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I just knew, this is it.
The three of us are this show.
Co-creator Marvin Lemushad that same feeling.
These are the cousins.
Thats what they all were.
Why did you want to play these characters?
J.J. Soria:It was the first time that I read something and I went, Thats me.
The character, the world, the show, it all embodied my experience.
The way they communicated, thats how me and my family talk.
All the shit-talking, that was a piece of my life.
So thats why I considered it, and thank goodness I did.
The family Ive created because of this show will last longer than the length of the show.
And Im always fighting to show that I can be something that Im not.
When we started doing the series, its like something took over.
Were getting away with something really special, which is to be authentic without having to compromise.
Yall, I do not have an accent!
Carlos Santos:She says yall!
Karrie Martin:Exactly.
I probably have too much of a Southern accent for some.
Ana is so unlike me, or at least that was my idea when I went into it.
And when I got the job, I remember Marvin saying, Thank you for just being you.
That just filled me up.
Who Karrie is is enough.
What we bring and how we fill the space in those rooms, its enough.
I remember my mom saying the first day, How does it feel?
And I was like, Mom, it feels like Im home.
I felt like I belonged.
Ana made me realize that I can stand in my power.
I can be unapologetic with myself.
Ive been doing improv for a long time, and I didnt do improv in Spanish til very recently.
The second that I started doing that, my improv exploded.
And it helped me to get better in English.
J.J. Soria:God damn, Im ready to go back to work!
Theres a lot of things here that are true in my own life.
The bantering, the talking shit.
The relationship that I have with Renee, my cousin, is the same relationship I have with Ana.
The inner conflict that Erik has is one that I have had in my own life.
Even though Im so confident, there have been occasions where Ive felt that way.
Carlos, do you have culinary skills, like Chris?
I think my way into Chris has been that little brother energy that I was cued into from birth.
Ive always been the youngest with my friends and my family.
Ive always had this mascot mentality, and Chris is definitely trying to belong so hard.
Things accidentally happened where he was always the one left out, with jokes or little conversations.
So without being Method, he was Method.
Carlos Santos:I lost all my grandparents by the time I was like 8 or 9.
My sisters are ten years older than me.
[Chokes up.]
Dammit, okay, Im fine.
Karrie Martin:I feel like that was such a huge moment for you because of your improv.
That was so you.
Ive been a physical actor, obviously.
Im not a professional athlete, but Ive always been athletically minded.
To have that scene, and to have the rave scene
I was going to bring that up.
The only nudity of the show!
Carlos Santos:Yes, guys, its on my shoulders.
Or on my butt!
Was it fun for you?
J.J. Soria:We were all there!
Carlos Santos:They didnt have to be.
J.J. Soria:Just to watch it.
Carlos Santos:AndI dont know what to think about that.
Karrie Martin:The entire cast had gone just for those few hours.
J.J. Soria:It wasnt like we shot day for night.
It was late and we all came.
Carlos Santos:It was the last shot of the night.
That was one take.
I will do anything for the service of comedy, in the service of something that is not gratuitous.
[Everyone laughs.]
No, I never had an issue with it.
I had never done that before, but it felt right.
I was like, Oh, dreams do come true.
I [danced] competitively for a while.
It was so much fun.
Man, when her mom threw away those paints!
I remember Marvin being like, Karrie, we dont yell at our moms like that.
I was really in it, so I said, Okay, Ill turn it back a little.
In our Latino families, theres so much respect and we have to hold that in.
Carlos Santos:Thats way more powerful, because I can see the frustration.
You just want to punch a whole in the wall, but you cant.
Like when the mural is [graffitied].
I didnt see that mural the whole day.
I didnt wanna know what it looked like.
When they hit action is when I saw it.
And it was so devastating.
Thats how her mom felt.
But I was so proud that she didnt give up.
Knowing our worth as individuals is important.
We are Latinos accomplishing our dreams.
Carlos Santos:This whole thing is very meta.
We get to the bottom of the truth cause thats the reality of human nature.
The human condition is always gonna be the same, and then this story happens to be Mexican-American.
But thats why it works for me.
Theres very little artifice.
Karrie Martin:Whether youre Mexican-American, whether youre Latino or not, its going to land.
There are so many minority groups who are likehow do I elevate myself?Keep pushing for it.
Know your worth, know youre enough.
That is such a theme with Ana.
How I lived in her is knowing that youre enough to accomplish that.
You deserve it just like anybody else.
What was the most important part of this experience for you?
I was able to do that for 10 episodes, which is something I had never done before.
Karrie Martin:I second that heavily, cause Ive been talking so much about how we are enough.
All Ive ever wanted to do in this process was have the same feeling that other actors have.
I cry in movies.
Somebody believed in me and for somebody to choose me to do that, that was just so special.
J.J. Soria:In the same vein, the opportunity to inspire others.
Ive had someone tell me that watching me do that, it made them see that its possible.
My gosh, my heart!
Theyre gonna be able to relate to it on so many levels.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
