by Roberto Leal
Ramon Rodriguez returns to broadcast television in the title role in ABC’s upcoming crime / drama series, Will Trent, as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) special agent. The series premieres on January 3 on ABC.
Rodriguez got his star on television with his first series regular in ABC’s Day Break. From there he went on to make to short live series Charlie’s Angels and Fox’s Gang Related. Meanwhile on film fans followed his trajectory in films such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Taking of Pelham 123 and Battle Los Angeles.
As Rodríguez embarks on his latest television series, which he also produces, he eloquently and enthusiastically spoke to Latin Heat about his artistic journey and emotional investment in creating a unique character for the TV series.
Discovering Will Trent
Rodríguez recalls he did not initially seek out the role of Will Trent:
“I had just done a project with Hulu. I know some of the executives and have a history with them and they wanted to do something else with me and they presented me with Will Trent.”
The TV show, Will Trent, is based on author Karen Slaughter’s popular series of novels on the Atlanta-based special agent. Will Trent, who was abandoned as a child, grew up in the Atlanta foster care system, has dyslexia but overcame those obstacles to attain the highest clearance rate in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Rodríguez admits he was not familiar with slaughter’s books but immersed himself in them and found Will Trent to be an attractive and appealing character.
He recalls, “I met with the showrunners, Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen, and we had several creative dialogs on how to approach the material, where we want to take the show, how to portray Will Trent and how to best develop a compelling character,”
“A big part of it for me,” adds Rodríguez, “is the chance to produce and be a part of the early on dialogs about the show.”
The Puzzle Master
There were several factors that drew Rodríguez to the character of Will Trent:
“I found Will Trent to be a most interesting character,” says Rodríguez, “He had a difficult childhood growing up an abandoned orphan in the Atlanta foster care system. He experienced a lot of traumas and carries a lot of scars. He’s dyslexic. But despite all that, Will manages to rise to the highest levels in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation earning its highest clearance rate”
Rodríguez refers to Trent as a Puzzle Master because, despite his dyslexia, he can come onto a crime scene and see things others miss. Trent takes the puzzle pieces and creates a collage or story to solve the hidden mystery of a crime.
“We have created a visual language,” says Rodríguez, “to portray to the audience how Will sees things.”
Unlike Sherlock Holmes, Columbo and Hercule Poirot, who employ linear, logical geometrical deductive reasoning to solve crimes, Trent uses an unconventional, asymmetrical approach to reconstruct and deconstruct a crime scene.
Vulnerabilities
People with dyslexia are often wrongly characterized as being not very intelligent because they often have great difficulty reading. Will Trent has suffered with this all his life, but has developed coping methods to deal with it; visual aids, colors, color coded files, etc. But sometimes his dyslexia completely betrays him.
“We sometimes show Will really struggling with his dyslexia,” says Rodríguez. “There are times when he simply cannot read, and we show his frustration. Will is ashamed of his visual liability and works hard to keep it from being revealed.”
A Three-Dimensional Character in a Three-Piece Suit
According to Rodríguez, “Will is the kind of guy who loves working a crime scene. He lives for this stuff, and it sometimes creates tension between himself and the Atlanta Police Force.”
To present himself as a guy in charge and in control of the situation, he always shows up wearing a natty three-piece suit that gives him the aura of respectability, authority and being on top of things.
“I love Will’s outlook on life, his point of view and how he sees things differently than others do,” says Rodríguez. “Here’s a guy who grew up alone. Nobody helped him and yet because of his tragic childhood he is someone who cares and wants to help others in need.”
Rodríguez shares, “in the pilot we demonstrate this quality when will adopts a chihuahua dog he doesn’t like or want but can’t stand the idea of it being left alone and helpless like he was. This immediately shows the heart and I love that. This guy has a lot of heart.
Atlanta As A Character
Will Trent is shot on location in Atlanta, Georgia because as Rodríguez points out, “The novels take place in Atlanta. We shoot on location here in Atlanta, so the city is a real character. We want to capture that energy, heat and vibe,” explains Rodríguez. “Our stories are mostly Atlanta-based stories. In one episode we tell a story that takes place at a lake here that has a history that we mine for a story.”
Atlanta is rapidly becoming a center of entertainment production. Rodríguez indicates that the show is surrounded by so much talent. In addition to Rodríguez, the cast of Will Trent features Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, Jake McLaughlin and Sonja Sohn .
Executive producers are Liz Heldens, Daniel Thomsen, Karin Slaughter and Oly Obst. Ramón Rodríguez is a producer and the star of Will Trent. His tireless dedication and commitment to the character of Will Trent results in a relatable special agent who is resilient in the face of his adversities and liabilities, a relentless unorthodox crime solver but ultimately tempered and defined by his innate sense of decency and genuine humanity.
In the pilot episode of Will Trent premieres on ABC on January 3, Special Agent Will Trent relies on his keen instincts and unique experience to uncover the truth when a murder investigation reveals there’s more to the story than meets the eye.