By Bel Hernandez
Clayton Cardenas has been cast to star opposite Taraji P. Henson in Time Alone, a feature based on Oscar Nominated writer Alessandro Camon’s play of the same name. Camon is also set to direct with Henson as one of the producers. Production is set to begin shooting July in Los Angeles.
Deadline broke the news that Cardenas will play Gabriel, a man convicted of killing a rival gang member. Along the way, he meets Anna (Hensen) the grieving mother of a murdered police officer…both facing isolation in different forms.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Clayton on a film that means so much to both of us, and to everyone involved,” Camon is quoted in Deadline. “Clayton’s powerful work in Mayans MC brought his talent to a wide audience, but I’m a believer from the early days. He has the heart of a warrior, and the soul of a poet.”
Cardenas was originally slated to play Gabriel in 2017 in the Belle Rêve production of Time Alone when it premiered at Los Angeles Theater Center, however, a scheduling conflict prevented him from doing the role on stage. Time Alone did go on to win the Stage Raw Award and Critics Award for Best Play for that production.
Cardenas will also serve as executive producer for Time Alone along with Jason Tamasco and Zak Kristofek of Traction Pictures. Cardenas’ manager with Marni Rosenzweig is also producing with Suzanne Warren and Todd Black. Motus Studios is providing the financing along with Oakhurst Entertainment.
Clayton, knew all along he would eventually get a chance to play the role of Gabriel. “I had a gut instinct I would be portraying this character.” In fact, he had known the role was his for a while, as he stated in his recent Instagram post. “The few in my circle have known about this for a few years now. Excited to work with this team and ready to rock with @tarajiphenson.”
Cardenas made his mark in Hollywood as Angel Reyes in the drama Mayans M.C., among other TV credits. He leads the cast along with JD Pardo who plays his little brother on the FX drama now in its fourth season. The multi-talented actor is also an artist and spoken word poet.
Cardenas is repped by The Rosenzweig Group and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis