
Guest:We all fight.
Guest:Oh, you do?
Guest:Except my eldest sister, but my middle sister's tough.
Guest:She's really strong.
Guest:And I fight.
Guest:I mean, I don't fight professionally, but I wish I could.
Guest:I box.
Guest:I do Muay Thai.
Guest:I kick.
Guest:I use all my limbs.
Marc:So where did we end up with the Thailand thing?
Marc:How long were you in Thailand?
Guest:Oh, so this is where we were going.
Guest:So I start to understand that it's okay if you work out four hours a day, of course your body's going to look one way.
Guest:And if you don't, your body's going to look another.
Guest:So I started to accept what my body looked like on each experience.
Marc:Yeah, and also you just sort of like, is it that terrible?
Marc:It's like you're not an obese person.
Marc:You're just a little uncomfortable.
Marc:You got to eat.
Marc:And tomorrow's another day.
Guest:Yeah, and it's really, like, is that really what we're worried about?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Like, really?
Marc:No, it shouldn't be.
Guest:Like, it shouldn't be.
Guest:What a waste of space in the brain.
Guest:True, but I think my theory is... It's not like I don't not think about it.
Guest:I do.
Guest:I'm just saying I'm fucking yelling at myself.
Marc:Right, you're mad at yourself for wasting, like, there's bigger problems for yourself and for everybody else.
Guest:And for life.
Marc:Right.
Marc:But I sometimes think you pick these type of things to focus.
Marc:You have control over that problem.
Marc:So like the bigger problems that you may feel powerless about.
Guest:Focus on the little things so that you can feel like a shift is really real.
Guest:In the negative way.
Guest:In the negative way, yes.
Marc:Focus on the little things.
Guest:In the negative way.
Marc:I know the world is ending, but hey, I got a few pounds.
Guest:Exactly, yes.
Marc:I'm feeling a little doughy.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Marc:We're not going to be able to breathe in 10 years.
Marc:I know, but these pants, you know.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
Guest:It's being present.
Guest:It's being present.
Marc:There you go.
Marc:We spun it into a good thing.
Marc:So you're in Chicago.
Marc:You've got a boxing referee as a dad.
Marc:Your mom does what?
Guest:She is an interpreter at Cook County, and then she was the director of interpreters.
Guest:Cook County Prison?
Guest:Prison, yeah.
Guest:Or Cook County Court System.
Guest:So she would send the interpreters to, you know, if you needed Italian or Polish or Spanish, she would send her people.
Marc:She was in charge of the interpreters for Cook County, not just for the prison.
Guest:i don't know why i think about isn't that a prison it is a prison too in chicago yeah uh-huh yeah so that was she was she was a translator dispatcher in a way exactly huh yeah what an odd job yeah yeah it was yeah well i mean they both um made as much as they could out of nothing yeah my parents had it my parents lived tough lives yeah yeah were they they did they were they from here originally
Guest:They're from Puerto Rico.
Guest:So they're both born in Puerto Rico?
Guest:Yeah, they were both born and raised in Puerto Rico, and then they met in Chicago or New York.
Guest:Their story is so shifty.
Guest:They've been together for 45 years.
Guest:It's super shifty.
Guest:My parents are, like, they're just phenomenal, like...
Guest:Fun loving.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:They're hippies.
Guest:Oh, really?
Guest:My father, like, he fought in Vietnam.
Marc:Did he?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:I don't know why I'm questioning that.
Guest:No.
Guest:He did.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:Why would you say that?
Guest:He did.
Marc:And he came back okay?
Guest:I'm sure.
Guest:I mean, I don't know.
Marc:You would know.
Guest:I mean, well, but I was after the whole experience, so I don't know pre-Vietnam Pops.
Marc:Well, I mean, I guess maybe.
Marc:I mean, he's a good man.
Marc:I'm sure it changed him.
Marc:It's got to him.
Guest:It's got to him.
Marc:But what I'm saying is that it sounds like you had a good experience with them.
Marc:It wasn't like your dad's going through a thing again.
Guest:No, no, no, no, no.
Guest:Yeah, I had good experience with them.
Marc:Do you ever talk about it, guys?
Marc:I find that a lot of people whose parents were, they don't know anything because they don't talk about it.
Guest:yeah no i don't know anything yeah they don't talk about it yeah and he says we don't talk about it yeah it's cool it's like it's um but my my parents are tremendous human beings like my father is just this orb of positivity and self-motivation and like go like i'm only the way i am because he was such a diligent if not like
Guest:dictator voice in my mind about how I had to be.
Marc:Yeah, what was he saying?
Guest:Like when I was younger, when I was in high school, he had this terrible car accident where he had seizures in his car and he had a parasite in his brain.
Marc:Oh my God.
Marc:A brain parasite that caused seizures?
Marc:And then he had an accident?
Guest:And then he had an accident.
Guest:And it changed him for the better.
Guest:But he would whisper in my ear at night, you could be anything you want to be.
Guest:You could be the president.
Guest:Go after your dreams.
Guest:Nothing can stop you.
Guest:And then I'd be like, what the fuck are you doing?
Guest:And he's like, I'm talking to your subconscious.
Guest:Go back to sleep.
Marc:He would just do that in the middle of the night?
Guest:Yeah, because he was awake on steroids from all the medication and all the craziness, and he was just reading Zig Ziglar and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and he would put that on me to a, at the time, like...
Marc:Yeah, a lot.
Marc:Too much.
Marc:And I also think that people that I have found when I talk to people from other places, that generation really wants their kids to succeed as much as possible.
Guest:For sure.
Marc:In this country.
Guest:Especially because we didn't grow up with money.
Guest:So everything they thought was like, you have to do better.
Guest:You have to have an easier existence.
Guest:And like I said, at the time, it was just like...
Guest:um sure that feels like so that seems so idealistic a lot of pressure too a lot of pressure yeah um and it's the pressure still exists but um in your brain or with them in my brain now they're like oh you did it you've arrived and in my brain i'm like yeah yeah yeah you're not worthy this is terrible gotta go harder and try more because of that voice yeah but it's good at the same time because yeah i feel like nothing can stop me yeah
Marc:Well, that's the good part of it.
Marc:The other part of it is like, well, shut up.
Guest:Because shit does stop you.
Marc:And also, at some point, you want to enjoy it.
Guest:And I don't.
Guest:Oh, God damn it.
Guest:Yes, 100%.
Marc:You're not enjoying it?
Guest:I am enjoying it, but it is...
Marc:I think I can't.
Marc:You just hear like the work, it's all work, right?
Guest:No, no.
Guest:Between action and cut, it's like flying.
Guest:But the necessity to be like responsible for like
Guest:Latino community, the stress of feeling like I have to be a voice of strength for people I've never met, and I'm going to fail.
Marc:Where'd that come from?
Guest:I feel like I set it up for myself, but you just don't see a lot of Latinos on screen, period.
Guest:I didn't growing up.
Marc:I know.
Marc:Yeah, I think that's right.
Marc:I saw that you've spoken about that a few times and I wasn't looking for them in the same way you were.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:But just either.
Guest:Yeah, I can imagine that.
Marc:I wasn't growing up going like, where are the Latino people?
Guest:Or in my films or anywhere.
Marc:Well, I grew up in New Mexico, so there was plenty around.
Guest:Oh, no.
Guest:Nice, nice.
Guest:It's a beautiful culture.
Marc:Yeah, there's plenty around here, too, in this neighborhood.
Guest:Yeah, there's so many around here.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:But I know what you're saying, and my producer and I talked about it, because we haven't had a lot of Latinos on.
Guest:I know you had Rita Moreno on the other day.
Guest:Great.
Guest:Ana Ed died.
Marc:She's so great.
Guest:She played my grandmother.
Marc:You worked with her.
Guest:Oh, I love her.
Guest:She's my everything, yeah.
Guest:She's amazing.
Guest:She's my grandmother in real life.
Guest:I mean, she's the best.
Guest:The best.
Marc:But my point was that we don't choose not to have Latinos on, but literally in terms of who's around and who's being pitched and where are they?
Guest:I mean, really, I feel like I forced myself on you because I wanted to just come and I wanted to be- You wanted to Latinize me?
Marc:No.
Guest:I'm kidding.
Guest:like that I wanted to let yes I wanted to start breaking the door open I wanted to let I'm gonna put the mark down for Puerto Ricans in this damn room but um so I I feel like I force myself on you because I've been dying to be a part of like I feel like you're an expert conversationalist how am I doing
Guest:I just, I've never experienced this.
Guest:Every time I listen to you, I feel like people get to experience something that when you've entered the space where people recognize you and you don't know their names, like that strange space, which is not normal for the brain to like process.
Guest:When you enter that space, then people don't talk to you the same either.
Guest:And you talk to people in a very different manner.
Guest:And I wanted to know what that felt like.
Marc:How's it feeling?
Guest:It feels good.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:It feels good.
Marc:Now I'm all self-conscious.
Guest:Well, I'm self-conscious too.
Marc:Yeah?
Guest:Yeah, for sure.
Marc:Okay, so I wouldn't call it a compulsion, but the idea that you had to do right by the Latino community, right?
Guest:Yeah, I feel like I feel like I'm always being under the microscope if I do right by the Latino community.
Guest:And I want to, but I can't I can't speak for the entire Latino community.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Because, you know, Latinos come in all, you know, shades and backgrounds and cultures.
Guest:Of course.
Guest:Latino encompasses so much.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I'm Puerto Rican.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Chicago.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, that's one person.
Guest:And I'm a woman.
Guest:That's one perspective.
Guest:That's one specific lens.
Guest:And that's not everybody's lens.
Guest:But but I but I want to see more Latinos on screen because I know what it did to me when I was a kid.
Marc:Well, OK, so you're growing up in Chicago.
Marc:What are you what are you engaged in?
Marc:Like what leads to the acting?
Marc:I mean, what leads to performing?
Guest:So I started dancing salsa.
Guest:I was a salsa dancer.
Guest:Just like Rita Marina.
Guest:Yes, just like Rita.
Guest:I was a salsa dancer from like the age of seven.
Guest:I started dancing.
Guest:With the outfits?
Guest:With the outfits and the sequins.
Guest:And all the adults going like, look at her.
Guest:Yes, 100%, just like that, yeah.
Guest:But we were, you know, it was professional salsa dancing.
Guest:We were hardcore.
Guest:I was in this strict regimen of like schedules and rehearsal.
Guest:And it made me like a, you know, makes you super disciplined.
Marc:Was there a company or was there a competition?
Guest:I was in multiple companies.
Marc:So what was the gig?
Marc:Was it to do competitions or to get paid to do shows?
Guest:All paid to do shows.
Guest:We'd compete.
Guest:We'd do conferences, salsa conferences.
Marc:We'd go in like- Salsa conferences.
Guest:Yeah, they're all over the world.
Marc:They're crazy.
Marc:It must be like ballroom dancing.
Guest:Yeah, it's pretty hardcore.
Guest:so like you have all ages like you have all ages like the eight to twelve yeah whatever yeah yeah you have the like everybody's and but everybody watches everybody else because you want to be the older group and you're about to head into the older group let's go watch the little ones and they want to because we were fierce too but i danced from like seven to seventeen and then i started doing theater in high school so you so you're a good dancer
Guest:I don't dance.
Marc:Comes right back to you though, right?
Guest:For sure.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But I'm not as hardcore as I used to.
Marc:But like if you go out, do you ever go out dancing?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Like on a date and just bury the guy?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It's amazing.
Guest:It's amazing.
Guest:I mean, I have a wonderful boyfriend that loves to watch me dance.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Guest:You know.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:Which is great.
Marc:So all right.
Marc:So you do that.
Marc:So you get into theater one?
Guest:Then I got to theater in, like, high school.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Started doing, like, commercials or trying.
Marc:But, like, what kind of plays were you doing in high school?
Marc:Like, did you get the bug?
Guest:Was it, like, a thing where you were, like... I did a chorus line, and I played Diana Morales.
Guest:And it was... I'm a terrible singer, but it was because I was probably the only Latina in my high school.
Guest:That could be the reason why I got the role.
Marc:How did that happen in Chicago in the Polish-Latino neighborhood?
Guest:Oh, because we got driven out to the college preparatory schools.
Guest:I went to San Ignacio's college prep.
Marc:Because your dad was like, he meant business.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah, education is everything.
Guest:I can't make the trifecta if you don't have a good education.
Marc:Yeah, not in that public school.
Guest:So we had to, we were shipped out.
Guest:We were shipped out.
Guest:And they were, you know, diversity was very small.
Guest:There was like four groups.
Guest:of us in general there was like four of my four years yeah brown people yeah four broad-ranging brown people including the asians it was like it had like we had the whole spectrum yeah you know yeah the four of you yeah so so because i i started doing theater then and i was already in the environment where i was like a minority and very clearly a minority and then i would go home and i was the majority and everything felt like normal did you speak spanish at home
Guest:No, rarely.
Guest:My parents were discriminated for their accent, so they didn't really teach us Spanish till later on.
Marc:So they tried to wash them away?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Get rid of them?
Guest:Assimilation is a real thing, man.
Marc:No kidding.
Marc:Yeah, of course.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, I understand Spanish fully.
Guest:My grandma spoke to us in Spanish.
Guest:My experience was very much like Jane.
Guest:Grandma speaking Spanish, me responding in English.
Guest:Right.
Marc:So that was a good fit.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:But when you were at this private school, I mean, how were you outside of your own awareness of your brownness?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:How were you received?
Marc:What did you find?
Guest:They thought I was Mexican the whole four years.
Guest:All my friends that were close to me.
Marc:You were just Mexican?
Guest:I was just Mexican.
Guest:They never really bothered to figure out what my culture was, even though I felt lots of kinship towards all Latino cultures starting at a very early age because, you know, I...
Guest:My cousins grew up in a predominantly Mexican area.
Guest:I grew up in a predominantly Puerto Rican area.
Guest:I danced with all ethnicities, like everybody was salsa dancers.
Guest:You know, from like Russian, like some of the Russian girls were like the best salsa dancers.
Marc:Aren't they the best at everything?
Guest:They kind of are.
Guest:It's too bad.
Marc:Anything athletic or movement oriented?
Guest:Yeah, the Olympics.
Guest:We'll find out.
Guest:It's coming up.
Guest:But yeah, they... So I kind of was always...
Guest:I guess, aware of my skin color, even though I just did not feel different whatsoever, which was such a strange feeling in the world.
Marc:To realize that you weren't different
Marc:But you were seen as different.
Guest:But yeah, it was so bizarre to me.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was just like I was just like a Lady Bird, right?
Guest:You just had Greta on.
Guest:Lady Bird was my experience growing up.
Guest:Right.
Guest:Totally.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Totally like exactly her experience was my experience.
Guest:I went to Catholic high school where I was definitely like I was the poor kid in the high school.
Guest:I didn't want anybody to know it.
Guest:Add on to that, I was the brown kid in the high school and I didn't want anybody to know it.
Guest:No, it was co-ed.
Guest:Co-ed, but Catholic.
Guest:No uniforms, but dress code.
Marc:And were you brought up pretty religious?
Guest:No, no, I wasn't.
Guest:I mean, we had a lot of space to discover, but we did do the like Christmas on Easter.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:Christmas.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And were you confirmed and stuff?
Guest:I was confirmed.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Because my parents were just like superstitious.
Guest:And that comes with like Latino and Catholic.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:They're like, if she isn't, she won't go to heaven.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Just in case.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:You know, just in case we're all wrong and all this freedom is bad.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah, and then my great-grandfather was Jewish, and my sister ended up turning agnostic.
Guest:My other sister converted to Judaism.
Guest:We're all kind of all over the place.
Marc:Do you have a Jewish sister?
Marc:I have a Jewish sister.
Marc:She married you or something?
Guest:Yes.
Guest:Charity Jew.
Guest:And my grandmother's father was a French Jew.
Marc:French Jew.
Marc:That even makes it more interesting and exotic.
Marc:In Puerto Rico.
Marc:He ran away from France.
Guest:Yeah, there was a lot of things I don't know in that space.
Marc:I wonder what year was that.
Marc:Did he leave because of Hitler?
Marc:i don't know the french were kind of you know not great during that time yeah yeah i don't know that's probably an understatement yeah i want to go on like find your roots i do too i was supposed to go on they made me take the swab they did i did it and i sent it in months ago and i don't know what the hell's going on i gotta ask my manager
Marc:that's the show because that show you get all the good you get all the juice i sent them all the stuff all the ones i knew i love that you're excited about it right you want to know i want to know everything yeah well you're you're russian and polish and this is dutch apparently my grand my dutch you got dutch apparently i got dutch in me a bunch of dutch in me really yeah well why why these days should have you on have you reached out
Guest:Yeah, we've reached out.
Guest:I think that it's in motion.
Marc:Oh, it is.
Guest:It's in motion.
Marc:But you didn't get the kit yet.
Marc:Mine was in motion, and that was like a year ago.
Guest:Oh, goodness.
Marc:They're doing research.
Marc:Give them space for research.
Marc:They're really going deep into the Marin rabbit hole.
Marc:So when did you really start feeling that you were not, as you say, represented in media and on TV?
Marc:Because there's certainly plenty of music, right?
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:In your world, I would imagine.
Guest:And music is also... I feel like music...
Guest:Man, does it just transcend racism and discrimination?
Guest:People are like, despacito.
Guest:And they have no idea the words that they're saying, but it's the most popular.
Guest:I'm so proud of you, Luis.
Guest:Most popular song ever.
Guest:It's like that kind of healing is fantastic.
Marc:Yeah, it's amazing.
Guest:And that's what ultimately representation and diversity inclusion can do for all of art is it can make people feel just...
Guest:included yeah like a like a global allowance yeah more human yeah if you let it yeah yeah it's a lot of uh intolerance is is sadly a decision oh it's such a decision isn't it i feel like art has the ability to create healing and tolerance but i mean it's like it's hard when you i produce and we're trying to produce shows with latino faces and latino stories like what
Guest:Well, we have a few shows that were in the run, but sadly, you know, we're going to have to try to find new homes for them because you're trying to sell a story of a culture to people who have never, you know, as you said earlier, I've never stopped to think, wow, there are no Latinos on my screen.
Guest:You're selling to other cultures that don't understand the importance of it.
Marc:But it's such a huge audience.
Marc:I don't understand it.
Guest:Well, okay, so I recently was told, and this was so devastating, I was recently told, well, Gina, why would these studios or why would anyone have to cater to a demographic that's risk averse where they already purchase, they already consume?
Guest:There's no need to put Latinos in-
Guest:They're not complaining.
Guest:They're still buying.
Guest:We don't need to cater.
Guest:But it's saying, like, you don't want to make your customer happy.
Guest:You don't want to represent your customer in a way that makes them feel good.
Guest:It's...
Guest:It's like, why treat this person with respect when they're respecting me?
Guest:It's just that same enslavement, same enslavement.
Guest:And, you know, Latinos are going to eventually realize their power and their buying power because Latinos consume one of the highest consumers as a demographic.
Guest:I mean...
Guest:We make up 24% of the box office every weekend.
Guest:We hold studios up.
Guest:I mean, like, the things that I say are not lies.
Guest:They're the truth.
Guest:And as an artist who would love to play roles, like, I have this movie coming out, Annihilation, where I get to play.
Marc:The sci-fi movie?
Guest:A sci-fi movie.
Marc:Yeah, I was going to watch it, but I didn't.
Guest:I knew you were going to have a chance to watch it.
Guest:I'm going to watch it.
Guest:I have a link.
Marc:I have a link.
Guest:I'm so excited for you to see it.
Marc:Yeah, I just got it like yesterday.
Guest:Yeah, I know.
Marc:So I was going to watch it last night, but I think it scared my girlfriend, the science fiction part.
Marc:Or something.
Guest:It's scary.
Guest:It's definitely scary.
Marc:She doesn't go in for the scary stuff.
Guest:You know, I definitely don't always pick scary first, but it is... But that director's good, right?
Marc:He did the... Ex Machina.
Marc:Ex Machina.
Guest:He's incredible.
Guest:It's just... It is a... And are you the lead?
Guest:I'm one of them.
Guest:I mean, there's five.
Guest:It's a Natalie's movie, Natalie Portman.
Guest:It's Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuva Novotny, and myself.
Guest:Wow.
Guest:So it's five badass chicks going into this area called The Shimmer, which is destroying the world, kind of like eating it alive.
Guest:And they're going in there to stop it.
Marc:Stop The Shimmer.
Guest:Stop The Shimmer.
Guest:And it is twisted and it's sci-fi, psychological thriller.
Marc:Maybe I should watch it in the theater.
Guest:I feel like it's probably a theater experience.
Marc:Yeah, I watched Dunkirk on my computer.
Marc:That was not good.
Guest:On your computer.
Guest:I try not to watch anything on a small.
Marc:I didn't watch it on my phone.
Guest:You watched it on your phone.
Guest:I think, you know what, I watched it on.
Guest:13 inch, I mean, how big was your computer?
Marc:I think I watched it on a bigger screen.
Marc:All right, so my question is, do you ever get the studio saying, well, you know, the Latino world has its own television.
Guest:Yeah, I mean, there's Latin American television for sure, right?
Guest:It's huge, right?
Guest:Yeah, that's very huge.
Guest:It does very well.
Guest:What are the two?
Guest:Univision and Telemundo.
Guest:Yeah, and they rule everything.
Guest:But, you know, even in the Latino American market, you know, inclusion is necessary because Latinos come, like I said, in all shades.
Guest:There's Afro-Latinos.
Guest:There's European Latinos.
Guest:There's Latinos that have blue eyes, blonde hair like my sister.
Guest:My other sister has darker skin.
Guest:Puerto Rico.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:From everywhere.
Guest:From everywhere.
Guest:Because we're just such a, you know...
Guest:Puerto Ricans in themselves are Taino.
Guest:And when the Spaniards came over, then they came over with African slaves and all three mixed.
Guest:And that's pretty much what a Puerto Rican is.
Guest:And, you know, you have the back in the 1400s when, you know, the Spaniards came over and they settled in lots of parts of Latin America.
Guest:Right, the Spanish were fair skin, right?
Guest:Yeah, there's lots of mix in all of the Latino community.
Guest:Like I said, from like dark skin to light skin, light eyes.
Guest:And because of that, it's hard to...
Guest:It's for one, hard to talk for the entire Latino community.
Guest:So I just can't do that.
Guest:I just need to keep trying to like create avenues for stories to be told so that we can celebrate our culture and feel inclusive in American, like in the soil of America.
Marc:Because if they feel like you're speaking for them, then you're going to get some pushback.
Guest:Yeah, well, I'm not.
Guest:I can't.
Marc:I can't.
Marc:Did you ever get called out?
Guest:I get pushback all the time, for sure.
Guest:Well, I just get pushback because I can't, like I said, I can't represent every Latino.
Marc:So they get mad because you can't represent them, or do they get mad because you're not representing them right?
Guest:I feel like I get all of the things.
Guest:I can never win.
Guest:I can never win.
Guest:But then there's a huge group of Latinos that feel very excited to have people in their corner rooting them on and just rooting on the culture and being like, hey, we're here, we're present.
Guest:And it's not different from any other human or any other human story.
Marc:And also it's important, like you said, that the kids have role models.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Or even people your age have a role.
Guest:Reflection.
Guest:Yeah, everyone needs a role.
Guest:Everybody needs to feel like there's a reflection of themselves in every part of life so that we feel that we are capable.
Marc:Especially now with the horrible tone of this administration in relation to Latinos specifically.
Guest:I mean, now more than ever, too.
Guest:To have a culture that you're a part of be painted in such a negative light is just so disheartening.
Guest:By the president.
Guest:Brutal.
Guest:It's brutal.
Guest:And it's also so false.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You know, because really every human can be nasty and do mal, you know, and be evil.
Guest:Every human is capable of that.
Guest:But to just paint a community in such a negative light when we are such a positive source of light and income and like resources to this country.
Guest:It's devastating.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So that's why it's like it is important for me as an artist to be out there saying, hey, inclusion is vital so that our next generation is living in a world of positivity and opportunity and capability and that they can obtain these dreams because they see themselves reflected in them.
Guest:I mean, because I'm going to tell you, growing up and having a father who wanted me to be a lawyer, and I wanted to be an actor, if you don't see yourself on screen, how does your family support a dream that there are not many paths that have walked in?
Guest:It's terrifying.
Guest:So imagine when you don't have a support system.
Guest:It's terrifying.
Marc:But they stood behind you, obviously.
Marc:You seem well-adjusted.
Guest:Yeah, I'm handling it, yeah.
Marc:In the sense that, you know, they didn't forbid you.
Marc:I mean, like, where did you go after you did?
Guest:I mean, how can you stop someone when you used to whisper in their ear that they can be anything they want to be?
Marc:You can say, I didn't mean that.
Guest:Yeah, you can't go back to the whisper and, like, you can't stop me now.
Marc:Not acting.
Guest:Yeah, you can't stop me now.
Guest:That's crazy.
Guest:That's kind of what happened, you know?
Guest:And I was like, I'm sorry, Dad, you can't stop me now.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Was that a tough time?
Guest:There have been tough times.
Guest:I mean, they are very supportive because it's not like they threw me out.
Guest:But they weren't always a believer that this path was possible.
Marc:That it was possible.
Marc:Because all you hear is how hard it is.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And you don't see anybody like your daughter.
Marc:Right.
Marc:So what'd you do?
Marc:You got out of high school and you did what?
Guest:I went to NYU, Tish.
Guest:I got an education.
Guest:I got trained.
Wow.
Marc:So you went it.
Marc:So that was the conversations like I'm going to school for acting.
Guest:I'm gonna go to school for acting.
Guest:I'm gonna become a badass and I'm gonna go to a good Yeah, and you're gonna pay for it and no and they definitely didn't and I paid it off two years ago Yes, yes Anymore NYU years ago.
Guest:Yeah, that must have been a great day I actually was nominated for my second Golden Globe on the day that I paid off my debt and
Marc:Did you say that at the Globes?
Guest:Yeah, I most certainly did.
Guest:They were like, how do you feel today?
Guest:I was like, I'm debt free.
Guest:How do you think I feel?
Guest:I started doing cartwheels naked in the street.
Guest:I was so happy.
Marc:That's quite an accomplishment.
Guest:Man, it took forever.
Marc:It does, right?
Guest:They owned so much of me.
Guest:Not anymore.
Marc:And you just paid it all off.
Guest:Paid it all off.
Marc:And you put a little fuck you.
Guest:A little fuck you.
Marc:Can I have my interest back now?
Guest:Yeah, seriously, because that would help with the rest of my life.
Marc:Right, you guys are ready to take the money you stole.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So Tish, you go from Chicago to New York, you have freedom, you're not living with your folks anymore, and now you're in a theater school doing weird shit?
Guest:Yeah, doing weird shit.
Marc:Yeah, did you?
Guest:Yeah, for sure.
Guest:First, I was in Atlantic Theater Company, and then I went to Experimental Theater.
Guest:No, in Tisch.
Guest:So it's the School of Arts.
Marc:They outsource to the Atlantic?
Guest:Yeah, they outsource to nine different studios.
Guest:It's like Stella Adler.
Marc:Atlantic's a little stiff, isn't it?
Guest:Atlantic's a little stiff.
Marc:Yeah, the mammoth, that whole sort of trip.
Marc:Just focus on the script, man.
Marc:It's all on the script.
Guest:Yeah, it's all in the words.
Marc:You don't have to have any talent to be an actor.
Marc:Just look at those words.
Guest:Yeah, just say those damn words, don't you?
Guest:But that was really good for me because I was a dancer.
Guest:I was very physical, and I couldn't get myself to stop moving.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:And so Atlantic was like, stop moving.
Marc:Right.
Guest:And I was like, why?
Guest:I'm Puerto Rican.
Guest:All I do is move.
Guest:And they're like, great.
Marc:It's part of where I come from.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:We're always dancing inside.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I'm always.
Guest:There's a maraca playing in my fucking head right now.
Guest:So they settled me down.
Guest:It was nice.
Guest:And Experimental Theater kind of opened me back up.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:All right.
Marc:So you got grounded at the Atlantic.
Marc:And then you go to Experimental.
Marc:So what did they have you do?
Guest:Get naked and roll around in the dark.
Guest:In the dark?
Guest:Yeah, and just be myself.
Guest:Making noises like, ah!
Guest:Yeah, some noises like that.
Guest:And coming into my own, and it was nice.
Guest:Yeah?
Guest:Yeah, and kind of throwing it all away.
Guest:You learn a bunch, and then you kind of find your space.
Guest:Those are two extremes.
Marc:That's interesting.
Marc:Experimental theater, so was that, did you not do plays?
Marc:Did you just do weird improvisations or movements?
Guest:It was a lot of self-written stuff.
Guest:So you really used the creativity of your temple.
Marc:Your temple, your body.
Guest:Your whole body, your mind.
Marc:So you did a lot of self-writing naked on the stage.
Guest:Yes, always, always naked.
Guest:But lots of self.
Marc:In front of people?
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:I mean, not the nudity, but lots of self-creation.
Guest:And that was really good.
Guest:It was really good when before you're being told, like you said, just focus on my words and my words only.
Guest:And then I went to a space where it was like, focus on your words.
Marc:So you kind of met in the middle.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Wow, that's pretty good.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:What tools do you, are there things that you do when you act that you know that you learned?
Marc:Were there tricks that you, how do you engage your education or is it just natural?
Marc:Do you ever think about it?
Guest:I feel like there are times where I have to call on it for sure when it's harder to access naturally.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah, because I mean, on Jane, I cry a lot.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:A lot of emotional rollercoaster.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:And so it's at times I have to call on my training to be able to bring that.
Marc:What are the tricks to make yourself cry?
Guest:I usually, you know, it's funny because I usually go to very happy places.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then you just change your memory and I just change my face.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But I definitely like to go to positive spaces because the negative is shit to live in.
Guest:Annihilation was a lot of is was a very scary space to live in for so many months because it's a it's a definitely a mind trip.
Marc:Wow.
Guest:And so that was hard to navigate.
Marc:How was it working with those other women?
Guest:Well, Jennifer Jason Leigh is the shit.
Marc:Yeah, she's great.
Marc:I've talked to her before.
Guest:I know, I love her.
Guest:Yeah, she's great.
Guest:I listen.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:I listen to you.
Guest:And Natalie is a goddess of leadership.
Marc:She seems like a worker.
Guest:She's a worker.
Marc:She's a worker.
Guest:But she's like a calm leader, and it's really nice.
Guest:Oh, good.
Guest:Tessa's like my dearest, dearest love.
Guest:I love her so much.
Guest:And Tuva was just this beautiful, like, den mother.
Guest:Everybody kind of took a role.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Guest:What was your role?
Guest:I feel like I was the rambunctious, like, asshole.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I just wanted to talk about, like, stupid stuff and penis.
Guest:And, like, the girls were like, ay, ay, ay.
Guest:I'm like, what about him?
Marc:And they're like, shut up.
Guest:But it was good.
Marc:Oh, good.
Marc:So how does it happen?
Marc:So you finish at Tisch, and then you come out here?
Guest:No, I finish at Tisch, and then I did a play.
Guest:I did plays for a little while.
Guest:I did theater, and I did- In New York.
Guest:Yeah, in New York, and then I went out to- So you really went the traditional route.
Marc:It was the only thing I knew.
Marc:You got trained in New York, did New York theater.
Guest:Yeah, I mean, that's the route that like, it's the only route I thought I knew.
Marc:From who?
Marc:Where'd you decide?
Marc:How'd you learn?
Marc:That's what you do.
Guest:I just want to be Meryl Streep.
Marc:Uh-huh.
Marc:And go to New York.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Do theater.
Guest:And just be an actor because people think your talent rocks, not because of anything else.
Marc:Right.
Guest:They want to see you transform, not anything else.
Guest:I don't know.
Marc:Did you feel the weight of being Latino in New York and in the Atlantic or at Experimental Theater?
Yeah.
Guest:I think it started, I did this movie that went to Sundance called Philly Brown like seven years ago.
Marc:The rapper movie.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And it kind of like started my trajectory.
Guest:And that was after doing plays and doing another like indie film.
Guest:Right.
Guest:I got that indie film.
Guest:And I went to Sundance and I was named the It Girl.
Guest:And I thought, well, yes.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:I'm going to be like Jennifer Lawrence.
Guest:I'm going to get an X-Men movie.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then I come back and that doesn't happen.
Guest:And it's not like that.
Guest:And I realized that the roles that are like available to me or even for auditioning were the same stereotypical roles.
Marc:You're in New York, right?
Guest:I'm now in L.A.
Marc:Because I was looking at some of your credits, early TV credits.
Marc:I don't even know how big these parts were.
Guest:Law and Order.
Marc:Right, they're like Yolanda.
Guest:Yes, yes.
Marc:And the episode is called Enemy.
Guest:Yeah, I think I was a Salvadorian immigrant whose sister was deported.
Guest:I'm almost positive that was the role.
Marc:And then there was another one, Inez Soriano.
Marc:Illegal is the episode.
Guest:Yeah, this, oh no, that's definitely the one then.
Guest:That's the one where I'm the sister.
Guest:The other one, like I'm the beginning, we're like, I'm on a date with my boyfriend and gunshots ring out.
Guest:Dun, dun, you know, whatever they're, there you go.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Didn't you use that on your show?
Guest:We did.
Guest:We just recently did.
Guest:It was just like in the last episode.
Guest:Yeah, it was very funny.
Guest:Very funny.
Guest:Shout out to Eric, our editor, who that was his directorial debut as well.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Jenny, our creator, just gives so many opportunities to people.
Marc:She's just- Yeah, on my show, we did the editors.
Marc:The editors are good because they know what they're going to do with it.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Editors are like tight, you know what I mean?
Marc:Because they're like, I know I can do with this.
Guest:Yeah, or I don't have it yet.
Guest:I know how much I need.
Guest:I know what I need.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So, yeah, so I did a bunch of stuff.
Marc:So those were the roles, yeah.
Guest:Yeah, I did some stuff in New York, and then I did an indie film that brought me out to L.A.
Marc:Which one?
Guest:That was the- It was called Go For It.
Guest:And then that, the directors of Philly Brown saw that, and they were like, we would love you for this movie, Philly Brown.
Guest:It's a rapper.
Guest:And I was like, oh, tight.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Let's try that out.
Guest:And then we went to Sundance with it.
Guest:And lots of great things came from it.
Guest:But it was interesting to think that my trajectory was going to be exactly like someone else that was blonde and blue-eyed.
Guest:Like, of course, my trajectory would be like another American kid, right?
Guest:Right.
Guest:And that was very obvious and a sad reality, but then also kind of made me realize that not only did I want these specific dreams that were a little out of the box and going to be a little more difficult, but that there was a lot of girls, I'm sure, that felt that way.
Guest:And oh my goodness, the Latino community is really silenced.
Guest:And wow, this makes it very difficult for me to actually get roles that are outside our stereotypical roles because nobody kind of sees us differently than that.
Guest:And nobody's really
Guest:fighting for anything different.
Guest:And nobody's really saying anything about this.
Guest:So the complacency kind of just keeps us where we're at.
Guest:So I was like, well, I got to speak up.
Marc:Well, did you find yourself turning down roles?
Marc:100%.
Guest:Oh, yeah?
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Like what?
Guest:I mean, right when I came out of Sundance, I was offered roles that I turned down and my parents were like, what is your problem?
Guest:You're still broke.
Guest:I mean, to play stereotypical, like to play the maid or the gangbanger or the pregnant teen.
Guest:And I was like, listen, there is nothing wrong with being a maid.
Guest:There is nothing wrong with the roles that anybody works in, works hard to do their job.
Guest:But when you see them time and time again, you believe that that is the limit.
Guest:right to your existence why is it always these three roles why are we limited yeah and then you started questioning your your self-worth just like body dysmorphia you're like what the fuck is wrong with me yeah yeah like it must be me because i don't really understand and growing up in a household where i told her sisters that went out and did these ginormous things with their life and then to look on screen and be like but wait i can't play the doctor what do you why why couldn't i play that what do
Guest:talking about yeah my sister's a doctor yeah you know it's we wonder why I wonder if certain reflections of certain cultures were removed from the media if middle America would have extreme racism if they didn't weren't perpetually seeing images that were just
Guest:So one-sided.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Right.
Guest:You know, like, come on, you have to question.
Marc:And then when they do do ethnic casting, it's always a celebration of like, we got one.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:We have a Latino doctor.
Guest:We did it.
Guest:We did it.
Guest:We've arrived.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And nobody's really enforcing the necessity for that for the Latino community.
Guest:I mean, there are definitely people doing it.
Guest:I'm not saying I'm the only one.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:I'm just saying that, like, when I was growing up, there weren't as many voices.
Guest:The reason why Rita Moreno was so, you know...
Guest:So much a part of my ambition was because she was always speaking up about it.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:I mean, she never shies away from like, oh, I played that stereotypical role and that was all that was available to me.
Guest:And you have no idea how many times I played this shit.
Marc:But aren't things a little better?
Guest:For sure.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:For sure.
Marc:I mean, obviously since she was younger.
Marc:But I mean, it seems like because of the diversity of...
Marc:of the actual landscape, the media landscape, that there seems to be a lot more opportunity.
Guest:Yes, thank God.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:But it's still a challenge.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, if you look at the statistics, it's really still devastating.
Guest:I mean, in the past decade, 3% of leads were Latino.
Guest:In the past decade?
Guest:That's crazy.
Guest:How many movies do they make a year?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I mean, come on.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That's bananas.
Guest:So that's just kind of bananas, right?
Guest:It is.
Guest:It is, yeah.
Guest:You just stop and you're like, wow.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And listen, it's terrible for the Asian community as well.
Guest:It's terrible for lots of other minority groups that grew up in Chicago.
Guest:I mean, grew up in the States just like myself that are like, I don't see myself as any different.
Guest:This is wild.
Guest:Yeah, I'm an American person.
Guest:How was I just born into this like body that kind of like will deny me access to certain things?
Guest:Like how did that happen?
Marc:Right.
Guest:I feel like any, you know, like how...
Marc:How often do you have these conversations with people in the business?
Marc:I mean, it seems like, I know you talk about it publicly a lot, but are you still sort of like turning down roles occasionally?
Guest:Oh, for sure.
Guest:Because of that reason?
Guest:Well, no, just because I think either if there's somebody I think that's stronger to play the role, I'll always, you know, like I think we all have our stories and there's room for all of us.
Guest:Right.
Guest:I want everyone to succeed.
Guest:I don't need to be the only one.
Guest:I want to create avenues to help other Latinx, you know, artists succeed.
Guest:But it's still very difficult because it's very difficult.
Guest:It's very difficult to want to.
Guest:stretch your wings and try roles that, you know, sometimes are not allotted to you or your demographic or your culture or your skin tone.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:I think it's very, it's very important to do what you're doing because it's just, especially now because of this, this horrible turn this country has taken.
Guest:Yeah, I think like right now we've got to speak some truth where there's like a lot of negativity being spoken.
Marc:And what are some of the projects you're working on as a producer?
Guest:We have two shows by great Latino writers.
Guest:Comedies?
Guest:One's a comedy about a young undocumented kid that finds out he's undocumented when he's like 16 years old.
Guest:And so his life is pretty shocked because he doesn't see any other life besides the American life.
Marc:Yeah, I don't that story is something you hear about, but you don't haven't seen it.
Guest:So our writer, Rafa Agustin, this is his real life story.
Guest:And it's funny.
Guest:And it's, you know, it doesn't shed guilt or like the pain of guilt on anyone.
Guest:It just kind of lets you in on.
Guest:it almost feels like everybody hates chris or like wonder years it's just letting you in on a slice of life right and it's very funny and very light and um i think it helps bring tolerance in a way that like you can just enjoy the funniness i feel like the same way jane the virgin does where we like highlight things that are very uh can be very delicate like immigration and women's rights but we do it in a way that's like hmm
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And what's going on with that show?
Guest:Well, we're going to, we are trying to sell it.
Guest:We are currently trying to sell it.
Guest:You know, it is, like I said, it's difficult to sell oranges to somebody who's the decision maker and has never had oranges before.
Guest:You know?
Marc:But there's so many, you know.
Guest:So we're going to find the people that are down to try oranges for the first time or that they've had them before.
Marc:Is that a great metaphor for a Latino to be the one selling oranges?
Guest:Oh my goodness.
Guest:Is that what I did?
Guest:No, I didn't do that to make, that's not the reference.
Guest:Oh God.
Guest:but like it you know or apple pie and like come on like the most of you know um but it's true right right it is it is what it is you're selling you're selling something that the decision makers aren't always how are people responding um well we're we're in the landscape right now yeah i'm knee deep in it right now yeah and what's the other thing
Guest:It's a medical drama with a Robin Hood-like doctor that came over from Cuba that can't do medicine here.
Guest:Yeah, we've gone through the whole development process, so we've got to...
Guest:We're in the thick of it.
Marc:That's exciting.
Guest:It is exciting.
Guest:It is exciting.
Guest:It's a challenge, but I am not a stranger to know or reject.
Marc:And you have a production partner?
Marc:I do.
Guest:She's fantastic.
Guest:She also has a very like-minded desire to create tolerance with art.
Marc:That's great.
Marc:And what's this other movie, this Miss Bala?
Guest:Oh, that's an action film that I shot this summer in Mexico that is a remake of the original Miss Bala.
Guest:And we had the blessing of the same producers that made the original film that was a Mexican movie.
Guest:And we've made it in... It's like, I would say, more of an homage to it.
Guest:It's not very...
Marc:What's it about?
Guest:It is about a girl that goes down to Mexico to see her friend, and she used to live there.
Guest:She used to live in Tijuana because of her family.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And she goes back down to see her friend to help her that's trying to join.
Guest:I'm trying to partake in a pageant, the Miss Bala pageant, and the night before they start the rehearsals, a terrible situation happens, and I go on the hunt to try to rescue my friend.
Marc:Wow.
Guest:Yeah, it's very cool.
Marc:Have you ever spent that much time in Mexico?
No.
Guest:um not at once but i've been to mexico i mean growing up my best friend was mexican and so every summer she'd go back and i went with her so many times all over i mean i've been everywhere in mexico but we shot in tijuana people oh tijuana that's yeah that's kind of rough isn't it no it was actually lovely i love tijuana so much and tijuana is a very interesting space because you know when you see that's the stereotypical kind of white guy response like ah border town it's gotta be i think i
Guest:I think Tijuana was dangerous.
Guest:That's my recollection.
Guest:It's definitely changing and it has wonderful food.
Guest:They're like food scene.
Marc:I hear Mexico City is like the place.
Guest:I mean it's beautiful.
Guest:Mexico City is amazing.
Guest:Tijuana was like it was an eye opener to seeing the like it's like either a step a step
Guest:towards your dreams or like being pushed back from them.
Guest:And you really feel that feeling.
Guest:Like when you meet people there that had just been deported, that was family.
Guest:Like there was this young man.
Guest:I'm sorry, he wasn't a young man.
Guest:He was a father and probably about to be a grandfather.
Guest:But his daughter, his youngest daughter was graduating from UCLA with honors.
Guest:And he had just recently gotten deported.
Guest:He was showing me pictures of the pictures they had sent of her walking down...
Guest:And it was just devastating because he was such an awesome guy.
Guest:He worked at the hotel that I was staying at the whole time.
Guest:And he was such a, you know, just a lovely dad.
Guest:He was just like a lovely old dude that just like just got sent away.
Marc:Pulled out of his life for no reason.
Guest:Yeah, because of fear.
Guest:Because of fear.
Guest:Because of people's fear, you know, and their lack of deciding to educate themselves.
Guest:They just continue to fear.
Guest:And they like make actions that hurt people and hurt families.
Marc:Because they say it's the law.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And, you know, like, I don't know.
Guest:That's all such a delicate subject.
Guest:I mean, being Puerto Rican and not having that experience firsthand, I feel like I'm not the most appropriate person to talk about it.
Guest:But I can say that that's my family.
Guest:That's my like the Mexican community.
Marc:And you can say that, like, you know, after a certain point, someone's American.
Marc:Whether the paperwork is there or not, if they do right by the rules of America after 15, 30, 40 years, you're going to what?
Guest:Yeah, you're going to just take them away from their family.
Guest:I think that empathy is something that's been lost pretty heavily these days.
Guest:Like, God forbid any of us would have to leave this country and are not accepted in a place that we would deem sanctuary.
Guest:My God.
Guest:How devastating.
Guest:I mean, you just stop to think, like, can you stop for one second and think about what that would feel like?
Guest:if we had to leave here you had to leave your home where you call home where you are the one who's like high in command with your you know like your privilege of being american and now you have to go to another country and they don't really want you to be there and they want to kick you out and push you to somewhere that's dangerous um and somewhere maybe that you don't even know that you don't even call home anymore that's right yeah it's a you know it's a horrible uh reality but it's something that has happened before and it doesn't end well
Guest:And it's not happening just to Latinos.
Guest:It's happening to lots of other cultures.
Guest:And it's real.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And speaking out is important and voting.
Guest:Voting.
Marc:Hopefully the voting will work.
Guest:Hopefully we saw.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Hopefully we saw what.
Guest:Oh, man.
Guest:Hopefully we saw what happens when you don't vote.
Marc:That's right.
Marc:Or you're short sighted.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So how many more episodes of Jane do you have left to shoot?
Guest:I have till the end of March.
Guest:So I think I'm like, I'm on like 13.
Guest:I have like four or five more to go.
Marc:And then you're going to run around and do press for Annihilation?
Guest:Well, Annihilation comes out in like three weeks.
Guest:So I have to do press now.
Guest:This is what I'm doing.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:How many deep in like the Annihilation press?
Yeah.
Marc:And the Miss Bala movie, when's that?
Guest:I think that comes out towards the end of this year.
Marc:All right.
Marc:So how did this work out for you, this conversation?
Marc:Did it work out?
Guest:It did.
Guest:It's cool.
Guest:I want to come back on again.
Guest:I want to talk to you in 10 years.
Marc:About what's happened?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:We can come back earlier if you want.
Guest:Yeah, I would love that, too.
Marc:Yeah, you can now be a friend of the show, and you're like, hey.
Guest:Already a huge, ridiculous fan.
Marc:Hey, it's Gina, and we need to, you know, I want to come talk about this thing I'm working on.
Guest:That's awesome.
Marc:And I'll be like, all right.
Guest:So we should tell everybody then to go see Annihilation.
Guest:Sure.
Guest:Because it is a specific movie for sure.
Guest:Right.
Marc:Well, maybe I'll even watch it before we post this and I can make some comments before.
Guest:I would be very interested in hearing what those were.
Guest:My favorite was listening to you talk to Darren Aronofsky, not a finishing mother.
Guest:Did that work out for you?
Marc:Some people got mad at me.
Guest:I loved it.
Guest:I love that you're so honest.
Guest:Just please don't ever stop being honest.
Marc:I didn't know what to tell him.
Marc:I tried.
Guest:It was just the best.
Guest:I said to my boyfriend, I was like, I just have a feeling he's not going to be able to see Annihilation.
Guest:And Joe said, he'll tell you.
Guest:He's the one that put me on to you a few years ago.
Guest:And it was the best thing he ever did.
Guest:I'm never alone in the car anymore because of you.
Marc:Oh, good.
Marc:Tell me about this guy.
Guest:The greatest.
Guest:The boyfriend?
Guest:I met him on Jane.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:He came on Jane.
Guest:He was an actor.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He had a guest star on Jane.
Guest:And then six months later, after London, after shooting Annihilation in London and shaving off my hair and feeling like a very unattractive and very unlike myself, I went back to the gym, back to the boxing gym.
Guest:And he came in the first day I came back.
Guest:And I was like, damn, who is this?
Guest:And then my trainer was like, he was on your show.
Yeah.
Marc:I didn't even remember.
Guest:No, because he played Don Quixote.
Guest:He was like in his outfit.
Guest:And then he came up to me and said hello.
Guest:And then I saw him the day after and the day after and the day after.
Guest:And then I asked him out.
Guest:And then we've been dating ever since.
Marc:That was still pretty new.
Guest:Like almost two years.
Marc:Oh, two years ago you shot Annihilation.
Marc:I forget that there's so far.
Marc:Two years, that's not nothing.
Guest:My hair shows our relationship, the hair growth from my shape in the movie.
Marc:So is he working a lot too?
Guest:Yeah, he makes his own stuff.
Guest:He's like the real deal.
Marc:Oh yeah?
Guest:He just made a movie called Loose Cannons with his buddy.
Guest:I have a little cameo.
Guest:What's his name?
Guest:His name is Joe LoCicero.
Guest:I got an Italian from Long Island.
Guest:No, that's great.
Guest:Yeah, he's incredible.
Marc:Those guys are always characters of one kind or another.
Guest:He's so smart.
Guest:He's such a good writer and such a good actor, and he's going to go and premiere his movie at a festival this weekend.
Guest:Oh, good.
Marc:Well, that sounds fun.
Guest:Yeah, it's fun.
Guest:There you go.
Guest:And that's all that love's supposed to be, I think.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:It should just be fun.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:People should just add to your life.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I think that's true.
Marc:I just don't think I know how to have fun in general.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:No, no, no.
Guest:I mean.
Marc:I got to work on that.
Guest:I have a good voice that tells me to not have fun.
Guest:She's very loud and very present.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But when I remind myself, then it's good.
Marc:Well, I'm going to start doing that.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Just take those moments.
Marc:I'll use your voice.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Use mine.
Marc:To remind me to have fun.
Guest:Have fun, Mark.
Marc:Great.
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:Nice talking to you.
Guest:Nice talking to you.
Marc:Okay, that's it.
Marc:That was a lovely chat.
Marc:I enjoyed that.
Marc:As I said, you know, that's her new movie, Annihilation, out the 23rd.
Marc:And yeah, Jane the Virgin, new episodes coming in March.
Marc:Now, I shouldn't play guitar because I know that we got to get a couple of episodes in the can and my producer, Brendan McDonald, doesn't want to do more work.
Marc:I don't need him cutting, worrying about cutting because he's going to, you know, he's going to
Marc:take a trip with his family, so we've got to get a couple episodes in the can.
Marc:I don't want to make it more work by putting a guitar on there for him to edit.
Marc:So I'm not going to do it.
Marc:You're going to have to live without my three chords today.
Marc:All right?
Marc:All right?
Marc:Boomer lives!
you