I saw my parents, as immigrants, try and try and try to take root and get ahead and so yes, 'Sweat' resonates with me incredibly. And I was an outsider. So I know very much about that.
You're always defined in relation to the environment that you're in and to the people that you're around.
I am Latino. I'm proud of being Latino. That's not to say I wouldn't love to see more diversity in casting. It's starting to get better but we are nowhere near where we need to be. But I'm not scared of playing Latinos, as long as they're well-drawn.
I find myself feeling like Oscar in 'Sweat' just by virtue of cleaning the tables, wiping the bar down and picking up everybody's glasses - and not making eye contact, because that's the character. These are working-class, blue-collar people. These are the people I grew up with. It gets under your skin.
I auditioned for a community theater-slash-professional production of Oliver Twist in Union City when I was 11 because my cousin wanted to be an actor and I was visiting her and it seemed like fun. I was Oliver. I hadn't had any training, I was just a cute kid. There was an agent in the audience.
My parents were supportive. But they were scared. We were undocumented. We came to the U.S. on a tourist visa and overstayed. They applied for a green card right away but it took us 12 years to get it, so for me, from the ages of 7 to 19.
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