Actor Luis Guzmán has joined the cast of the independent film Miles Away by Puerto Rican filmmaker Jacquelyn Quinones, who makes her feature directorial debut.

Written and executive produced by Quinones, the movie is a dramedy about resilience using ridesharing as a backdrop. It tells the story of a dreamer making ends meet as a rideshare driver who is on a collision course with reality as she struggles with the hardship of poverty, bad decisions and a mentally ill sister. 

Guzmán praises Quinones as a “new voice for a new generation” that defies stereotypical roles in her work. “(I’m) excited to be part of this project,” says the Code Black actor. “Her work personifies the social and cultural diversity reminiscent of the now and necessary for the future,” adds thespian, who like Quinones is also Puerto Rican. “She is an insightful creative, her work transcends stereotypes. Miles Away finds a unique harmony toeing the line of conventional storytelling and inventive hybrid genre narratives focusing on social change.”

This is not the first time the two Puertorriqueños collaborate. Guzman starred in Louey & Bri TV, a 2020 comedy series produced by Quinones where the actor plays an unconventional psychotherapist and which streams on YouTube.

Luis Guzmán and Al Pacino in the 1993 film Carlito’s Way (Photo: Univeral Pictures)

Born in Puerto Rico’s mountain town of Carey and raised in New York, Guzmán is a prolific and award-winning actor whose decades-long career includes working with some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors. The Boricua has starred in multiple-Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh‘s films Out of Sight, Traffic and The Limey and multiple-Oscar nominee Paul Thomas Anderson‘s films Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He has also been featured in the Netflix series Narcos and Showtime series Roadies. He has been nominated three times for the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for the movies Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Traffic, earning the prize for the latter in 2000. He has also won two Imagen Awards. 

Luis Guzmán, center, Jason Sudeikis and Will Poulter in the 2013 comedy movie We’re the Millers (Photo: Warner Bros.)

Most recently, Guzman worked in the Starz series Hightown and the AMC stop-action animated series Ultra City Smiths. 

Guzman joins Miles Away as the film is already in production and features several other Latino actors who have appeared in prominent Latino-themed projects. Also starring are Andre Royo (The Spectacular Now), Noel Gugliemi (The Fast and The Furious), Alberto Frezza (Station 19), Norma Maldonado (Jane The Virgin), Henri Esteve (Grownish), Jennifer Bartels (American Woman), Eddie Martinez (The Sinner), Jessica Sarah Flaum (The Tale), Marilyn Camacho (Never and Again) and Charo Toledo (East Los High).

Using humor and taking place in a day in the life of a rideshare driver, Miles Away tackles various social and health issues such as the disparity between the rich and the poor, the American dream and the state of mental health in the United States. Short vignettes of passengers all feed into the story of the driver learning to deal with no money, a thankless job and a sister with mental illness. 

The dramedy is the first feature of Cue Shot Productions, a Quinones’ company.

Guzmán is repped by Supersonix PR’s Veronica Buenrostro. Quinones is repped by Espada PR & Entertainment.