- Bobby my first real question,
really was just I was reading you
and David (Ayer) have known each other for a while.
How did you guys come to come to meet?
- Uh about five years ago,
I walked into this dojo in Echo Park.
This mixed martial arts studio,
led by Alexander Mesquita.
Since then in college,
And I was studying that for about a year and a half.
And then, I started training with someone,
this tall white guy I didn't know who he was.
We just became friends,
started hitting it and we hit it off.
And it started very slowly though.
It was like, "Hey, do you want to spot me when I work out?"
Do you want, do you want us, like, it was just very,
very minimal.
And, from that grew into like becoming just buddies
and then from buddies,
we started hanging out from hanging out.
One day to the next was like,
"do you wanna be in a movie with me?
you want to make a movie with me?"
And I say, " Yeah, I do."
So he said "all right then" I'm going to give you something
and were going to work together
and were going prepare when we rehearse
and then we'll get into it, so Greenville started.
- No, I was going to say did you still have to do
the kind of whole auditioning, casting a side of it
or was it a bit of a, straight entry?
(giggling)
- No, there was no audition process.
I think the audition process actually,
it was just the relationship
him and I created.
I think that's kind of the best collaborations is,
falling in love with someone
and then being able to create with them.
I think that's a huge testament of what kind of relationship
you're creating and friendships you wanna have.
And so for David who's really well received in the industry
and has a huge career and everyone knows him for so long.
I think for him, he was...
he and I were both looking for something to do
and it just worked out that he had time
~and he wanted to create with me
and I feel more than grateful
and I'm just forever blessed for his opportunity.
And it was, amazing.
- I know, obviously your character is, he's quite flawed,
then it gets involved in some murky things,
but he's, a real kind of family man.
And I guess it's for you as an actor,
was that were you could connect,
was that the kind of strand that you could click on to
that he is a compassionate
and he is a caring person that values his family
and their wellbeing.
- Definitely, definitely.
Also I think it's like a lot of,
Chicano's are these characters,
these gangsters in South Los Angeles with guards,
just poets they're really, very sensitive human beings.
Even with these hard exteriors,
really what they want is love
and like everyone else.
And so it's not that far away from a regular day person or
someone like myself who can really relate because I too have
family that I love dearly
and I would do anything for.
I think any one of us would do that,
it's a universal theme when if you're put into a tight spot,
what are you going to do?
And I think anyone of us will protect
and care for the ones that we love.
And so it might be this really raw and tough this stuff,
but at the end of the day you go home to your mommy,
your daddy and your wife and kids and your brother
and your sisters, and you really,
It has to be, you'll do everything for.
- So just as a, not as a rule of thumb,
but as an actor do you think you need to like the character
you play in order to portray them
or at least understand their motives?
- Uh.
Yeah I don't think it's a like or dislike.
I think it's more just what kind of what parts of themselves
can you, find within your own self
and just use that.
uh
Not judging your character and not judging
and the scripting. Cause obviously you take the job,
so you want it,
which means that you're gonna put your whole heart into it
and, and be genuine with it.
So that's the first and foremost, the first action.
And then after that, it's about appreciating your character
and understanding their life
and understanding the reasons why they do these things.
And then it becomes even more of a,
of a ripple effect from there.
- Yeah of course I mean, this is all set
in your kind of hometown.
Is this a kind of, I know obviously this,
this world is quite underground, but is it,
is it something you've ever kind of encountered firsthand
or seen even just from even just a friend that's kind of
falling in with the wrong crowd or anything?
- Yeah. Yes.
Yeah, definitely.
This is a very vibrant and very alive organism that's..
and I believe in many ghettos,
in many places in all around the world,
I think it's just not, not talked about.
And in big media,
I myself grew up in South central Los Angeles.
So it's a,
it's a day-to-day thing and a day-to-day struggle,
or it's an easy way to make money or easy way to
live your life very fast. So you can actually,
or you can decide if you're lucky and have the opportunity
to step away from that and find some other interests
outside of that. But it's, it's only,
it's a cycle and it has to do with, you know,
it goes down to like the political stuff
with educational programs and artists artistic programs.
And it goes down to like,
just the way that the community and the society that,
that Los Angeles is based in, you know,
it's how does the community,
or how does it reflect itself
and how does it take care of itself? So, you know,
it really takes a lot to actually want to break away from
something that you you're,
you grew up around your whole life,
and it just becomes your norm.
- With that in mind,
how much does like the movies of David Day in some way,
kind of help the community in giving kind of
opportunities to, to, to young people.
I mean, obviously there's loads of extras on the set.
I'm assuming he found a lot of people from,
from the local area. I mean,
when you remember growing up and you saw films like
training day, did, did that give you a sense of like,
you know, like I could do that.
I could be in movies like that is it's it's his projects in
some ways helping that, the area.
- Uh yeah, definitely.
The, the, the thing about David is that no one else,
there's nobody else that's telling a lot of Los Angeles
story more than David Ayers.
He, it,
if you look at harsh times or if you see training day,
or if you see even bright, even if you see, you know,
suicide squad, he's got a,
he's got one of the first Chicano superheroes in their
Diablo,
which is Playboy JNN is so he's always trying to implement
the lifestyle and the culture that he grew up in,
and that he's in love with. And, you know,
he definitely gives back to the community. I mean,
we were filming this film, the tax collector,
we filmed all over South central Los Angeles. So it was,
it was really just a great opportunity to come back to the
literally two blocks where I grew up from.
So like my grandmother still lives around that neighborhood
and my grandfather too. And so, you know,
I have a lot of relationships around there
while we were filming, like at this park.
So it was just a great opportunity, you know,
to come full circle, me and David. Yes, of course,
he's always trying to implement
the Los Angeles street culture.
And there's not a lot of people that can do that
authentically. And I don't think I've ever seen anyone else.
I mean, if you talk about Los Angeles,
you're always gonna,
people are always gonna mention training day, you know,
if you ever want to talk about street culture
is either training is,
you're going to talk about training day regardless,
you know, that's just, and, and, and,
and, and the watch, you know,
you're going to talk about these films and because it's,
it's really what a lot of this goes down.
A lot of it happens.
- You mentioned your family.
Did you get them along to the set at all?
Did you get your grandparents to come and see you
see you filming?
- No, I didn't.
No. I didn't take anybody on set to my,
my family was just because it's work, you know,
and I was just, I didn't have like time to,
to introduce people,
you know, it wouldn't work out like that.
It was really just work.n
- But that, outside of that. Did you,
did you get the chance to experience the movie?
I know. I think I've read somewhere
that you saw the film on a,
in an open air theater ,
which must've been a really special experience to you.
Were you able to share it then with your family and friends?
- Yeah. Yes, definitely.
Yeah. They all came by and it was,
it was great because it was a drive-in theater that I went
to growing up as a kid and everyone from Los Angeles.
That's the drive-in you go to.
like, that's just the one you go to
because that's the closest one
and it's the cheapest and the most affordable one.
So I went there and then it was, that was amazing.
And to have every screen with the film going on,
and it was a packed house and a lot of my family and friends
were in it. And so I really enjoyed that.
Thank you for asking those. That was cool.
- Yeah. Cause I was wondering too,
cause obviously you met us talking
about the kind of opportunities David will
give to, to, to lo to locals, to,
to get involved in the project cast and crew.
I was reading you and Shia open
as a star in this new theater.
is that, is that with a sort of similar intention,
to give opportunities to young people in the area that
perhaps might not have been given
this kind of route otherwise.
- Yes. A hundred percent.
Yeah, definitely.
That was exactly what we wanted.
We, it was,
it came from a dream of never having a place to unplug and
to plug in and to always check in and create and constantly
and consistently creating and touching, touching the love,
you know, for art, because a lot of times in film, you know,
you don't have that opportunity. And then at the same time,
this neighborhood that I grew up in,
you have to take two to three hours drive so Hollywood to,
to find an acting class, you know,
or to find some kind of artistic endeavor.
And so growing up in that neighborhood myself, I just,
I always was looking for in this.
It was always a dream of mine and Shia as well.
He met a lot of local people in the community
he's in echo park. So Shia grew up in echo park,
which is not far from Los Angeles and South LA
where I grew up at. So, you know, we were both,
we were able to like link on that and then create something
and give back to the community and,
and constantly touching that art with also people that have
never got involved with this. So it was like this, you know,
it was a very, it's just, it all just merged together.
You know.
- How have you, how has that been affected by the pandemic,
the kind of opening of this fed.
So I've actually used the chance to help write and prepare
for when it does eventually kind of come to fruition.
- Well, we actually created a play
and our first, yeah,
and our first play was on October 2nd.
Our first show was October 2nd.
And we have this whole month of October.
We're sold out already. Oh yeah.
We have 15 shows and we're already sold out.
You know, we've already been on many,
many people have come and seen it. And, and it's,
already getting some, some media attention,
which is great because you know, a lot of these kids,
these people that have earned our, our company
have never been in something at the size of this.
And now it's like it's happening for real for them.
And it's amazing. And uh
And a we created us, you know, it's a,
COVID friendly production to drive in theaters
theater production. So it's really,
you can see it happening in front of your car.
You're in your car.
You've seen the screens playing out. So it's a,
it's a big it's, it's a live cinema at its best.
And it's, it's amazing.
And I had the opportunity of being there for the last,
we were there for about six months, you know,
and every Saturday we take a test or a COVID test and that
we keep it safe and keep our masks six feet of distance.
But we're still creating together.
And so it, which is we really,
we know that the world needs to have something
and to watch and to be entertained and to feel delighted,
to feel good about. So we created this, this,
this piece and, and it's,
it's really something amazing.
- It sounds like you're very committed
to giving opportunities
to like the next generation of actors. I was wondering if,
you was your kind of equivalent that you,
was there anyone that took you under their wing
that really helped you
and guide you when you sort of first started off?
- Yeah, there was, there was this lady I grew up.
See, I grew up in South central Los Angeles man
I grew up in the streets
and none, no art program was available.
And when I was a little kid, I got into a lot of trouble.
And the only way that I was able to put that
into another outlet, my mother put,
I was blessed to have my mom
who actually wanted me to get out of it.
So she put me into a class with the lady named Lisa Puckett
and David Cockman and all they would.
And these, this couple, they,
they teach acting Tuesday and they have classes for the
youth and, and they've done a great,
great thing with their lives.
And they just held onto me and they didn't let me leave.
Even when I was having tantrums when I was a kid
and I didn't want to be there because
I was the only Brown kid in the class.
Like I was the only dark skinned kid in the class that no
one, everyone else was white.
So, and, but Lisa and David, you know, they, they,
they showed me other, they,
they showed me to see the other side of it
and they really inspired me and they held onto me
and they really pushed me. So, you know,
I give a lot of my love and thanks to them because
without them, I wouldn't be here right now.
That's the truth. And yeah.
- Yeah, because I've been thinking so much
of getting into films and getting roles like this
comes out from being in the right place at the right time.
So meeting David and then add this dojo and then kind of
these kinds of, these small encounters always end up leading
to big things,
but that doesn't take away from the hard grafting.
Does it either?
I mean, it sounds like you've really
worked hard since you were young to, to get to this stage,
to be the lead role in a movie of this nature.
Has it, did you finally feel now,
like it's all been for something
or is the journey still ongoing?
- I think God works in his own and his mysterious ways.
And I believe that simply you know,
I believe in the universe, his got his own plan for everyone
and it unfolds when it's supposed to unfold and he,
you know, it gives us what we, what we need,
not what we want.
And so it's all about just concentrating and staying focused
and having this narrow vision of,
of what you want and your goal,
and just allowing life to be life and then,
and continuing that journey. And so, yes.
I do think it's a lot of it is the synchronicities
are just things just happening and,
uh
you know, riding those waves.
- So I've been,
I interviewed Shia last year for the peanut butter Falcon.
He was paired with his Costar, Zack,
and it sounds like the two of them
struck up this incredible relationship on set.
And it sounds like you two,
you and Shia are also strikes.
So it feels like whoever he's kind of paired with on set,
he's, he really makes a real di-line,
to find something between you that's working.
And it's not a coincidence that he's obviously now
made such good friends with twos or costars in recent years.
What is it about him as a collaborator that,
that makes him such a,
not just a great person to work alongside,
but actually a really close friend as Well?
- Shia likes to listen, Shia loves,
he loves to listen and he loves to be around
genuine human beings. And I've met Zach before,
and Zach's a great human being, someone that's just always,
always honest and truthful, and you cannot,
you cannot tell a lie around him
because he's just, he sees through it. He's amazing.
And I think for Shia himself,
you would have to ask him that question,
but from what I've seen, it's just, he's,
he's really an open human being, you know,
he's really open and patient and, and, and really he,
he can listen to you know, really well
and he understands and he's, he's empathetic. So.
- It must really helped
sort of raise the game of everyone around
on set, not just Shia,
but when you get these sort of vibes or more methods
to actors, actors,
who are so dedicated to the scene that they're in and to the
character they're playing,
I guess, does that filter through to everyone on set
when you're working alongside people who
are so committed to the,
to the role into the project.
- I think anybody that's committed to any project
or any role in any circumstances
is going to affect everyone around them.
Because you know, when you really see someone going for it,
it just makes you want to go for it as well.
Because there's like someone who's setting the bar.
And when someone sets the bar, you don't want to be below.
You want to be right there with them.
So I feel like everyone, everyone,
no matter who it is or where they're at, or what was said,
or what if someone just turned like you see it,
like we see it in daily life when someone really means
what they say,
and then everyone around them wants some
like say what they mean to, and then everyone, like,
and then it becomes this ripple effect of like,
like everyone being honest and genuine,
and then you just get no and then you just, it elevates.
And yes, I do believe that it, regardless of who it is,
a commitment is commitment.
And when you see somebody committing to something, well,
you want to do it too, because it looks so fun.
You know? Yeah.
- Some of my final question was just about
what's what's next for you.
And obviously you're working on this play,
but have you been auditioning for anything,
during lockdown or so how have you taken this time?
Just to focus purely on the theater.
- Yeah. We took the,
we took this whole time to focus purely on Sloss and rec
theater and creating that piece. And also right now,
I'm currently in a hotel I'm in Mexico city
working on a TV series for Netflix,
but I can't say the name apparently
because its just the way it is.
But yeah, I just got here last week,
so I'm blessed and I'm happy.
And I'm happy that this is something that, you know,
many actors, I know, like they're not working, you know,
cause they're just waiting to like production and stuff.
Doesn't know how they're going to go about things.
And I'm lucky that I had this job last year
and now they came back and they will,
they're starting up again.
So, you know, many, many people are not working you know,
which is unfortunate inside.
But I think what it's doing is a great thing with
putting people together
and having them work out their kinks
and figuring what they want to create.
I feel like once the industry is really back on,
there'll be so many things coming at it all at once.
So people have to be prepared. You know, and just work hard.
- I was going to say,
I'm not going to ask you what it is you're shooting.
Don't worry. But I just wondered if,
if you've been shooting with that new social distancing
measures and guidelines and how you found the kind of new
way of working?
- Uh
it's an adjustment for sure.
It's an adjustment for sure.
And I think, I mean, there's, it's,
I think the most beautiful thing is that
because there's social distancing,
you can only be in a group of people that
you're allowed to be around with
because of course everyone's being tested and
this and that, so you're being safe.
And so then, then now your circle is very small.
And so now he creates this connection with everyone,
all the actors and artists,
or whoever else is in that circle.
That's the only people who can be around.
So now you're like really creating like a real,
like real friendships and relationships that you wouldn't
have had last time, because before this thing, because now,
you know, now it's like, you're forced into these bubbles,
and it's a lot of fun because you get to really know each
- Well best of of luck, with the rest of the shoot,
and thanks for your time today, it's been a real pleasure.
- Thanks man, you too.
- ladies and gentlemen your watching 'hey you guys'.
- Hey you guys, huh?
Is that from the Goonies?
- Hey you guys.