The Latino Resurrection
Showtime drama series "Resurrection
Blvd." is a landmark for Latinos on television.
Interview by Luther Orrick-Guzman
 Recently,
Showtime debuted "Resurrection Blvd.," a new series
about the Santiagos, a family living in East L.A. who faces many
challenges. The series, now in the midst of its first season,
features a big Latino cast that includes Nicholas Gonzalez, Michael
DeLorenzo, Ruth Livier, Mauricio Mendoza, Marisol Nichols, Tony
Plana and Elizabeth Peña. In addition to the cast being
Latino, the people behind the scenes are, if not all, mostly
Latino as well-a landmark in the English-language television
industry. qvMagazine spoke with Nicholas Gonzalez, the sexy young
male star of the show.
Tell us about your role
in "Resurrection Blvd." I play a young medical student who ends up going
back into boxing. That's in the first episode. I star alongside
Michael DeLorenzo from "New York Undercover" and other
stars. It's on Showtime, and for the first season, we got picked
up for 22 episodes.
Are you the protagonist
of the show? Yes,
I play the young lead.
Can you show us some
boxing moves? (Laughs)
I can show you a stance or two (He does a couple of boxing punches).
Tell us what we can
expect from the show?
You can expect a lot of drama. It's an ensemble cast with a lot
of different stories. There's a lot of great boxing and a lot
of heartfelt family drama, though it's not a family show, per
se.
People have been comparing
it to "The Sopranos?" What's your take on it? I'd like to say we can be up there
as far as caliber of that show-to fall along those guys, but
it's got a different feel. I'm tempted to say it's good old fashion
drama, but it's very different. It's pretty raw, and I don't
mean that in a way of being in your face. It's got a lot of heart
to it. It's got a lot of great writing.
What other projects
could we have seen you in?
I did a stint on "MTV Undressed." I did six episodes.
And I've done a movie with Joe Montana called "My Little
Assassin." And I've done "Darma and Greg" and
other television shows.
What did you play in
Undressed? I played
a young professional homosexual man. (Pauses) -an acting stretch.
What was that like? It was interesting. More than
anything, it was fun. I mean, you had a bunch of straight guys
trying to do a take on QV men because none of the actors were
QV. It was fun. We gave it a lot of dignity, and it wasn't mocking
in any way. It was a comedy, pretty much. It was high comedy.
Roland Joffe was the executive producer on the project so that
originally attracted me to the project. More than anything, it
turned out to be a barrel of laughs. I mean six episodes, six
days, really fast, fast taping. It turned out that most people
recognized me from that show more than anything else that I've
done.
So do people, as a result
of you being in MTV Undressed, think that you're QV? No, they don't. Actually, the surprising
thing is I've gotten comments from QV men who've come up and
said, "Hey, I think you did a great job!" I think I
pulled it off, but it's something I admit I didn't think I would.
Did you have a romantic
scene in there?
Well, I had a boyfriend. (Pauses).
What has been your most
prominent role?
Probably so far, "Resurrection Blvd."
What message can you
give to our qvReaders out there-a message for your QV fans? Buy Showtime! (Laughs) That would
be pretty much the best message I can give to anyone!
"Resurrection
Blvd." airs Mondays at 10p.m. on Showtime. You can also
visit the show's website at: showtimeonline.com/resblvd
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