I SEE U, Episode 118: A Life of Empathy, Family and Community – Actor & Producer, Luis Guzmán

[00:00:00] Eddie Robinson: You’ve seen him in Carlito’s Way, Traffic, and Boogie Nights. Veteran actor, Luis Guzmán, has been in the business for nearly 50 years. Not only is he an actor, starring in nearly 200 film and TV projects to date, but he’s also a farmer who raised five kids in Vermont.

[00:00:21] Luis Guzman: I think my biggest accomplishment in my life, really, is being a dad. Because I could have all these accolades, but it also has taken away moments.

[00:00:31] Eddie Robinson: I’m Eddie Robinson, and stay tuned as we chat unguarded with award winning actor Luis Guzmán. Born in Puerto Rico, Guzmán shares stories of growing up in New York City. How community informed his commitment to social justice and how he’s dealt with stereotypes as a Latino actor in Hollywood.

[00:00:52] Eddie Robinson: Oh yeah, I feel you. We hear you. I SEE U.

[00:00:59] Eddie Robinson: You’re listening to I SEE U. I’m your host, Eddie Robinson. Luis Guzmán is one of the most prolific and recognized actors in Hollywood. With his ability to seamlessly transition between comedic brilliance and intense dramatic performances, Guzmán has captivated audiences across generations, earning him a place among the industry’s most respected character actors.

[00:01:26] Eddie Robinson: But acting wasn’t always his passion, nor his calling. You see Luis is Guzmán is all about family. And his community acting just kind of happened by accident. He was born in Cayo, Puerto Rico, but as he likes to say, his mom, Rosa was on a plane to New York city. 15 minutes later, his early childhood was in Greenwich village.

[00:01:51] Eddie Robinson: But the family was soon able to move to a small new enclave in the Lower East Side thanks to the hard work of his mother and stepfather. His mom, who was still committed to her job in a New York hospital into her early 80s, would always cook too much food for family dinners. Rosa would then pack up the leftovers and take Luis to distribute meals to folks experiencing homelessness in the nearby dilapidated Lower East Side neighborhoods.

[00:02:20] Eddie Robinson: Luis knew that his calling was to work with the community in the streets that he came to know so well. He decided to become a social worker and activist, working with Puerto Rican youth in the Lower East Side and a supporter of social issues, like Backing the United Farm Workers Grape Boycott and marching with Cesar Chavez when he came to New York City.

[00:02:45] Eddie Robinson: Family, though, is the heartbeat that defines Luis’s life. His mother and stepfather both influenced his world view and sense of giving back. He married his wife Angie in the year 1985 and they dreamed of having many kids. But health issues left them without children. After a miscarriage of a loved boy to be named Sebastian, the Guzmáns were inspired to adopt four kids.

[00:03:14] Eddie Robinson: The Guzmán clan eventually included five kids in all, now all grown up. But they were his entourage, traveling alongside their father as he traveled the world for his acting work. He raised them on a farm in Vermont. Because he wanted them to have a good and unique childhood. Of course, he also just happens to be an award winning actor, with over 170 acting credits in film and television.

[00:03:42] Luis Guzman as Gomez – Wednesday on Netflix: There she is. Oh, how we miss those accusing eyes and youthful smile.

[00:03:48] Luis Guzman as Ray Castro – Traffic: Come on, I dream about this. I have actual dreams about this. About busting the top people, the rich people. White people.

[00:03:56] Eddie Robinson: We’re so pleased to have the legendary Luis Guzmán join us from his home in Vermont. Luis, thanks so much for being a guest on I SEE U.

[00:04:06] Luis Guzman: Thank You.

[00:04:06] Eddie Robinson: Luis, before our recording, you were telling me about reconnecting with your biological dad as a young adult. Your stepdad was an important figure in your life, but you always wondered about your birth father, who you had never met. It wasn’t until you went to pay a phone bill And saw a phone directory for Puerto Rico and you just looked him up, right?

[00:04:30] Luis Guzman: Yes. I knew my dad’s name was Joaquin Guzmán and I looked in the Puerto Rican directory they had like 80, I said, no way, no way. But I also knew that I had an aunt named Lydia Rivera, and there was like six of them. So I called those numbers and the first five calls, no, we don’t know, no Joaquin Guzmán. The last one that I called was the young girl.

[00:04:54] Luis Guzman: She answered the phone. I said, Hey, my name is Luisito, Luis, and my dad is Joaquin and she goes, Oh, um, well, let me take down your number and I’ll ask my mom. So I went out for lunch where I was working on the Lower East Side at the community center. When I come back, the secretary is like, yo, there’s this lady.

[00:05:22] Luis Guzman: She has called a dozen. She keeps calling every five minutes. And I go, okay, cool. So I call her up and she goes, Luisito, Luisito, Oh my God. We’ve been looking for you. This is a miracle. I just come back from Christmas shopping, but this is the biggest gift we ever got. You know, I asked about my dad, which is her brother.

[00:05:46] Luis Guzman: It’s all your father lives here in Puerto Rico. I can’t have you call him directly. Because he suffered a few heart attacks and if you call him, it just might kill him. So let me call him first, set it up. So, we spoke that night. Me and my dad, you know, good to hear his voice. He sent me an airplane ticket.

[00:06:09] Luis Guzman: I flew down to Puerto Rico a week later. And as I’m walking through the airport, That was like, people saying, oh, blah, blah, blah, and I think it was me and the person behind me. And then I see this man standing in the corner. Kind of has a bit of a resemblance to me, and I walked up to him, and it’s my dad.

[00:06:31] Luis Guzman: And we hugged for like 10 minutes. We didn’t let go, man. We were crying. We were super joyful, super happy. He introduced me to my two younger brothers, which right there and there, he tells them, this is your older brother. You know, you listen to him. I kind of looked at them, I said, man, I didn’t want that much responsibility this quick, but we’re gonna get on just fine.

[00:06:56] Luis Guzman: And, uh, that was, uh, the reintroduction of my relationship to my dad. And I loved my dad. You know, I loved all my siblings. My mom, I thank my stepdad for. You know, we’d bring food on the table and the roof over our head and teaching me a good work ethic and for providing me with a shirt and tie for when I got my job as a social worker at Henry Street Settlement.

[00:07:25] Luis Guzman: So, you know, like I said, you know, it all comes full circle, man. Family is everything.

[00:07:32] Eddie Robinson: Tell me more about becoming a social worker because that was really what you set out to do as a career, right?

[00:07:38] Luis Guzman: Well, I started as a youth organizer. When becoming a youth coordinator with a group called Charas, I worked for organizations like Advocates for Children of New York City.

[00:07:52] Luis Guzman: I worked for Cultural Understanding and Neighborhood Development Organization, which was all run by young people. And then I ended up. We ran out of funding for some of these programs, you know, because, uh, Reaganomics, right?

[00:08:09] History Channel on Reganomics: Reaganomics was heavily based on the trickle down theory.

[00:08:12] Luis Guzman: And so, I was collecting unemployment. And so, toward the end of my unemployment, what happened was, a friend of mine told me about, hey, there’s a job as a youth council. I had an industry settlement house. So, I said, oh. You know, so, I put in an application. I sent in my resume. And the job required a master’s. I didn’t have a master’s degree. I had, I had a degree from the streets.

[00:08:41] Luis Guzman: I went to Outward Bound, which is a survival school. I went to the Institute of Cultural Affairs in Chicago, where I got three years of college in two months. It was one of the most intense programs I ever did in my life. I did go to City College for a year, dropped out of freshman. I shouldn’t even say dropped out.

[00:09:02] Luis Guzman: I just left because my calling was the streets, my activism. I also went to the City College for human services for three years, you know, and I was always around intellectuals. I was always helping people. So I used to make a joke that I went to UCLA university on the corner of Lexington Avenue. But the thing is that I came with a bulk of experience that I knew that a social worker wasn’t going to have not to take anything away from anyone that had those degrees.

[00:09:36] Luis Guzman: Cause I know and I understand that’s a lot of work. But I also put in my time in the streets, you know.

[00:09:44] Eddie Robinson: I’m Eddie Robinson, and this is I SEE U. We’re chatting with the legend, Luis Guzmán, Nuyorican actor, producer, and activist. He’s joining us from his farm in Vermont. What inspired you to start down that path of going into the activism and the community aspect of it all?

[00:10:05] Luis Guzman: We live in the West Village of New York City. Then we moved to the Lower East Side to brand new, spick and span, middle class housing. And by outside of that enclave was the ghetto, the tenement buildings. And so that’s where I will go to hang out. I will go hang out with my friend Eddie and Diego. And we were part of a, of a street theater company, but they also did a lot of neighborhood festivals, poetry reading, you know, that became my thing.

[00:10:38] Luis Guzman: You know, when I used to walk down the street. I used to see all those burnt out buildings, all those abandoned cars. I used to see, like, all this drug dealing going on. It looked like a bomb had hit that part of the neighborhood. And it’s like, yo, something’s wrong with this, man. You know, something’s wrong with this.

[00:10:57] Luis Guzman: Make sure my people are better than this, you know. I did, in high school, got leadership training from an organization called ASPIRA. And ASPIRA put me in touch with who was I as a Puerto Rican, what was my Puerto Rican culture, you know, because, um, I’m going to tell you something. When I was in high school, I got suspended 12 times for speaking out, for telling teachers I’m not learning this.

[00:11:27] Luis Guzman: You know, in the, in the World Geography book, it was like a book that thick. It was one paragraph about Puerto Rico. And it was like, yo, I think our history is more than a paragraph. And, excuse me, Ms. So and so, but this class is 96 percent Puerto Rican. So, I would get sent to the principal’s office. The first time I got suspended, I got suspended for a week.

[00:11:55] Luis Guzman: Now, the way I was taught to read was in the second grade. I used to get pulled out of class because my mother and my father Did not speak english. They only spoke spanish So they couldn’t really help me with my own work and and the school thought something was wrong with me And it was just a language barrier So anyway, this lady taught me how to read and one of the things that she taught me how to read was read the funnies in the newspaper You know And so I would teach myself how to read. So what happened in high school to make a reference back to what was going on in these suspensions.

[00:12:32] Luis Guzman: I was reading this thing that in the 70s Um, there was all these Supreme Court cases of student rights and students were winning their cases. And I also read that the American Civil Liberties Union was representing students. So what does Luis Guzmán do? I call the American Civil Liberties Union and I say, Hey, this is my situation.

[00:12:59] Luis Guzman: I’m being suspended, not because I’m a bad student, but because I’m outspoken. And when they asked me where my, where’s my hearing, my boss, somebody will be there. And little old man shows up, and he introduces himself, Leo Summers, I will never forget that name. I told him what I did, he goes, not a problem, we go in.

[00:13:22] Luis Guzman: He proceeds to tell the principal, now if you want to suspend him for a week, just know he has every right to appeal. And he can appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. And so they made a deal, that I would get suspended Fridays and Mondays. And they had to write it in, in pencil. So if I graduated, they had to erase it.

[00:13:48] Luis Guzman: I kind of believed that my activism really started with ASPIRA because they gave me an identity and understanding who I was and not only speaking up for myself, but speaking up for others.

[00:14:03] Eddie Robinson: That’s right. That’s right.

[00:14:05] Luis Guzman: And, and that kind of flowed over into my work in the community. Man, we used to do street festivals, I used to organize young people, you know, we started a recycling center, we started a gardening program, we had the first solar system in New York City, the first windmill in New York City.

[00:14:30] Luis Guzman: You know, I was just a part of that whole enclave of people, and it was pretty awesome, you know, because Again, all I wanted to do was just be a part of a movement. Listen, man, I got to sit down next to Cesar Chavez when they bought the, the great boycott in New York.

[00:14:49] Luis Guzman: And we were at an organizing meeting and I was sitting next to this man.

[00:14:54] Luis Guzman: And as we organize, you know, the great. Edward James Olmos. I got introduced to him when they brought Zoot Suit to the Wintergarden Theater in New York City on Broadway.

[00:15:14] Luis Guzman: And man, that became my spiritual guide, that character, you know. And I still have the original poster downstairs. And to this day Edward James Olmos and I, we are brothers.

[00:15:27] Eddie Robinson: And you were still sort of trying to find your way into the acting world as well, right? I mean, because there certainly were a lot of Latinos on the big and small screens.

[00:15:35] Luis Guzman: No, well, you know what, we did, we used to do street theater, and, but for me, it was nothing more than a hobby.

[00:15:47] Eddie Robinson: Oh.

[00:15:48] Luis Guzman: You know, because I was an activist, I was not the one looking to pursue, to become an actor, you know, so somebody would write something and I would do eight different roles in it, you know, or, or the incredible, uh, Betty Gordon. Uh, uh, she was an independent filmmaker and she put me into a movie called variety.

[00:16:12] Luis Guzman as Jose in the film Variety: All the pretty girls you want to see are all in here.

[00:16:16] Luis Guzman: I got paid 50 a day. Not bad for back then. And then, um, we, Miguel Pinero did, we ended up doing the movie Short Eye,

[00:16:30] Luis Guzman as an inmate singing with cast in the film Short Eyez: Break it Down. Wasting Away. I’m Getting Old

[00:16:40] Luis Guzman: and we got hired to work as background, people making $60 a day. Back in 1976, my father was p****d off that I was making more money than he was.

[00:16:55] Eddie Robinson: Oh, wow. Interesting.

[00:16:57] Luis Guzman: But, but again, my calling was the street and wanting to empower. My community, I was 19 years old on the community, on the community planning board.

[00:17:09] Luis Guzman: You know, I saw a lot of the stuff that we were up against, the bureaucrats and stuff. So then I got that job at Henry Street Settlement. You know, I interviewed for a total of like 10 hours because the gentleman who interviewed me was very thorough, you know, matter of fact, for the second interview, he said, come back wearing a shirt and tie.

[00:17:35] Luis Guzman: I ran to my mom’s house. I told my dad, yo Pop I need some of your shirts. And can you do like four ties for me? Cause I never, I never did that.

[00:17:44] Eddie Robinson: Sure.

[00:17:45] Luis Guzman: Well, you know, I went back to the state, got the job. My first year, my job was I ran a program called job shop and it was job shop. And then 16 weeks of on the job training for young people.

[00:18:03] Luis Guzman: And man, you were talking the in the era when the minimum wage was $3.35 an hour, and I was up against crack dealers.

[00:18:14] Eddie Robinson: There you go.

[00:18:14] Luis Guzman: That were offering kids. $50 a day just to stand in the corner, just to let the world know the cops were coming. That was my competition.

[00:18:28] Eddie Robinson: Coming up, we continue our chat with actor comedian Luis Guzmán. He was a star community activist in the streets of New York, but he was also destined for global stardom. How did he go from social work to working in Hollywood? Luis never lost his social sensibilities throughout his career as an actor, but what adversities did he face as a Latino in the industry and what moments inspired him to make a bigger impact as a Latino actor in Hollywood?

[00:19:00] Eddie Robinson: I’m Eddie Robinson. I SEE U returns in just a moment. We’ll be right back.

[00:19:14] Eddie Robinson: If you’re enjoying this program, be sure to subscribe to our podcast. I SEE U with Eddie Robinson. You can hear all the past episodes and be notified when new episodes are released. Also, please take a minute to give us a review or comment. We love getting feedback from our listeners. You’re listening to I SEE U.

[00:19:36] Eddie Robinson: I’m Eddie Robinson. We’re speaking with veteran actor and social activist, Luis Guzmán, who also just happens to be somewhat of a farmer. He’s also joining us from his family farm in Vermont. Luis, before the break, we were discussing your path to becoming a social worker, dedicated to helping people in your community to change their lives for the better.

[00:20:00] Eddie Robinson: You had participated in a popular education theater, and even in the underground films. But did you have a moment where you said, Hey, maybe I’ll give this acting thing a chance, or perhaps you’re sitting here 50 years later thinking about your social work.

[00:20:18] Luis Guzman: So what happened was I became the social worker. My first year, my first year, my caseload was 75 young people. I asked the Department of Employment, what do, what do they consider a success rate? They said, if 22 of your kids complete the program successfully that’s good and I go 22 out of 75, right?

[00:20:39] Eddie Robinson: Okay.

[00:20:39] Luis Guzman: This sh*t is insane.

[00:20:40] Eddie Robinson: Yeah.

[00:20:41] Luis Guzman: I completed 67 out of 75. Okay. All right. I just wanted I just want to say that.

[00:20:48] Eddie Robinson: Nice.

[00:20:49] Luis Guzman: Because Because that was how I motivated young people How I motivated young people to not become third fourth generation welfare role Recipients and stuff like that to take charge of their life to do good for themselves, you know So anyway, what happened was I did that for a few years and one, one, one, one day, a couple of kids didn’t show up to my program.

[00:21:13] Luis Guzman: I went out into the street looking for them, which is something that I didn’t never did. But the reason I went into the street looking for them was I knew their family.

[00:21:22] Eddie Robinson: Got it.

[00:21:23] Luis Guzman: You understand? And I didn’t want these kids to fall by the wayside. So I ran into Miguel Pillero, who I hadn’t seen in a few years.

[00:21:34] Luis Guzman: And Mikey said, yo, I’m writing for a TV show to come into New York. They’re going to be looking for people to take down this number, go get an audition. And I go, what? I was not pursuing that path. I was happy being a social worker because I was helping people to help themselves. Right. Anyway, I go to the audition.

[00:21:57] Luis Guzman: I go to a second audition that, that the third week of that process, I get a phone call from a guy. I said, yo, my name is Richard. I represent your friend, um, Miguel Piñero, I’m his agent, I would like to be your agent. And I go, for what? He goes, you just booked the co starring part in the season premiere of Miami Vice.

[00:22:21] Luis Guzman: And I was like, I, I, I, I did, I did what? I didn’t know, I didn’t, I didn’t even know what Miami Vice was. Cause you know, I really didn’t watch TV. You know, I watched it that weekend and I think, and I said, holy sh*t and all I wanted to get out of it, brother was enough money to buy me a used car to drive to the beach on the weekend.

[00:22:47] Luis Guzman: So anyway. I got the car. My best friend totaled it that the next day.

[00:22:51] Eddie Robinson: Oh, oh.

[00:22:52] Luis Guzman: Yeah. Yeah. Right. So what happened was that, um, I went back to my job because I didn’t understand the entertainment industry. Right.

[00:23:03] Eddie Robinson: What was going on? It was just, uh, were they racializing you then?

[00:23:08] Luis Guzman: So this, this agent, he was sending me out on stuff.

[00:23:11] Eddie Robinson: Okay.

[00:23:12] Luis Guzman: And I was getting all these little bit parts, but it was like the burglar, the gypsy cab driver, the rapist, you know, it was all these negative roads, you know?

[00:23:26] Eddie Robinson: Sure.

[00:23:27] Luis Guzman: And the way I was looking at it was like, you know, this is subsidizing my salary as a social worker. Because every, every two weeks as a social worker, after taxes, I would be taking $715 a month.

[00:23:43] Luis Guzman: I still have one of my paste up in my wallet, you know, it’s a humble reminder, right? So, I used to always look around when I used to work, you know. And I noticed that the only people of color that was working was the guy that was changing out the bags to the garbage can. So I know that there was a deficiency of diversity when I started out working, you know.

[00:24:09] Luis Guzman: But there were people like Raul Julia.

[00:24:11] Raul Julia in Tequila Sunrise: Keep it as a souvenir. You’re going to spend the rest of your life in jail and I’m not going to be there to take care of you. I’ll be in a Mexican jail.

[00:24:18] Luis Guzman: Uh, there were people like Freddie Prince.

[00:24:20] Freddie Prince Stand Up: I’m not originally from LA. I come from New York. I’m one of the, uh, New York Puerto Ricans and well, not really, not completely because my father’s Hungarian.

[00:24:30] Luis Guzman: So I’m a Hungarian. There were like little sprinkle of us, you know, I just kept going. And keeping my head up, you know, many of us were always competing for one row because I used to go to auditions and there’d be like 15 other Latin men competing for one role. And that was of a burglar or a robber, which was ridiculous.

[00:24:55] Luis Guzman: You know, uh, that changed for me when I met the director, Sidney Lumet. And when I met Sidney Lumet, I did a movie called Family Business. And I have one scene in that movie, and that movie was with Dustin Hoffman.

[00:25:12] Dustin Hoffman in Family Business Trailer: What are you crazy? I spent my lifetime thieving with my father, and now I’m gonna thieve with my son.

[00:25:16] Dustin Hoffman in Family Business Trailer: The two of you crazy?

[00:25:18] Luis Guzman: And, uh, uh, I did my work, and Sidney goes to me, um, I’m gonna be doing another movie in spring, and there might be a role in there for you. So I said, oh great, I might, maybe I might work for three or four days. Instead of one or two day. Well, that movie came around and the casting director wanted me to audition for a particular role.

[00:25:42] Luis Guzman: I said, no, this is the role that I want to audition for. So I called Sydney’s office to tell y’all they want me to audition. And this is, so Sidney called the casting director and said, let him audition for the role he wants. I auditioned for it in front of Sidney. And before I left the room, as I’m walking out, he goes, Hey kid. And I turned around and he goes, you got the role. Before I even left the room. And it was the first time that I worked on a movie from beginning to end.

[00:26:16] Luis Guzman as Luis Valentin in Q&A: Bobby text with my own eyes. I seen Tony Vasquez save your life. It was when that Guinea, uh, Italian gang. Caught you on the 114th from Pleasant Avenue in the playground there.

[00:26:26] Luis Guzman as Luis Valentin in Q&A: What you was, maybe 18, 19 years old? And your ass was grass, man. And he waited in there with lead pipe, and he saved your ass. And now you’re gonna deny him over his dead body? Man, Corvalde.

[00:26:37] Luis Guzman as Luis Valentin in Q&A: Corvalde?

[00:26:38] Luis Guzman as Luis Valentin in Q&A: Yeah, you f ing coward. Tony loved you like a brother, man. He worked for you since. Hey, hey, hey!

[00:26:43] Luis Guzman: And it was like, wow, this is pretty freaking cool. And so little by little, but you know, you gotta understand, too. You know? I would always encourage Latinos, Blacks, Asians, that I would see, yo, let’s keep going. Let’s keep doing this. You know, your calling is there. You just got to keep pursuing it, you know. And it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy. It was, you know, it was never meant to be easy.

[00:27:12] Luis Guzman: And I just kept it moving. And, you know, I just started getting all these different kinds of roles, but I always used to tell young people, don’t ever forget where you come from.

[00:27:23] Eddie Robinson: That’s right. That’s right.

[00:27:25] Luis Guzman: You know,

[00:27:26] Eddie Robinson: Were there any scenes from Carlitos way that you could recall that were pretty memorable to you?

[00:27:32] Luis Guzman: Yeah. That opening scene. When I, when I see Carlito in the street and I say, yo, you heard about that? They do a 25 years and these young people are here. They will shotgun.

[00:27:43] Luis Guzman as Pachanga in Carlito’s Way: You man just see you fly up in air. You better off in jail. You’re like, I don’t even go up to Black Harlem. No more crazy up there.

[00:27:51] Luis Guzman as Pachanga in Carlito’s Way: Remember Victor?

[00:27:52] Luis Guzman as Pachanga in Carlito’s Way: Victor.

[00:27:53] Luis Guzman: It was amazing, man. I remember that one scene when Lalin is in the office and Pacino finds the the wire on him.

[00:28:08] Al Pacino as Carlito in Carlito’s Way: Look at,

[00:28:09] Al Pacino as Carlito in Carlito’s Way: Wait.

[00:28:10] Al Pacino as Carlito in Carlito’s Way: This is how you beat your 30 years, huh? Piece of

[00:28:13] Luis Guzman: Well, I was outside that door listening to that,

[00:28:18] Eddie Robinson: waiting for your cue.

[00:28:20] Luis Guzman: And I gotta tell you, Eddie, I. I was moved by listening to this guy talking about, yo, look at me, man. I’m in his chair. I got a in the bag. I was feeling so this guy, you know,

[00:28:37] Luis Guzman as Pachanga in Carlito’s Way: look what I got. Look what I got. I mean, look at me. You got everything, man. I mean, come on. Look what I got around with diapers, man. I got f diapers. I s t my pants every day. I can’t walk. I can’t hump. You know? Go ahead and kill me, you c

[00:29:01] Luis Guzman: And I could hear that. And so, you know, then there’s like, I got to snap out of it because I got to remember my cue.

[00:29:07] Luis Guzman in ..: And

[00:29:07] Luis Guzman: they come in, and they was like, I got to flip the switch. I said, what?

[00:29:12] Luis Guzman in ..: This

[00:29:13] Luis Guzman: f achiever? Yo, carito, let me shoot him right now, bye, bye, bye, bye, you know, and I get kicked out the door and stuff like that. But, I also met John Leguizamo, who I think is one of the greatest one man show people in the business.

[00:29:31] John Leguizamo ini Latin History for Morons: Why is all our art called folk art and then all of European art is called fine art? And then modern art is just a folk art gentrified.

[00:29:42] Luis Guzman: And, you know, he does incredible messages and stuff like that. So John and I became really good friends. You know, Johnny Ortiz was in there. You know, it was just like a really, really cool experience, man.

[00:29:56] Luis Guzman: Working at Carlitos Way was one of the best parties I’ve ever been at. Because, you know We had all those club scenes. We had 300 of the best club dances in New York. And so the holding area with all these boom boxes and people dancing and shouting and stuff. It was great, man. It was great. It was just a great movie too, man.

[00:30:22] Luis Guzman: You know, the whole fashion. All that stuff, you know.

[00:30:27] Eddie Robinson: I’m Eddie Robinson and you’re listening to I SEE U. We’re speaking with veteran actor Luis Guzmán about his life and career. You’ve seen him in some incredible films like 1993’s Carlito’s Way and TV series like Wednesday on Netflix. Luis is calling us from his home in Vermont.

[00:30:49] Eddie Robinson: What are you seeing, uh, Luis now in your experiences? You’re a veteran of the industry. You’ve seen how things have evolved. The inclusion, uh, of not seeing a lot of executive producers or directors who are brown. What is Hollywood lacking in your opinion?

[00:31:09] Luis Guzman: Man Hollywood’s lacking a lot.

[00:31:14] Eddie Robinson: Yeah.

[00:31:14] Luis Guzman: I will say that.

[00:31:15] Eddie Robinson: Yeah.

[00:31:16] Luis Guzman: You know, I think it’s come a long way.

[00:31:19] Eddie Robinson: Okay.

[00:31:19] Luis Guzman: But it’s not far enough.

[00:31:21] Eddie Robinson: Okay.

[00:31:22] Luis Guzman: You know, I think that, uh, we need more position people, brown and black and Asian. In, in positions of those executive ships, you know, it’s frustrating to me because I know of black and brown and Asian people that have some of the most incredible projects, you know, and they get turned down, you know, and I hate to say this, but I feel sometimes, you know, that’s a real racial divide because I’ll see like advertising for a movie and I’ll look it up and it’s like, they spent 35 million on that.

[00:32:02] Luis Guzman: And, and the movie doesn’t even open at theaters. It opens on a pay per view or something like that, you know, and somebody paid to make a terrible movie, but I see all these great scripts. I see these great young, aspiring executives that got that together. And that door it just, you know, I, I love, there’s a quote that said, uh, for every door they closed on me.

[00:32:34] Luis Guzman: I’m coming back to buy the building and that’s my attitude. That’s my attitude. I tell, I tell all these young people that, you know, like I have a production company and we’ve done a few film gotten blindsided by distributors because that’s how the system works, unfortunately. And so I want to break that up.

[00:33:00] Luis Guzman: I want to, I want to figure out how Black and Latino to like. How can we start distributing our own movies? Because, you know, we have incredible stories out, you know, and you look at the Oscars and stuff like that, and you see a total misrepresentation. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to take anything away from anyone, but all those people that are there deserve to be there.

[00:33:27] Luis Guzman: You know, they put in the work. You know, they get their award, great, but it would be nice to see a better balance, you know. I don’t understand why Blacks have to have their own award show, why Latinos have to have their own award show. I mean, I do understand why, because we’re not getting the coverage. So we gotta create our own thing.

[00:33:51] Luis Guzman: And mind you, we are, my God, We’re at the top when it comes to music, you know, fashion, you know what I mean? Um, we up and coming in that political world, big time, you know, um, as far as Hollywood goes, you know, I’m not asking for permission. I don’t need nobody’s permission. What I need is I have the support of the community because you know we can go to see all these action movies and we’re the ones that are creating that box office but when it comes to our movies we get five f*****g theaters for a weekend we’re showing you know something that’s a that’s a growth Misrepresentation of our community and our talent, you know, and, and listen, man, I’ve worked with everybody.

[00:34:59] Luis Guzman: I love everybody. I don’t have no enemies, but you know, what I’m speaking here is the truth. I’m not trying to alienate myself or anybody, but the truth is the truth and you can’t walk away from that. But till we as a community really come up with these projects and say, yo, let’s back each other up, you know.

[00:35:22] Luis Guzman: Because, I’m not interested in making Latin movies for Latin people. I’m interested in making Latin movies for the universe. Spike Lee does not make movies for Black people. He makes Black movies for the world to see. Tyler Perry does the same thing. You know, there’s many people out there that do the same thing.

[00:35:41] Luis Guzman: Some of the Academy Award winning directors are Mexican, you know. They deserve those accolades, you know, because they do an incredible job. But on the executive level, on the I’m going to greenlight you level, we don’t exist. We are not, and that’s why I say, you know what, I’m not looking for that permission no more.

[00:36:03] Luis Guzman: Because it’s going to be a real grind to make our own movies. But I always tell people in the community, you’re going to do a good, you’re going to do a movie. That better be a damn

[00:36:14] Eddie Robinson: Good one.

[00:36:15] Luis Guzman: And you better, and you better understand, it’s not about you sitting there saying, this is a great movie. Because I got shown a few things and it’s like, dude, I couldn’t even sit through 10 minutes of this.

[00:36:30] Luis Guzman: We have to do better. And we’re very capable, but again, we need that support. We need that financial support. You know, we need to set up some kind of distribution thing just to get our stuff out there, get it seen, you know, and like, listen, I just want to work with everybody and everybody should work with everybody.

[00:36:53] Eddie Robinson: Yes. And we cannot wait to see the movie. Your biopic, right? No, a movie that shares that. Tells your story your life.

[00:37:02] Luis Guzman: Oh, hey, I just want to tell you this, please. There’s a movie that I shot.

[00:37:06] Eddie Robinson: Oh,

[00:37:07] Luis Guzman: It’s called story as

[00:37:09] Luis Guzman as Luis Torres in the film Story Ave: You’re gonna have to stop talking so much. I can’t even hear myself think hey, Luis, nice to meet you What’s a gun like mine doing the face like yours? I don’t know stranger You were happier often.

[00:37:27] Luis Guzman: It was written and directed by a young man named Aristotle Torres.

[00:37:31] Eddie Robinson: Okay.

[00:37:32] Luis Guzman: My son was one of the producers on it.

[00:37:34] Eddie Robinson: Love it.

[00:37:35] Luis Guzman: You know what? It’s a little movie that, like I said, man, unfortunately, like in our earlier conversation, you know, the whole distribution aspect of it just pretty much didn’t work out the way we wanted it to and just kind of got lost.

[00:37:51] Luis Guzman: But everyone that has seen that movie. Everyone that has reviewed that movie has absolutely loved it. Why it didn’t go further is beyond me, kind of heartbreaking.

[00:38:02] Eddie Robinson: Because I remember seeing a news clip or something saying that after you read the script, you insisted on not only being in the film, but being a part of the film, executive producing it and the whole thing, but in your heart of hearts, why do you think it was dropped?

[00:38:18] Luis Guzman: It got limited distribution. .

[00:38:21] Eddie Robinson: Okay.

[00:38:21] Luis Guzman: You know, it got, and it got, like I said, things got political.

[00:38:26] Eddie Robinson: Oh.

[00:38:26] Luis Guzman: It was, it was bull***t. It’s a great film. Great actors. You know, everybody put their blood, sweat and tears into this. And it just goes to show what happens when you’re up against the machine. It’s like, these are the kinds of roles that I want to always be doing.

[00:38:46] Luis Guzman: You know, they’re beautiful, you know, they’re heartfelt. There’s a tragedy to them. But, um, Again, it’s just something that it was eye opening, and I wanted to support this young Latino filmmaker. I wanted to support my son. You know, we was, we was up against a lot of stuff, you know. And also, we didn’t get the support that we should have gotten from certain people.

[00:39:17] Luis Guzman: And that was very telling to me. Because I have always supported everybody, in every way, in every form. You know, it’s messed up, you know, but you know what? I keep it moving. I keep it going. I’m not going to go down like that. So.

[00:39:37] Eddie Robinson: Coming up, we wrap up our chat with acclaimed actor Luis Guzmán. We explore the challenges and triumphs of his remarkable acting career. Plus, a moment of vulnerability. As Luis shares a story about his friend, the late Robin Williams, known as one of the greatest comedians of all time, how his death by suicide a decade ago still resonates with him and has impacted his entire life moving forward.

[00:40:08] Luis Guzman: Nobody really sees us like, you know, the name of your podcast, you know, nobody really sees us as the human being that we truly are.

[00:40:20] Eddie Robinson: I’m Eddie Robinson, a revealing final segment. You do not want to miss. I SEE U returns right after this.

[00:40:41] Eddie Robinson: If you’re enjoying this program, be sure to subscribe to our podcast. I SEE U with Eddie Robinson. You can hear all the past episodes and be notified when new episodes are released. Also, please take a minute to give us a review or comment. We love getting feedback from our listeners.

[00:41:06] Eddie Robinson: This is I SEE U. I’m your host, Eddie Robinson. We’ve been speaking with veteran actor and comedian, Luis Guzmán. His acting range is quite fascinating. One minute, he’s a bad guy or a villain. The next, he’s playing a cop or a detective. Whatever the role, his experiences in life have provided a strong foundation for him.

[00:41:31] Eddie Robinson: Starting off as a social worker, then being involved in activist street theater work. The veteran actor comedian shows no sign of slowing down as he opens up about his family life and career. With a quick advisory, as much of this conversation will include a discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in a crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

[00:42:04] Eddie Robinson: Calling us from his home in Vermont, I SEE U. As we wrap up our chat with Luis Guzmán, I look at you and your storied career, I sometimes think of you as the people’s actor. It’s like, when we see you, when I SEE U, I see someone who’s devoted, who’s loyal. Who’s community oriented, so relatable, so warm hearted, despite all the intense range of characters that you portray.

[00:42:38] Eddie Robinson: What is it do you think it is about you that so many people of different ethnicities, of different backgrounds, of different age groups, why do they gravitate to you?

[00:42:53] Luis Guzman: Thank you. Wow. I have to say that I’m very humble. I’m very humble, man. You know, I know what it is to meet someone who’s iconic and I know what it is to be kind of dismissed by someone that you look up to and that is hurtful.

[00:43:17] Luis Guzman: And my mom, I was out somewhere with my mom many, many years ago. And somebody wanted an autograph, and I said, excuse me, I’m with my mom. My mom grabbed me by the collar, and she’s face to face with me, and she goes, those are the people that pay your bills. And when she said that to me, I was like, that changed a lot in me.

[00:43:44] Luis Guzman: Um, but you know, it also just showed me that, you know, being humble, you know. You making a difference in somebody’s life and, uh, the fact that you take 30 seconds to say, Hey, what can I ask people now that what’s your name? Where do you do? Where are you from? You know, because I, I really want to know, you know, somebody nowadays, everybody wants a picture with you and sometimes it’s like, can I take a picture with you?

[00:44:16] Luis Guzman: You know? And so. I had the right upbringing. I know what it is to see someone that I really look up to that really does take the time. You know, I don’t show up thinking that I’m better than anybody. I don’t think, I don’t show up with a big ego. I come here to support, to do my art, to make you look good, because you’re going to make me look good.

[00:44:41] Luis Guzman: This is a team effort here. Let’s go.

[00:44:46] Eddie Robinson: Could you share with us a story or narrative of the most challenging experience you’ve ever encountered as an actor? Whether if it was on set or during a particular scene, it’s an incident or something that’s happened that’s resonated with you over the years. You know, It may have been negative, it may have been positive, it may have inspired you or motivated you to keep going, but it pops up in your mind repeatedly.

[00:45:11] Luis Guzman: My God, there’s been so many. I guess, um, I guess for me, it’s been losing people that I’ve worked with. And one of those being Robin Williams, because I knew Robin. He was such a joy.

[00:45:35] Robin Williams as John Keating – Dead Poets Society: Now in this class, you can either call me Mr. Keating or if you’re slightly more daring or captain. My captain,

[00:45:43] Luis Guzman: I saw a side of Robin that most people don’t really see, and I had just flown back from Paris.

[00:45:51] Luis Guzman: Uh, I did a movie out there and I flew back and I’m coming through immigration and I finally turned on my phone and my son says, Hey, pop. We lost Robin.

[00:46:05] News Story about the death of Robin Williams: Good evening. A brilliant light has gone out in Hollywood tonight. Robin Williams, whose fierce, frenetic comedy captivated us for decades, has died at age 63.

[00:46:15] Luis Guzman: And at the time, I didn’t understand what he meant by that. I got into the car, and I’m getting texts from a few of my friends. They say, you know, sorry to hear about Robin. Sorry to hear about Robin. So I looked up like the news and it says, you know, Robin Williams suspected of committing suicide. And so when I got to my apartment in New York and my son opened the door, I basically collapsed because, you know, we do a lot as performers and stuff like that, but nobody really sees us like, you know, the name of your podcast, you know, nobody really sees us as a human being that we truly are.

[00:47:06] Luis Guzman: And, you know, sure we’re there to entertain things like that. And, you know, you get someone and, and the reason I bring up this example, you know, because it’s, it is life changing in the fact that you do realize how precious life is and no matter how funny you are, you live with a certain pain. And nobody knows, nobody sees, you know, because I’ve known, I’ve lived with it and I’ve seen other people live with it.

[00:47:37] Luis Guzman: I’ve had to bring some people out of that despair myself, you know.

[00:47:45] Eddie Robinson: And a question that we always love to ask people of all the accomplishments, your successful award winning actor in multiple film and TV roles, the remarkable talent and acting professionals you’ve worked with, you’ve collaborated with, you’re a father, you’re a husband, a brother, Luis Guzmán. What lessons have you learned about yourself thus far?

[00:48:12] Luis Guzman: I’m sensitive, that I can be vulnerable at times, that I work things out. I worked through things. I still got things to learn about myself and I’m okay with that because I want to learn more. I think my biggest accomplishment in my life really is being a dad because people don’t understand though. I could have all these accolades, you know, you know, and done this, you know, done that, but it also has taken away moments, basketball games, plays, birthdays.

[00:48:55] Luis Guzman: And, you know, it gets to a point that, uh, all my, all my children are adults and I am now making up for that lost time, you know, because I love my family. I love my kids. I know what they mean to me. I know what I mean to them. And, uh, and I told this to any man I see that, you know, being a dad is the most important job you ever want to have in your life.

[00:49:31] Luis Guzman: And so I want to always live up to that, you know, because you never stop being a dad, you know, being an actor, you know, God has helped me along the way. My own spirituality has helped me along the way. My mom, my dad, my stepdad. My community. Uh, what’s that saying? It takes a village to raise a child and this is, this is your child, you know?

[00:50:02] Luis Guzman: So I will always encourage anybody to do good in life, you know, to do the best that they can, you know, I’ve, I’ve, I’ve dealt, I’ve dealt with like a lot of friends who have lost to drug addiction and alcoholism and AIDS and not taking care of themselves and stuff like that. But I have a lot of good friends that have come out to see the light, living a good life, you know, and like I say, you know, we just live the human condition the best that we can. I don’t call it the struggles of life. I call it the challenges, you know, because the challenge is something that you take on. You can overcome and you could learn from it. To struggle, it’s too steep and sometimes it is a struggle. Don’t get me wrong, but you know, I believe that when we look at something as a challenge, we can take it on. We can do what we have to do.

[00:51:10] Eddie Robinson: Veteran actor, producer, Luis Guzmán, thank you so much for being a guest on I SEE U.

[00:51:18] Luis Guzman: Eddie, I hope we get to meet one day, brother.

[00:51:21] Luis Guzman: We owe, we owe each other a hug and some stories. Okay?

[00:51:24] Eddie Robinson: Yes.

[00:51:26] Eddie Robinson: Our incredible team includes technical director. Todd Hulslander, producers, Laura Walker and Mincho Jacob. I SEE U is a production of Houston Public Media. Follow us on Instagram and X we’re at I SEE U show or at facebook. com slash I SEE U radio show.

[00:51:49] Eddie Robinson: Subscribe to our podcast, wherever you listen and download your favorite shows. Check out our show page. I SEE U show. org. I’m your host and executive producer, Eddie Robinson, and I feel you. We hear you. I SEE U. Thanks so much for listening until next time.