The Fast & Furious actor brings his famous recurring screen identity into a different position of power in the atmospheric prison mystery, while opening up about its haunted location, Latino representation and the hard lessons he has learned in Hollywood.

Hollywood’s “Hector” Returns

Noel Gugliemi has spent more than three decades becoming one of Hollywood’s most recognizable Latino character actors, often before audiences even knew his name. His face has appeared across studio blockbusters, crime dramas, comedies and television, frequently as a figure who enters a scene already carrying an implied history.

Online, Gugliemi is nearly as famous for repeatedly playing characters named Hector as he is for any individual film. Beginning most famously with the street-race organizer in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, he has carried the name through numerous unrelated films and television series. Fans have even dubbed his loosely connected body of roles the “Hector Cinematic Universe.”

Gugliemi explained the pattern bluntly during an appearance on Drink Champs: “In Hollywood, they only know two names for Mexican actors, bro. It’s Hector and Carlos.”

After receiving scripts filled with those two names throughout his career, Gugliemi eventually embraced Hector as his signature and began requesting the name himself whenever he had the influence to do so. What began as repeated Latino typecasting became an instantly recognizable personal brand with genuine pop-culture staying power.

After receiving scripts filled with those two names throughout his career, Gugliemi eventually embraced Hector as his signature and began requesting the name himself whenever he had the influence to do so. What began as repeated Latino typecasting became an instantly recognizable personal brand with genuine pop-culture staying power.

Time of Death adds Hector Ramos to that legacy, but with an important reversal. This time, Gugliemi is not being typecast as a prisoner or gang member. He is one of the guards controlling the prison and a key figure in the mystery surrounding a vanished inmate, which is central to the film’s story.

“This time I’m the guard, not the prisoner,” Gugliemi told Latin Heat. “So that worked for me.”

A Mystery Buried Inside a Decaying Prison

Directed by Will Wernick, Time of Death stars Jack Ryan franchise star and HBO Max The Penguin actor Michael Kelly as Detective Frank Morley, who is sent to a decaying prison on the verge of shutdown after a prisoner vanishes without a trace.

What begins with the familiar machinery of a police investigation steadily develops into a more disorienting psychological mystery as Morley’s search for facts destabilizes his grasp on what is real. The story combines the propulsion of a missing-person investigation with the atmosphere of Gothic prison horror. Screenwriter Jason Rosen deserves particular credit for the film’s intelligent, layered writing and for giving Gugliemi a substantial role woven directly into the central mystery.

Legendary Usual Suspects actor Kevin Pollak brings decades of dramatic and thriller experience to Warden Beau LaRue; Meanwhile, known for his work on iconic films like Heat, and more recently Send Help, Dennis Haysbert lends his unmistakable authority to Officer Aarons; and American Pie franchise actress Mena Suvari appears as Dr. Allison Burrell.

For Gugliemi, whose extensive filmography also includes Training Day, Bruce Almighty, S.W.A.T., Crank and The Dark Knight Rises, he easily becomes part of that formidable ensemble star cast of actors, placing one of cinema’s most recognizable street-level character actors alongside performers whose voices and faces carry their own immediate weight.

During an exclusive interview with Latin Heat, Gugliemi spoke about making Time of Death, the puzzle at the center of its story and the camaraderie behind its grim setting. The conversation then widened into an powerfully candid discussion of Latino representation, the difference between visibility and genuine support, and the personal code that has allowed him to survive Hollywood long enough to tell the difference.

Becoming Hector Ramos

For a film built around uncertainty, Gugliemi is an ideal piece of the ensemble. Audiences immediately recognize the toughness and authenticity he brings into the frame, but Hector’s exact position within the mystery is less easily read.

“I like doing different films that are different from things that I’ve done before,” Gugliemi said. “I like the thriller, suspense side of it all. And just me being a prison guard—this time I’m the guard, not the prisoner.”

“I love doing out-of-the-box stuff, so getting to be a part of this film was an awesome experience, especially with the cast that we had and the location we were filming at.”

Hector works closely with the prison’s senior authority figures, played by Pollak and Haysbert.

“My character was the right-hand man of the two main prison guards there—the warden, Kevin Pollak, and Dennis Haysbert,” Gugliemi explained. “I was kind of like the right-hand man of those two.”

“I love that stuff where I’m the go-to guy and the one that’s making a lot of this stuff happen, because I’m the guinea pig in the story.”

Despite Hector’s proximity to those in power, Gugliemi said his character does not have a complete understanding of what is unfolding around him.

“I kind of knew what was going on, but didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “At the same time, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I was part of the reveal later. So it was cool.”

A Puzzle That Demands the Audience’s Attention

Gugliemi sees the film as one that requires active participation from its audience, rewarding viewers who pay attention to details that only become fully legible once its pieces converge.

“It’s kind of like a figure-it-out puzzle as you’re watching the film,” he said. “You’ve got to put your thinking cap on, because you don’t really know what’s up until the end.”

“It’s one of those movies where you really have to keep on your toes, because if you miss a certain part, it’s not going to make sense. It’s one of those puzzles you’ve got to put together.”

Its prison setting turns the investigation into a pressure chamber, tightening the mystery until its late revelations force earlier moments to be reconsidered.

“It definitely has you wondering: Who did this? Who got away with that? What’s going on in the prison? What’s happening here?” Gugliemi said. “You don’t get it until you watch the end—then you get it.”

Filming Where “It All Went Down”

Production took place inside the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, a Gothic stone facility that operated for more than a century. The prison witnessed executions by hanging and electric chair before closing, and now operates as a museum and tourist attraction known in part for its reported paranormal activity.

“We were at a real joint where it all went down,” Gugliemi said. “It’s a museum now, so they can walk you through it and tell you, ‘This death happened here, and that happened there.’ We got to hear and see some of that stuff firsthand.”

That physical authenticity gives Time of Death a scale and texture that would be difficult to reproduce on a conventional stage. The heavy stone, aging cells and execution history are not decorative production design; they are part of the environment surrounding the performances. The film’s most unsettling asset was already standing before the cameras arrived.

“They actually say it was a haunted prison,” Gugliemi recalled. “We didn’t have any incidents on set, but just to walk around it, you could feel the presence and how creepy it was.”

The Complicated Legacy of Hollywood’s “Hector”

The ease with which audiences associate Gugliemi with a particular kind of role makes him an especially revealing figure through whom to consider Latino representation.

His performances brought specificity and authenticity to characters that might otherwise have been anonymous stereotypes. At the same time, the repetition exposes the limited imagination with which Latino men have often been cast: criminality becomes not merely one story they can inhabit, but the default language through which the industry recognizes them.

The “Hector Cinematic Universe” joke sits directly inside that contradiction. It celebrates Gugliemi’s extraordinary recognizability and endurance while also revealing how routinely Hollywood recycles the same names, visual codes and assumptions when constructing Latino men.

Gugliemi has been savvy enough to turn that limitation into a career-long signature. The industry’s lack of imagination remains visible underneath the meme.

His own path into acting was anything but conventional. Of Mexican and Italian descent, Gugliemi was abandoned by his parents and experienced homelessness as a teenager before acting redirected the course of his life.

What began unexpectedly grew into a career spanning well over 100 screen credits. His role as Hector in The Fast and the Furious became the decisive acceleration point, making both his face and that character name part of popular culture.

Social Media Has Opened New Doors

“Now with Latino acting, it’s a lot different because of social media,” Gugliemi said. “A lot of people are blooming more than they were in the past because now we have an open gateway to be seen, to be heard, to tell our stories and catch people’s attention.”

“I like that things like that are happening.”

Yet access to an audience does not automatically create access to sustainable opportunity. Nor does the increased public language around representation prove that those who use it have consistently opened doors for others.

Gugliemi draws a sharp distinction between visibility and solidarity, and between appearing supportive in public and taking meaningful action when no one is watching.

“Where Are All of Our Latino Films?”

Speaking candidly, Gugliemi said some of the most important support in his own career came from outside the Latino community.

“Back in the early days, not a lot of Latinos helped Latinos,” he said. “I would be lying to you if I told you different. I got farther in this business because of Black and white people than my own people.”

His criticism shifts part of the conversation away from an exclusively external demand that Hollywood do better. Gugliemi also asks what Latino professionals who have attained influence have done with it.

For him, the scarcity of Latino-led films is not an abstract statistic. It is evidence of opportunities that were not created, careers that were not developed and power that was not passed forward.

“Where’s my proof? Where are all of our Latino films?” he asked. “We don’t have a lot of Latino films out there.”

“Back in the early days, I could name about 50 white movie stars and 50 Black movie stars, but you could only name about 10 or fewer Latino stars.”

Calling Out Performative Advocacy

Gugliemi is particularly skeptical of public advocacy that, in his view, is not matched by a person’s conduct or history when the cameras are off.

“Now that social media has come out and we cannot be ignored, people want to jump on the bandwagon and say, ‘It was always about our people,’” Gugliemi said. “No, it wasn’t—because if it was, where are our Latino films from back then, when you had power?”

In an industry where the language of representation can itself become part of a public image, Gugliemi said he has learned not to accept the right message as automatic evidence of the right behavior.

“When I see people on a podcast, a radio interview or in a magazine, I don’t know if I can get behind you because I don’t know you personally enough to know if you’re really about what you’re saying,” he explained.

“I thank you for saying the right stuff, but I don’t know if you’re really about that off camera the way you talk about it on camera.”

Praising Real Ones & Latino Trailblazers

That distinction allows Gugliemi to identify the people he believes have handled success correctly. Among the Latino performers whom he considers authentic in both their accomplishments and their willingness to support others, he specifically named Emilio Rivera and Danny Trejo.

Both actors built careers from the kinds of roles Hollywood frequently assigns Latino men, yet expanded their presence far beyond any single archetype and remained, in Gugliemi’s estimation, accessible and real.

“My platform is not my platform,” Gugliemi said. “My platform is to give my platform to someone else, pass the baton, help people succeed and let them know that you can do what I’m doing.”

“This is for everyone.”

“Emilio Rivera is one of them. Danny Trejo—that’s another one,” he continued. “These are guys who are men of integrity and have done it correctly. They’re real ones in the game.”

Learning to Protect a Good Heart

Gugliemi’s advice to young Latino actors is grounded in his own experience helping performers through Suspect Entertainment, which worked to place Latino talent in film and television.

He initially gave that time freely, connecting people to rooms they could not have entered alone because he wanted to see others succeed. .

“It’s okay to have a good heart, but you’ve got to know how to protect your heart,” Gugliemi said. “You’ve got to know who you’re helping and why.”

“You might be helping the wrong person achieve some goals and putting someone in a spot who shouldn’t be in that spot.”

His decision to charge for that work was not a rejection of community. It was a boundary: if someone proved disloyal or simply quit, he would no longer be left carrying the full cost of the time he had invested.

“Do a heart check and a personality check first before you help anybody,” he said. “Be careful. Recognize who you’re dealing with, who you’re talking to, who you’re messing with and who you shouldn’t be messing with.”

Integrity as a Path Forward

Gugliemi’s larger lesson is not to stop helping or to treat every relationship with suspicion. It is to move with integrity, evaluate character before extending opportunity and expect the same standard from others.

“Watch out for slime, and don’t be slimy yourself,” he said. “You know how you move forward in any business? Just be a man of integrity. Do what you say. If you say something, do it.”

For Gugliemi, integrity is not merely a private virtue. It is also how lasting professional relationships are built.

“That’s why people want to do favors for you and advance you, because people go, ‘I can trust this guy. He’s a man of integrity. She’s a woman of integrity,’” he said. “People naturally want to do favors.”

“And be nice to everybody. I don’t care if you’re the one washing the windows on the building or you own the building.”

The Film That Changed Everything

The Fast and the Furious remains the film Gugliemi credits with changing the momentum of his career.

“After Fast and the Furious, my phone started ringing a lot more,” he said. “That’s what kicked off the roller-coaster ride.”

The role gave him reach and longevity, but his ambitions now extend beyond waiting for Hollywood to imagine him differently. He is developing projects of his own that deliberately move him outside the criminal and street-oriented roles that made him recognizable.

Creating Roles Hollywood Has Not Offered Him

“I’m writing a film right now,” Gugliemi revealed. “It’s kind of like Pretty Woman. It’s a love story and a fish-out-of-water story.”

“The way I explain it in three sentences or less is: a gangster who works at a five-star restaurant steals Hollywood’s biggest main squeeze.”

He is also developing a faith-centered documentary that would allow audiences to see a different side of him.

“I’m also working on a documentary called What Is a Christian? I’m the host of that,” Gugliemi said. “There are stories I’m writing that are breaking character and putting me in a different limelight.”

“Because I always say that if no one is going to give you the opportunity, give the opportunity to yourself.”

That impulse toward self-determination connects the two sides of Gugliemi’s conversation. His criticism of Latino representation is ultimately about who receives the power to create opportunity, while his career advice is about what a person does once that power arrives.

It is not enough to be visible. Someone must use that visibility to widen the frame for other Latinos.

Hector Holds the Keys in ‘Time of Death’

For now, Time of Death offers audiences a different view of Gugliemi within the kind of dark, high-stakes world he knows how to command.

The film does not attempt to erase the screen identity he spent decades building. It shifts his position within it—from the man seemingly limited by his environment and his role, now in control of it. Something that at this stage of his career, Gugliemi seems adamant to represent behind the camera as well in his real life.

Hector may be another familiar name in Gugliemi’s filmography, but this time he holds the keys.

That combination makes Time of Death a particularly fitting new chapter in his career. It delivers the “Hector” audiences immediately recognize, places him within a polished ensemble mystery led by Kelly, Pollak, Haysbert and Suvari, and surrounds them with a real location whose history intensifies the film’s psychological unease.

For viewers encountering him through the film, Hector Ramos is an entry point into a career—and a larger conversation about representation—that extends far beyond the prison walls of the film, and the walls of Hollywood.

Time of Death is now available to rent or purchase on major digital platforms.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood’s “Hector” Noel Gugliemi Takes the Keys in ‘Time of Death’ first appeared on .

COMMENTARY By Bel Hernandez

Sitting “al fresco” at the community screening of Eva Longoria’s directorial debut Flamin Hot (releasing June 9, 2023), at Los Ángeles cultural center La Plaza de Cultura Y Artes was such a beautiful experience! 

Over 1000 men, women, and children, mostly Latino audience seeing themselves reflected on screen.  It was an amazing thing to witness.  As I looked around at the audience I saw grown men watching the screen with wonder. The ladies hooting and hollering when the female character took charge, while the children watched and giggled along. I turned to look back and saw a wave community collectively feeling what representation on screen feels and looks like, as they watch a Latino-themed, all-Latino cast film directed by Longoria and produced by the man that saw its potential Devon Franklin (Miracles from Heaven). 

This inspiring true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), a Frito Lay janitor who disrupted the food industry by channeling his Mexican heritage to turn Flamin’ Hot Cheetos from a snack into an iconic global pop culture phenomenon.  He along with his wife Judy (Annie Gonzalez) knew how our community loves to spice up any food with a little bit of “chile”.  He saw an opportunity and took it. Back in the early 1990’s Montañez convinced the big bosses at Frito-Lay they were missing out on making money with the growing Latino consumer market.  That caught their attention.   

So when the company’s marketing failed to attract the Latino community, Montañez rallied his co-worker and friends, and family to help promote the new Flamin’ Hot Cheetos product to the people he knew would love it. He took matters into his own hands creating a grassroots marketing campaign to prove that our community buys when we are marketed to with intention.

As a film-going community, we now have an opportunity to prove our VIEWING POWER.  We can choose to rally our friends and family to watch this film. 

Garcia and Gonzalez turn in outstanding performances as the lead of the film, and the supporting cast is a combination of established actors that include Emilio Rivera (Mayan MC), Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Pepe Serna (Art is Life, Scarface) and Dennis Haysbert (Lucifer).  Additionally, other cast members include Bobby Soto (The Tax Collector)  and the charismatic Brice Gonzalez (Lopez vs. Lopez).  At the end of the day, if we can really show that we support well-made films with talented Latino actors, there will definitely be more stories.  Maybe next time it will be your story.  

Just as Montañez did in real life, rallying his community to support Flamin Hot Cheetos, we as a film-going community, have an opportunity to rally our friends and family to watch this film on Hulu and/or Disney+ starting Jun 9.  We have an opportunity to watch and enjoy this film and show our LATINO VIEWING POWER…and have a good time doing it.

When “community” comes together it is an unforgettable experience. 

The post ‘Flamin’ Hot’: Creating A Beautiful Experience And An Opportunity to Shine first appeared on .

The movie about the Latino man behind the top-selling snack Flamin’ Cheetos has completed principal photography, according to Searchlight Pictures. The film marks Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut. 

Produced by DeVon Franklin for Franklin Entertainment with a script by Lewis Colick (October Sky) and Linda Yvette Chávez (Gentefied), Flamin’ Hot is the inspiring story of Richard Montañez, the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and became a global pop culture phenomenon. 

The inspiring movie features a cast of Hollywood veterans, rising stars and newcomers. 

Actors Jesse Garcia (Quinceañera) and Annie Gonzalez (Gentefied) headline the cast as Richard and Judy Montañez. 

The indie film Quinceañera, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, set Garcia’s Hollywood career in motion, leading to his first major leading role in a film. His credits include Narcos: Mexico and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. 

A self-identifying Chicana, Gonzalez is best known for her role as the fiercely intelligent and beautiful Linda Solis in Netflix’s Gentefied. Most recently, she was cast in the ABC pilot Bucktown. The actress was also one of the original dancers on Jamm X Kids on the WB.

SUPPORTING CAST

Rounding out the ensemble of stage and screen actors are Dennis Haysbert (Far From Heaven), Emilio Rivera (Venom), Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Matt Walsh (Veep), Pepe Serna (Scarface), Bobby Soto (Narcos), Jimmy Gonzales (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It), and TikTok child star Brice Gonzalez. 

Haysbert is cast as Clarence Baker. In addition to the Oscar-nominated Far From Heaven, he has appeared in various other film and TV projects like Love Field, Absolute Power, Major League, Heat and Waiting to Exhale. He is known for his television work on the series 24. He has been the spokesperson for Allstate since 2003.

Rivera, who plays Vacho Montañez, has been featured in notable films such as Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, David Ayer’s Street Kings and Michael Mann’s Collateral. He can be seen in F. Gary Gray’s A Man Apart and the blockbuster film Venom. Rivera is perhaps best known for playing the starring role of Marcus Alvarez on FX’s Sons of Anarchy and its spin-off, Mayans M.C. 

Shalhoub, in the role of Roger Enrico, is a celebrated actor of stage, screen and television who has starred in award-winning TV series such as Monk, Wings and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and films like Galaxy Quest, Men in Black, Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn’t There and The Siege. He has won four Primetime Emmys, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe and a Tony for his stage work in The Band’s Visit.  

Walsh, cast as Lonny Mason, starred in HBO’s award-winning comedy series Veep, for which he received two Primetime Emmy nominations. He can also be heard opposite Kevin Bacon on the scripted comedy podcast The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon. Walsh is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade. In addition to his film and TV work, he is a founder of Gender Nation, an organization that empowers children through access to stories that demonstrate all genders and sexualities.  

Pepe Serna, whose character is Abuelito, has worked in many film and television roles for over 30 years in the business, including iconic movies as Scarface,  American Me and Silverado, and the TV series The Rockford Files, Kojak, CHiPs, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice and Cagney & Lacey. 

Bobby Soto, playing Tony Romero, just finished shooting the upcoming season of Netflix’s Narcos, created and developed by Jose Padilha and Eric Newman. Most recently, he was seen in The Quarry, opposite Michael Shannon and Shea Whigham. Additionally, Bobby played the lead of David Ayer’s film The Tax Collector.  

Gonzales is cast as Hector Morales. He can be seen starring opposite Dennis Quaid in Netflix’s Blue Miracle and as a recurring guest star on FX’s  Mayans M.C. Other TV credits include roles on AMC’s Lodge 49 and The Walking Dead, The CW’s Containment, NBC’s  Game of Silence and David E. Kelley’s Mr. Mercedes. Recent feature film credits include supporting roles in Godzilla: King of Monsters. 

And newcomer child actor Gonzalez, who plays little Steven Montañez, is a 6-year-old social media sensation. He and his father Randy Gonzalez are collectively known as the Enkyboys on TikTok and Instagram. The duo does lip-sync recreations of famous movie scenes, viral dances and comedy skits that have garnered over 10 million followers.  

Also joining the cast are Vanessa Martinez (Warrior), Fabian Alomar (Cholos Try), Mario Ponce (Cholos Try) and Hunter Jones (Gotham). Production recently wrapped in New Mexico.  

Martinez, who plays Concha Montañez, has appeared in several films including Warrior, McFarland, USA and Lone Star, as well as the series Dirty John, The Rookie and 9-1-1.  

Alomar, in the role of Pablito, appears as himself in the hit Mitu series Cholos Try. He has also been featured in the series Mayans M.C., Joy and  Southland.  

Ponce, whose character is Diego, also appears as himself in the hit Mitu series Cholos Try. Other credits include the series Gentefied and How to Be Broke.  

And Jones is Lucky Montañez in Flamin’ Hot. He has appeared on shows including Gotham, Chicago P.D. and Manifest. 

“I’m so honored to have led this team in telling a beautiful story where people can see themselves in these characters and are inspired by the endless beauty and talent that is so rich in our community,” said Longoria. “Every day we were on set, I was reminded again and again by our amazing cast and crew that our community is smart, creative, and endlessly talented.” 

‘A STORY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP’

“Eva and DeVon came to Searchlight with a powerhouse pitch, a singular vision, and a deep passion for this exhilarating story of entrepreneurship,” said Searchlight Pictures’ Presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum in a joint statement. “We are thrilled to bring this film to audiences everywhere.” 

‘AGAINST ALL ODDS’

“From the moment I found Richard Montañez’s story, I was inspired by his sheer determination to succeed against all odds,” said Franklin. “I’m equally inspired by our cast, crew and visionary director Eva Longoria’s unwavering commitment to bring the production of his amazing story to life.” 

Longoria and Franklin’s crew include Director of Photography Federico Cantini (Give or Take), Casting Director Carla Hool (Narcos), Production Designers Brandon Mendez (Black Is King) and Cabot McMullen (Super Troopers 2), Costume Designer Elaine Montalvo (A Better Life) and Editor Liza D. Espinas (Vida). 

Flamin’ Hot is overseen by Searchlight Pictures’ Senior Vice President Production Taylor Friedman and Director of Development Zahra Phillips. 

The post Eva Longoria’s Film Directorial ‘Flamin’ Hot’ Wraps Production first appeared on .

By Luis Reyes

Mayans M. C., the epic crime drama tragedy starring J.D. Pardo, Clayton Cardenas, and Edward James Olmos returns for its second season on Tuesday, September 3, 10/9 p.m. central on Fx. 

This season most of the action takes place in Mexico and there is a crossover conflict between the members of the Mayans and The Sons of Anarchy. “If you liked Season 1, Season 2 is a lot darker,” said Olmos, who portrays Felipe Reyes, father of Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (Pardo) and Angel (Clayton Cardenas) at a 2019 Comic-Con panel discussion.

The season 2 premiere episode picks up six months after the events depicted in the season one finale. The second season will also have a different visual aesthetic from the Latino Biker Gangs’ Southern California Border town of Santo Padre. It also promises to be very violent and bloody as EZ is in pursuit of his mother’s killer. Olmos remarked “Retribution will be coming down hard, and people have to be ready for it.”

Also, there will be the ongoing sibling rivalry between EZ and his brother Angel, the biker gang, along with EZ’s relationship with his high school sweetheart Emily.

Mayans. M.C. also stars Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Antonio Jaramillo, Richard Cabral, Danny Pino and Emilio Rivera. The show is produced and co- created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James.

The post “Mayans M.C.” Season 2 Premieres on FX Sept. 3 first appeared on .

By Elia Esparza

How do you write an action-packed-crime story about a Latino superhero, with a primarily all-Latino cast, set in an East L.A. barrio, combine it with Aztec folklore and still come out with a universal themed film that will absolutely appeal to everyone?

It takes a film director who knows the intricacies of every aspect of filmmaking and understands the script’s core message and a whole lot of respecting the integrity of the story. It takes someone who started his career working as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, actor and eventually transitioning onto directing episodic television and then film.

It takes someone like Ben Hernandez Bray, a film and television director who for the past 12-years has poured his heart and soul in bringing his story to the big screen—El Chicano, a WarParty, WarChest Productions.

To create a Latino superhero that is not from the traditional family of Marvel characters is a bold move. And, to smoothly tie-in cultural elements and ancient Aztec folklore, well that is one tall order.  But for Bray, it came natural. He happens to be of Mexican-American-Irish ancestry, which could explain being born with the instinctual storyteller DNA.

El Chicano is about a Latino Superhero who battles the evils invading an East L. A. community. He finds strength and power from within and inspires others to inherit the mask to continue to watch over the neighborhood.

For Bray, El Chicano is a film project inspired and written as a symbolic representation of his life, with family tragedies, the death of his younger brother to gang violence and the loss of his newborn daughter. At the core of El Chicano is pure love of family and believing in his ability and having the will to act.

El Chicano stars Raul Castillo, George Lopez, Amy Garcia, Emilio Rivera, Kate del Castillo, Mr. Criminal, Noel G. Marco Rodriguez, Marlene Forte, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Sal Lopez, David Castañeda and Armida Lopez.

What stands out in El Chicano is that it is not a formula film whose purpose is to glorify gangs and violence. It is more about family — those you are born into, those composed from street friendships and those from work camaraderie.

Some reviews have labeled it the “Latino version of Black Panther.” El Chicano incorporates the struggles many American Latinos are going through as a result of the current unstable political climate. The story weaves in the magic of Aztec lore, clearly defining right from wrong and how each character inherit their beliefs.  

Bray, who is known for his major stunt work on Star Trek, Iron Man, The Grey, Transformers: Revenue of the Fallen, generously gave of his time to speak with us about El Chicano:

Latin Heat: Congratulations! Truly impressed with El Chicano! Before we dive into your film, can you tell us who your childhood Superheroes were?

Benjamin Hernandez Bray: I’d have to say, Batman, Aquaman and Superman! As a result, I eventually became a big fan of ComicCon!

LH: So it was these Superheroes that have guided your career?

BHH: Yes, they really did. But I think it was more of a subconscious thing. I believe my loving these Superheroes, my working as a stunt professional, and my eventual writing and filming El Chicano came about as a result of the metaphor over not having a father. My mother and grandmother raised my four brothers and two sisters single-handedly.

LH: Was it this same love of Superheroes that led to your transition into episodic directing action superhero TV shows?

BHH: It was more of the love of being able to tell stories that finally gave me the opportunity, and the good fortune to be able to direct episodes on several of Greg Berlanti’s shows like Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl.

LH: You mentioned the motivation behind creating El Chicano was connected to not having a father/male role model growing up?

BHH: Creatively this movie came about because it was a very personal story that I felt could help others get beyond their difficulties. El Chicano is a superhero, he derives strength from within. His life is very symbolic of my own life. About twelve years ago I lost my younger brother to gang violence. It was a loss that hit my mother, siblings and me very hard and we struggled to get beyond our grief. To have to watch my mom bury her youngest was extremely painful. At the beginning, I started writing a memoir about our family dynamic and how we dealt with the death, the process was therapeutic.

The more I wrote, the more the memories came, the positive things of my childhood– how my mom made sure to put me in Boys Scouts… how she signed me up for my first job as a paperboy and how she’d help me in the mornings to deliver the paper– as the oldest I got the best of her attentions. Through this process, I saw my mom instilled positive characteristics in my life like working hard and making good choices. Working through this helped me move past the tragedy. Telling this story became important to me. I wanted people to know no matter what your socio economic background you come from, tragedy hits everyone, but you don’t have to stay trapped in your grief or your surroundings. You can make a better life for yourself. I hope others get inspired by it, especially if you’re from the barrio.

She did her best in trying to guide us in the right direction… and I’ve always wondered if we had had a dad to raise us, influence us, would our lives have turned out differently? Would having a father been enough to save my brother’s life?

These questions started to haunt me and kept stirring up a lot… thinking about my childhood. As I recalled my admiration of Batman, Aquaman and Superman, it hit me that we Latinos were never exposed to a brown person… a Mexican or Chicano portrayal of any powerful and positive role models. Then one day, it just clicked!

We had no one to look up to or someone to teach us right from wrong who looked like us or lived in similar surroundings like ours… And, this is how the El Chicano character was created.

El Chicano is a symbolic story of fighting for a better life and thinking outside the box as I did. It’s a Superhero that doesn’t have traditional powers but gathers his strength from his ancestral culture, his barrio, his love of family and believing in his ability and having the will to act.

LH: You share co-writer credits with the producer/writer Joe Carnahan. Share a little on the script writing process and challenges.

BHB: This is my first writing project, something I’ve been thinking about and working on for twelve years. As I worked as a stuntman and made the transition to stunt coordinator, I was developing my writing skills and script format. I met Joe Carnahan (A-Team, Narc, and The Grey), through writer/director/producer David O. Russell (American Hustle, Silver Linings, Kings, Joy). We very quickly became good friends, sharing my life story about where I grew up, my brother’s death… he kept encouraging me to keep writing, and every so often he’d give me notes.

LH: That is the power of networking and building relationships on the job.

BHH: Yes, and even if it took years to complete, I kept at it. I had a family to support and could only write in my spare time. The plan was that whenever I did finish it, I’d turn it over to Joe because he’s an incredible writing talent and I knew he could help me with the script’s narrative, structure, etcetera. And, it took longer for me because I was also moving up in the business, making my way to TV episodic directing. Then about three years ago, my wife and I lost a daughter at birth.

During this time, Joe came to visit and witnessed how much passion and love our family had for each other. He told me that when I was able to find some peace and get through the process of having to bury my child, to tap into this grief as I continued with finishing to write my script and that I should dedicate it to my brother and daughter. He encouraged me to go away and lock myself up and finish the script. Once I got the greenlight from my wife, I spent four weeks in New York staying at a stunt brother’s home while he was away in Europe working. This was four years ago and I returned to L.A. with 189 pages and gave it to Joe.

LH: Your angels guided you—

BHB: Yes… my brother Craig on one shoulder and my daughter Isabella on the other. Once Joe read it, he liked it and said it was enough to work with. The next step was me going to the Palm Springs area where he lives and spent two weeks there for the script polish. We drank Tequila, cried and ultimately rewrote the script that was 125 pages.

We finished the script on a Friday and that same night, Joe got the script to producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (Four Brothers, Transformers, G.I. Joe) and producer Tom Ortenberg, CEO at Briarcliff, a theatrical distribution company (Snowden, Firefly, Girl With Pearl Earring). Both Lorenzo and Tom said they’d get back to us on Monday. The next day, Saturday, Lorenzo called and said ‘I’m in,’ and an hour later, Tom called, ‘I’m in.’

LH: The miracle of a well-written script. Let’s talk about your amazing cast. Tell us about the main characters.

BHB: The dual role of Diego/Pedro is a reflection of me and how I dealt with my brother’s death—the grief, anger, and sadness—I was mad over how it affected and almost destroyed my mother. It was very surreal. The George Lopez role resembles an Italian-Mexican cop from our childhood who would give us a hard time, me especially. Always lecturing me about right and wrong. Then there is Jesus, who is kind of the Shaman of the neighborhood, always preaching about the Aztecs… and then there is Aimee Garcia who portrays Vanessa Gomez, a character based on the woman who would become my wife. And then there is Susana, the mother role portrayed by the incredibly talented Marlene Forte. All of these characters all come from my childhood.

LH: What is your filmmaking training background?

BHB: It’s funny how things just all come together. Working on the job became my film school training. I had a veteran stunt coordinator named Ron Stein who took me under his wings and taught me the stunt business, from fire burns, high falls, stunt driving and fights to suggesting that I enroll in acting classes. Soon I was not only doubling for actors, I was also guest starring on The Shield, and other TV shows including being cast in Joe Carnahan’s The Grey and David O. Russell’s I Heart Huckabees. I also learned to be a filmmaker from pros like Joe and David. I learned by watching and doing– from lenses to blocking actors and understanding how the camera moves to help tell the story.  

LH: Was this the first time working with some of the Latino veteran actors in El Chicano?

BHB: I was doubling for several Latino actors and through these jobs I got to meet so many. Soon, I auditioned for the Actor’s Studio in Los Angeles and I belonged to a theater company called Rick Walters Theatre Group. I started booking roles as a young Latin guy and that’s how I met Emilio [Rivera] on the TV series, Robbery Homicide, which was created by Michael Mann. At the end of the night, we had become friends. I used to be his stunt double. I also stunt doubled for actors Esai Morales, Michael De Lorenzo, Lou Diamond Phillips, and others, so these relationships started while working in the business. I met George [Lopez] through various shows and events we were both in attendance. He was always cool.

LH: When casting the twins’ dual role (Diego/Pedro), what was it about Raul Castillo that nailed it for you?

BHB:  I remember being in that big white room at CAA and they were pushing a lot of other actors and currently, in our community there really aren’t many Latino leading actors, not like a few years ago when dazzling the headlines were Esai Morales, Jesse Borrego, Michael De Lorenzo, etcetera. What did it for me to choose Raul was something about his look. He reminded me of a homeboy I grew up with named Miguel, and as a filmmaker, I lean on instinct… his looks; emotionally… there was something about him that just clicked. The agency tried to push better-known names but I was like, ‘No there’s something about Raul, he’s the one.’ Joe looked at me and was 100% supportive of my choice.

A week later I had an interview with Raul via Skype. He was living in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, and we just clicked. He had read the script, knew every single character, not just his role.

I told him the story about the loss of my brother and baby girl, I could tell he was sincerely touched and really understood the story. Three weeks later, I flew to New York and we met in Tribeca. We hung out and I remember calling Joe afterwards and I confirmed my gut feelings. ‘That’s Diego. That’s Pedro,’ I told Joe. Raul was everything that I embraced as a writer, as a director and my vision for the dual role of Diego/Pedro.

LH: Can you discuss the budget for El Chicano? And how financing come about?

BHB: Oh my God! That’s a whole other thing. When dealing with studios, we started butting heads. They wanted to change the storyline, wanted to change some of the characters and I didn’t want to do any of that. And it was very frustrating because when it comes to Latino projects, studios want to own it all, story, vision, everything… they end up owning your property, your material and all this leads to more creative differences… so eventually, I told Joe, ‘You know what? Let’s go for indie financing.’ I just flat out refused to give up control on the way my story was going to be told.

LH: So you went the indie route?

BHB: Yes, There were some people who had reached out to Joe from War Party Productions—these are the white oil and gas guys from Calgary and since the industry was slowing down, they were now interested in the movie business. Joe initially met with Art Robinson, WarChest producer and Gianni Altobelli and shared the script; teaser and they fell in love with the story. So all of the sudden we got financing at the time for about $7 million, or a little over $9 million Canadian. That’s how we got the money. With 85% of the film being shot in Calgary and the other 20% exteriors in Los Angeles, downtown L.A. They totally embraced our vision.

LH: What is your favorite superhero moment in El Chicano?

BHB: I would have to say it is the part when the camera starts to push it on Diego in the storage unit, where we see “por vida”. As a Mexican-American, this scene is very close to my heart because for one, he’s saying where he comes from and who he is, because it speaks to his background and also because it identifies where he’s at in that exact moment. When I yelled, “CUT,” it had all happened in one take and that’s when Raul lost it.

This was the moment he had really understood the significance and importance of the film’s message. He was balling his eyes out—his character’s accumulation of pain and loss and internal elation of having triumphed against tremendous evil and odds. I walked over to him and we cried and hugged.

It was a release of grief and the start of healing. Not just for me but for everyone involved in making our movie. And it was especially emotional given all that is currently going on in politics, with Trump and all the negative attacks against Mexicans, Latinos. El Chicano is about being Chicano, Mexicano—pride, cultural, familia—our film brings it all together.

LH: From start to finish how long did it take to shoot El Chicano?

BHB:  Shooting days had about eight weeks of prep, and 25 days to shoot, and then we were in editing another 10 weeks. By the time we got to the end of the movie, there was no more money and it was like chewing gum and scotch taping whatever else was needed to finish the movie. It was crazy at the end like it always happens on a movie set.

LH: How did the distribution deal with Briarcliff come about?

BHB:  When Tom, who was at Open Road and Lorenzo got involved, they really believed in the project as much as Joe and I did, and for a while they stepped aside as we did our thing. But when it came to the financing, Tom was already in transition from Open Road to Briarcliff and once the film was complete, Tom saw a screening and took it to Briarcliff. They snatched it up. We had other offers but I was loyal to Tom and Lorenzo, as they had been to me from the very beginning. I have so much respect for these guys. From there, the exchange came in from foreign and they bought up foreign rights. And, that was it. It was Tom and Lorenzo, who took a back seat and let me do my work and stepped up to the plate when they were needed.

LH: You had to make some script changes towards the end of the shoot.  What happened?

BHB: The ending of the movie wasn’t exactly what was on the script because we had run out of money. I then tapped into the many business relationships I had built during the past 30 years. I called in favors. I called every Latino friend… every stunt man including my two sons, Damian Bray 29 year and Keenen Bray 27, and they all came.

LH: You had to think out of box to make it happen—

BHB: Yeah, and on our last day of shooting, we were at the warehouse location, and everyone who came to my aid brought their best creativity with them. As a stunt professional on movie sets, we eventually learn how to handle a camera. We learn things that come in handy while making a movie on the last day of shooting.

For El Chicano, I had 20 stuntmen and crew, and they were just old friends who came out to help me finish the movie. It was all a brotherhood. The very last shot of the movie, that’s my son Damian operating the camera. My son, God bless him was shooting that amazing shot of El Chicano on the motorcycle! My other son Keenan, was also Emilio Rivera’s stunt double. And, even my 10-year old son, Julian Bray auditioned for the young Pedro character, and he was cast. He’s the boy who at the end asks, ‘Where you from?’

Family and good friends – you can always count on them. I got all four of my family in the movie. Yeah, it was a familia affair.

LH: El Chicano has an open ending – are you already in the works for a sequel?

BHB: We’re working on it.

LH:  Any specifics on the film’s marketing rollout?

BHB: Tom and our wonderful publicist Liz Biber and Tracie Hovey have organized a 10-City tour/press junket with George Lopez and Raul Castillo. They’ll be hitting the border city of McAllen, Texas, where Raul was born and raised. We’ll be going to Austin, Arizona, New York, Miami, Northern California and Los Angeles.

We’re also looking at some marketing and promotion during the Canelo fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Our film opens on May 3^rd – it’s the perfect big push weekend! We’ll have lots of swag bags with El Chicano film gifts.

LH: How do you hope El Chicano will be received by movie audiences?

BHB: A sense of excitement and pride especially for Latino audiences. And, for non-Latinos, an understanding of our rich culture, our history in Los Angeles, our other Latino communities across the USA and that El Chicano’s overall universal message is that we all as human beings deal with loss and tragedies, which include choices you make.

We want everyone to know that they can be a Superhero too in anything they do. They can make a better life for themselves no matter their circumstances.

Thank you, Ben Hernandez Bray!

Briarcliff Entertainment acquired the U.S. rights to El Chicano, and is expected to open on May 3, 2019.

El Chicano
Director: Ben Hernandez Bray
Writers: Ben Hernandez Bray, Joe Carnahan
Cast: Raul Castillo, Aimee Garcia, Marlene Forte, George Lopez, Sal Lopez, Marco Rodriguez, Roberto Garcia, Emilio Rivera, Frankie Quinones, Logan Arevalo, Kate Del Castillo, Jose Pablo Cantillo, David Castaneda, Yadi Valerio Rivera, Christopher Rosamond, Geraldine Moreno, Armida Lopez

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