-Welcome to the show. -Thank you so much.
I don't know why I immediately do prayer hands every time
-I just hear a clap. -I think-- I think it's a sign of humility.
-Yes. Hello. Thank you. -That's what that is. It's just like,
-"I-I praise you and thank you. -Namaste.
-I praise you and thank you. -Thank you so much. Thank you."
-Thanks for having me, man. -Uh, but thank you for being
-on the show. Thank you very much. -And thank you
-for having dimples. -Uh... Yeah.
Dimples gang. Uh, that's-that's the only reason I had you on.
I was like, "There's something about this guy."
-Surgically placed. It's great. -Congratulations
-on the new show. -Thank you so much. Yeah.
Before we get into that, I want to talk to, uh, you
about some of the roles people may have seen you from.
Because you are one of my favorite actors,
-in that you have such a range. -Oh, thank you.
Like, genuinely. So, I remember the first time I saw you
-was on Broad City. Right? -Right.
That's where a lot of people love you from.
-(cheering and applause) -Thank you so much.
-(chuckles) -And then I remember
I was watching Narcos,
and there's this spoiled brat,
-who was, like-- Yeah. Terrible human being -Terrible human.
who's a son of, like, the cartel and, like--
one of the guys in the cartel. And-and I'm watching it.
Like, five, six episodes in, I was like, "Wait a minute.
-Is that Broad City? Is that-- is that you?" -Yeah.
It's actually a version of Broad City.
-And th-that's-- And then I was just like, "Wait, wait." -Yeah.
And it's so confusing to me. But, like-- but it--
You-you completely flip as a character.
You actually had people who had a conspiracy theory
-that it was the same character. -Yeah. That he went into
a witness protection program after Narcos
and just decided to become Jaime.
He's like, "I'm done with the violence.
Hello, everybody." You know? (chuckles)
But, you know, I was shooting both shows simultaneously.
You know? So I was flying back and forth,
and sometimes there'd be torture scenes.
And I'd be like... (speaking Spanish gruffly)
-"Okay..." -And they're like, "You're doing Jaime."
-And I'm like, "Crap. Okay." -(laughing)
-Oh, man. -"Hand me a gun so I know what to do with my hands."
-Yeah, well, that was two characters. -Yeah.
Now you're doing, what, 40 characters?
-42 characters. -How many different people do you do
-on the show? -I also played a taste bud
in a Wazoo taffy commercial,
so let's not forget that. It was--
-Very versatile then as well. -Yeah, but this--
but this is a sketch show where you are playing--
I mean, we saw-- we saw a little hint of it there.
And-and, um, I mean, you-you cover everything.
It's-it's not a political sketch show.
-It's just a sketch show. You-- -No. Yeah.
You know, you do stuff about Guatemala, where you're from.
You know, you do stuff about America.
You do stuff about just, like-- just dating
-and the world and being Latino. -Sure.
How, like-- How do you even come up with a show like that?
And why was it important for you to make it as varied as it is?
Well, my mother calls me and tells me what to do,
so I'm just really sticking to that plan.
Uh, no, I have a wonderful writers' room.
A very diverse one, thankfully.
And their-their minds are so creative.
But, like, the thing about, sort of, dating scenes,
is that, like, you know, being Latino,
everybody sort of expects you to be, like, suave, you know,
and really like spicy food or be really good at dancing.
I'm a terrible dancer.
I really like matcha, you know?
It doesn't go with the vibe.
-So... (laughs) -(laughing)
I've never seen somebody, sort of, like, be
as neurotic as I am, I think, you know, on television.
So I thought I'd give a little bit of a spin on that...
Right. Doesn't go with the stereotypes.
It doesn't go with the stereotype.
Man, I suck at spicy food. I mean, like, really.
I'm the dude with a glass of milk at the Mexican restaurant.
You know? And, like, even, like, the other waiters walk by, like,
"Not cool, cabrón. Not cool." You know?
-Like, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry." -(laughing)
I'm not a spicy-loving guy.
Um, what do you think some of the biggest misconceptions are
about being Latino that you've come across in America
that you try and debunk in the show?
Well, you know, there's this thing
about being ultra-violent or being lazy.
Like, you know, the most--
the most common misconception is about Latinos being--
immigrants being lazy.
Where I find Latino immigrants to be
some of the hardest-working people in the world, right?
-And so... -(cheering and applause)
Yeah.
They are all Latino immigrants!
This is a-- They're all! Look at them!
Look at these wonderful faces.
Uh, those are misconceptions.
-The suaveness are misconceptions. -Right.
That we're mama's boy is completely true.
Uh, that one is completely accurate.
But I just-- You know, I find humor to be a really, um...
you know, informative tool and an empathy-building tool.
-Yes. -And so my whole theory is that,
if you see somebody go through something, uh,
that you can relate to and they don't look like you,
then maybe next time you see them,
-it will be less foreign to you. -That's interesting.
And I really like wearing wigs.
(laughs) And, uh, uh, putting on dresses
and, uh, shaving my legs.
So it really works out, you know, uh... (laughs)
for the type of thing I want to do. (chuckles)
It's-it's a really exciting show.
Uh, the first episode premiered.
We're about to see a whole bunch
of your-your comedic talents and your-- and your acting.
There's got to be one character that you enjoy playing than mo--
-than most. Who-who is that one character -Uh, yeah.
that you feel like this is-- this is secretly Arturo
-if you couldn't be yourself? -Well, yeah.
I think the Pitbull one was really fun.
Uh, 'cause I don't do a direct imitation of him--
just my interpretation of him. And it's all just me going,
like, "Dale. I love Bud Light Lime." You know?
-(laughing) -And it's just, like,
me going like that for four hours.
And, like, you know, the bald cap and sort of the--
But the thing is, so we wrote this in L.A., right?
And my writers and I forgot that there's this thing
called weather. And then we-we shoot a bunch of, like,
Puerto Rico sketches in shorts in winter,
-you know, in New York City. -Right.
So, this, for Pitbull, I was in a bathrobe,
uh, in Long Island on January 17,
just freezing my ass off, you know?
And so "dale" gets harder to say.
Like, "D-Dale. ¡Dale! Dale."
And your mouth gets tinier and tinier.
So I hope Pitbull appreciates the tiny-mouthed perspective
-that I'm giving him, you know? -Yeah. Just be like,
"Hey, Pitbull, it was all the weather, my friend."
-"It's all the weather, brother. -It was all
-the weather, man. -"You got to d-dale
in your heart meat. 100%."
And I'm like, "What am I talking about?" You know?
-Dude, I'm so excited for the show. -Thank you so much.
I'm excited to see you acting out as 42 people,
plus a taste bud. Thank you so much for being on the show.
-Thank you so much, man. -Appreciate you.
Alternatino with Arturo Castro airs Tuesdays
at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.
Arturo Castro, everybody.