Upcoming actors Hector Duran, Sergio Avelar, Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz, Rafael Martinez, Michael Aguero & Ramiro Rodriguez star in McFarland, USA. We sat down with them for an exclusive interview.
I've teamed up with Disney for this post. Photos courtesy of Disney and Mama Latina Tips.
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a young actor in Hollywood? Better yet, can you imagine what it would be like to be an average high school kid chosen to act alongside Kevin Costner in a Disney film?! This is exactly what happened to three of the young in the new film "McFarland, USA". Based on the 1987 true story, McFarland, USA follows seven novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (played by Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school, with whom they ultimately bond to build not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well. I had the opportunity to interview the 7 young actors from the film on a recent press trip to Disney and ABC, and I couldn't wait to hear about their experience working with a screen legend like Costner and how this movie has impacted their lives.
Interview with Hector Duran, Sergio Avelar, Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz, Rafael Martinez, Michael Aguero & Ramiro Rodriguez
Of course, the first question we asked was, "What was it like working with Kevin Costner?"
Johnny Ortiz, who plays Jose Cardenas in the film, was the first to answer: It was a great experience... of course, he's a great legend, but such a humble guy." He went on to joke about their "vast" life experience and told us a story about how Hector Duran tried to correct Costner's line, "Ah, it was a funny moment, but he didn't [react] in anger... he [reacted] in a funny way, of course. Kevin Costner, he's just amazing. I feel blessed."
Hector Duran in McFarland, USA poster, courtesy of Disney
Some of the young men in the movie were from McFarland and others have been acting in Hollywood for quite some time. We wanted to know how they prepared for their roles so we asked, "How much time did you spend with the people you portray to get to know their character?"
Hector Duran, who played Johnny Sameniego, spoke first: Well, the whole period of us filming in McFarland, I got the opportunity to spend time with the real Johnny Sameniego. He's really a great guy. He invited me to dinner, gave me a tour of the city, and it just reflects the people of the community.
Ramiro Rodriguez, an actual student from McFarland who played Danny Diaz in the film, then added: I've actually encountered them throughout my whole life. Danny Diaz was actually my counselor in high school. It was such an amazing thing... [Johnny] Sameniego was my 8th grade P.E. teacher, so I knew him too. So it was real, real fun getting to know them more.
Sergio Avelar, another real-life McFarland student who played Victor Puentes in the movie, then added: My story's kind of like Ramiro's, because I'm actually from McFarland as well. Thomas Valles, whom Carlos Pratts plays, he was actually my running coach since I was a little kid in elementary. This guy is just so humble. He always took time off of his job and he would go travel with his runners. He would take them to Oregon, just anywhere around the nation just to go seem them run. Just to see that.. all these men, the Diaz brothers, they still live here. To see all the support they still have for the community is just amazing.
Sergio Avelar and Ramiro Rodriguez in McFarland, USA posters, courtesy of Disney
We specifically wanted to know more about how this film has impacted the lives of the Ramirez, Aguero, and Avelar, the members of the McFarland community. We asked them, "So for the two of you, because you are there and this is a story of your town, what is it like for you? And what is the reaction from the community around you?"
Sergio Avelar said: It's truly a blessing, it's still so surreal. There are times where it's just like, "Is this for real... Is this really happening?"
Ramiro Rodriguez added: I just wake up every morning and I go to the building where they put the runners, and I look in and it's not a dream. It's not a dream. It's amazing. The town has changed for itself, for the better. There used to be a lot of crime back then, like gangsters and stuff, but now it's really holding down its spot for the national spotlight. It's really coming together and becoming a community, how it should be.
Sergio Avelar added: Now people are actually kind of proud saying that they're from McFarland.
Michael Aguero (a student from the Bakersfield area who was cast as Damacio Diaz), told us that his first time seeing the ocean was actually in this film in a heart-warming scene featuring the seven boys and Coach White after a tough race.
Carlos Pratts in McFarland, USA posters, courtesy of Disney
Once you see the film, you'll really be impressed by the athletic ability of these seven young men. We asked them to "Tell us a little bit about your training."
Ramiro Rodriguez started off by saying: Oh, it's really funny because I only had one week of training. And these guys, from what I've heard, had a month. So yeah, they had more training than me, and it was really funny because I'm the slow one, and I only got one week.
Johnny Ortiz, who played Damacio Diaz, then added: Well, I would tell you it was one month of training, then we had to work in cardio. We ate happy, healthy, so there are moments where I wanted to get some fries and they're just like, "Um, you can't have fries!"
Aguero then went on to tell us about the training exercises they did team-building exercises and that Costner even participated in those. even when they had to act like lions and climb around the floor. He said, "Those were great exercises. It was a fun experience and I loved working with everybody."
Carlos Pratts, who played Thomas Valles, wanted to add a little something to that... he laughed: I want to comment. Acting like lions was not a great exercise!
Michael Aguero in McFarland, USA poster, courtesy of Disney
We also wanted to know more about their exhaustive running scenes. We asked, "How much running did you guys actually do for the movie, and were all the running scenes filmed at the same time, over something like a week, or was it split up between various scenes?"
Rafael Martinez said: We did a lot more running than you see in the film because, in reality, we have to train for the whole month like Johnny said. Every single day, we would run 5 or 6 miles as a warm-up, and then we would have gone into some hardcore elliptical, riding the bikes and everything, and then do a lot of training. When we were filming on set, a number of takes we did and the amount of running and different angles, that amounted to more than the actual 5K race that would be in the film. So we ran a lot more than you think.
Johnny Ortiz, who played Jose Cardenas added: There were moments where I couldn't run. Being a runner is a hard sport. It's really a hard sport running. I was getting shin splints all the time. It was hurting, so for me, it was great that we had running doubles... Cross country is a hard sport. I'm saying it's a really a hard sport.
Rafael Martinez in McFarland, USA posters, courtesy of Disney
This movie is totally inspiring and you witness how Coach White becomes a better man through knowing these young men, and these young men become good men through running. We wanted to know, "What's the most influential real life lesson that you took from this movie?"
Johnny Ortiz started: I think, as an actor, what I take from this is the message that it's giving. I like to pick and choose my roles because it's very important that I choose roles [like this]. As Latino-Hispanics we're viewed as gang-bangers, playing gang-bangers. Why can't we be the doctors? Why can't we be the lawyers? Why can't we be the detectives, you know?
Ramiro Rodriguez then said: For me personally, throughout my high school and [retty much my whole life, I've been the chubby one, and in this movie, I see it a lot. They picked on me, but despite all this, like in the movie, I know it was a joke... and all of us get along. They could tell me that I'm fat, but to be honest, in real life, it, it really did hurt me. But to see him [his character, Danny Diaz] triumph the way he did, it's really a triumph for me also... because he proved everybody wrong, that a big man could do it, but it showed me also that I could do it too.
Hector Duran added: I think one of the biggest things I've learned throughout this film, which I had already known but it just reinforces it, even more, is the idea of equality and not judging a book by its cover. You see in the film, Kevin Costner comes into this small town and he kind of judges the book by its cover. But once you get deeper into what's really there and all the values that are there, you see that everybody's equal. Everybody has their own opinions. The only thing that separates us is the color of our skin, so we should try to treat each other equally.
I wasn't necessarily surprised to see the chemistry that exists between these seven young men on a personal level. You could just tell that they all genuinely liked one another and seemed completely at ease in each other's company. I'm sure filming this movie was an experience of a lifetime. We asked the guys, "It seems like you guys are a little brotherhood. Have you stayed connected with each other?"
They all pretty much smiled, nodded, and said, "Yeah" in unison.
Hector Duran said: Always.
Carlos Pratts added, "Hector's the little brother." He told us how Hector might call him at 9:30 at night wanting to talk, and he'll ask a question like, "What's Miami like?" Pratts then said, "He's sort of like a little brother and it's awesome. I love this guy."
Ramiro Rodriguez then said: Even though most of us are pretty busy, I think if you reply to one text it gives you a quick chance to catch up, so whenever I get a little bit of their time, I [try to] catch up on those little moments that they do have. I really care for them. I'm really proud of this team.
Hector Duran said: Definitely, the chemistry you see on screen is exactly what we are in real life, if not more because we love each other as brothers and we never lost that connection. When they said cut, it was still there.
Johnny Ortiz, Carlos Pratts, and Sergio Avelar in McFarland, USA posters, courtesy of Disney
We couldn't leave without asking "What's next for everybody?"
Most of the guys told us that their minds are completely open and they're still trying to figure it all out. They're hoping this opportunity creates new acting opportunities for them, and after seeing this movie I'm sure it will. They were so appreciative of the support they're receiving for this film and I know they'll be successful in their future jobs.
Carlos Pratts told us a particularly funny story while laughing: It's funny, because we can all relate to this, and you all will as well - if you have children that are actors, please listen to me. My mother says "Can't you just ask Kevin? Can't he get you this job?" Yeah, mom, it doesn't work that way. She goes, "Ah, Carlos, I think you need to ask."
Johnny Oritz told us a really heartwarming story that I thought was beautiful: I remember being 5 years old and I called 4-1-1, and I asked how, how do I become an actor? And my dad looked at me and said, "Ah, my adorable son. I can't help him out." He didn't know how the industry worked. But I wanted to say, dreams are possible. Goals are possible. Because I got in McFarland. It's a blessing to land on my own TV show called "American Crime" with Oscar-winner John Ridley (that's coming on March 5th). I'm blessed, you know. I've got other roles coming up, and I just you want to tell people that dreams are possible because I came from a gang-banging world. Most of my whole family are gang-bangers, and I broke the chain. I decided I don't want to go through that path. I don't want to live that life. So if I want to [succeed], I've got to put my mind and my heart. I've been in and out, in and out of jail back in my past. I now I care about what I've done, but stuff is real. There's struggle out there, and we've got to help these kids out, and show them that there's a lot of kids out there that have talent, that has a lot of heart. They just don't have the opportunities. That's why places like Casa 0101, which is a non-profit organization [are important]. Josefina Lopez, who wrote Real Women Have Curves, is the founder of this place, and she brought me into this theater and showed me that I can do it in life. And this is what we need. We need places like this. We need resources. They help at-risk youth and kids with problems, and it's totally free. The fame and the money are the last things I care about. It's all about the change.
After meeting Hector Duran, Carlos Pratts, Sergio Avelar, Johnny Ortiz, Rafael Martinez, Michael Aguero and Ramiro Rodriguez, I can't wait to see what the future has in store for them. They each provided moving performances in McFarland, USA and have contributed so much heart to such a wonderful family movie.
You can purchase McFarland, USA NOW.
Check out my other interviews from McFarland, USA: interview with Keven Costner, and an interview with the real life Coach White and Diaz Brothers. Also, read my full McFarland USA review with insight from Director Niki Caro.
Disclosure: I was part of this interview with Hector Duran, Carlos Pratts, Sergio Avelar, Johnny Ortiz, Rafael Martinez, Michael Aguero & Ramiro Rodriguez. on a press trip funded by Disney and ABC. All opinions are my own. Photos courtesy of Disney and Mama Latina Tips. Amazon links are affiliate links.
Kelly Collier says
I think that this was a great film and inspired me to push myself whenever I got out for the track team at my school at the end of the year.