Jacob Vargas and Jaime Camil will appear in the upcoming thriller Kimi, a thriller directed by Academy Award-winner Steven Soderbergh that is set in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic in Los Angeles.
Penned by David Koepp, whose writing credits include Jurassic Park, Carlito’s Way and Spider-Man, the feature centers on an agoraphobic tech worker Angela Childs (Zoë Kravitz) who discovers evidence of a crime during her routine revision of sound files while working from home. After reporting to her superiors but failing to convince them to take immediate action, Angela feels forced to step out into a world of chaos as L.A. faces protest against a city ordinance that limits the movement of homeless people in an effort to contain the deadly pandemic. But in order to complete her mission, Angela must face her fear of the outdoors.
Mexican-born actors Vargas and Camil co-star alongside Kravitz and Rita Wilson, who plays Angela’s boss. Other cast members include India de Beaufort, Emily Kuroda, Byron Bowers, Derek DelGaudio, Erika Christensen, Devin Ratray, Andy Daly, Robin Givens and Charles Halford.
This is not the first time that Vargas works with Soderbergh. A native of the Mexican state of Michoacán and raised in the L.A. community of Pacoima, Vargas was featured in Traffic, the acclaimed 2000 feature about Mexico’s drug wars that won four Oscars, including one for Benicio del Toro. In the film, Vargas played the partner of Del Toro’s character.
Vargas would join Soderbergh once again two decades later in Mosaic, the 2017 HBO crime series based on the murder of Olivia Lake, a popular children’s book author and illustrator.
Vargas’ introduction to acting was a role as a breakdancer in the popular TV show Diff’rent Strokes in 1978, which led him to pursue acting. He appeared in the films Mi Vida Loca and My Family, in 1993 and 1995, respectively.
Vargas went on to star in the features Selena, Get Shorty, American Me and Next Friday. His most recent credits include FX’s crime thriller series Mayans MC and Netflix’s comedy series Mr. Iglesias.
For Camil, this will be his first collaboration with Soderbergh. He is best known playing Fernando Mendiola in the Mexican telenovela La Fea Más Bella, Mexico’s version of Ugly Betty, and Rogelio de la Vega in CW series Jane the Virgin, which earned him two Teen Choice Awards, one Imagen Award and two nominations for the Critics’ Choice Television Award.
Kimi is a co-production of New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. It is set to be released on HBO Max Feb. 10.