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Spoilers ahead for season one ofGentefiedon Netflix.
Did anyone who binged NetflixsGentefiedthis weekend see the answer to Eriks question coming?
But it was showrunner Monica Macer who came up with the idea for the finales gut punch.
But if you do that, the whole show becomes about that …
When he gets taken away, his absence will mean more.
When they Skyped with Cosio, they had no doubts.
(Hayek herself supplied the selfie Pop keeps inside the van.)
This interview was conducted in Spanish, translated to English, and edited for clarity.
You didnt have to audition for this.
You Skyped with the producers.
How did they sell you on this project?Of course, the story.
I have two half-brothers who are Americans.
So Ive had contact since I was an adolescent with the border environment and the Hispanic communities.
I have friends in New Mexico.
The script had great style and was very well written.
All of the characters are very well crafted.
Its a tone thats relaxed and humorous and its not just about gentrification.
It talks about the whole life of a community, a complex and very lively community.
Its not a soap opera.
Its not just a light comedy.
It has lightness, but it also has a lot of depth.
It seems like its going to be just fun, but its full of pain.
You dont find that very often.
And I loved the character because hes the first grandfather that Ive played.
And, more than anything, about a very complicated predicament.
You get involved with the characters because theyre very well written and they all have an individual charm.
It is progress, but it comes at a cost, literally and figuratively.
Its one of the most complicated problems in the world.
Its not just immigration anymore.
The decisions the characters make are not simple.
Linda and Marvin handle both sides of this argument so well.
What was your experience on set?
They did all start to feel like my grandkids, most of all Erik (J.J. Soria).
They all have a part of what Pop is.
He sees a bit of himself in each of them.
Thats why he takes care of them and defends them.
Hes more of a hood character, angrier, more violent.
But also very studious and a free young man.
Each one has a part of Pop that he respects and protects.
Thats why I loved the character.
Pops own story is touching, too.
Pop remains a hard man.
A man with a structure that he doesnt want to change.
Thats why he doesnt speak English well.
He still wants to live his culture, his memory of his Mexican culture.
But shes the one who comes to tell him, Hey, open yourself up.
Give yourself the chance to change and change can be good.
She convinces him to give Chris (Carlos Santos) a chance in the kitchen with some new recipes.
Do you like to cook?I do, but for Pop, its a character trait.
Hes a rough man, but he has the gentle touch of cooking.
We spent a day making tacos in a truck for the crew.
J.J., Carlos, and I made burritos on the grill.
We seasoned them and everything.
We were learning to make them.
My favorite is al pastor.
But there is something about the masala one.
Its a risky taco.
Its not the everyday taco.
Pop also has a gentle touch with his family.
They are very careful with each persons nature.
And the whole group of directors, too.
They had a very particular sensibility for making each persons story very human and respectful.
Its very lovely to me.
He takes very good care of them and hes very generous.
Hes a singular character.
The writers capture very intimate scenes between those characters.
Its everyday stuff but charged with a lot of emotion, with details.
He lives a life that Pop may not understand, but he helps him.
That was one of my favorite scenes of the entire series.
As an actor, you cant take the drama home.
You have to leave it there.
And the grandfather has to go there and pretend like hes helping her.
They took great care with that relationship.
The director [Aurora Guerrero] and I talked at great length about that.
He talks to her not like shes a dumb girl but almost like shes a woman.
He respects that she has a mind and thinks for herself.
But they were all coming from a similar cultural experience, even Andrew Ahn, who is not Latino.
We just saw this inParasite.Thats not just a story from South Korea.
Minorities and immigrants all over the world share the same story one way or another.
Ive been very lucky to be given Pop to be able to do this kind of work.
Shes a unique persona from the Hispanic world, an artist of great international magnitude.
But shes also an icon of Pops personal life.
Thats why he has her picture and thats what he calls his van.
I thought it was fantastic.
The ending was such a surprise.
There had never been a conversation of anyone in the family being undocumented.
It hurts to see him in the ICE truck.
What did you think?It was a surprise for me, too.
A huge surprise, which is why I liked it.
But in those communities, that happens every day.
In the lives of Latino families like this one, it happens every day.
Theres always the risk you will be sent back.
It was painful, but also a great piece of writing.
Hopefully, we will see how things turn out for Pop.
