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Esai Morales
Latin Times : Being a Latino actor did you have any struggles and obstacles that you had to overcome ? Esai Morales : Certainly , but I don ’ t think only Latino actors face the struggles of making it in Hollywood . We all have to learn the ropes . There is no owners manual but there are certainly unwritten rules and processes . I credit actors like Jose Ferrer and Raul Julia for opening doors not only to Latino actors but to other ethnic groups . There are also Brando , Olivier and etc .
Latin Times : Tell us about your family and how you were brought up , spirituality , beliefs and traditions . Esai Morales : I grew up Catholic . That was my basic upbringing . As I became older I was able to experience other beliefs and cultures . I was able to expand and begin a journey into self-realization and knowledge . I am still learning . I love to learn . I have a passion to discover the truth , whatever that truth may be . My mom was a union organizer . I learned from her you must speak up and stand for what ’ s right . I guess you can say I am a non-conformist . An evolutionary , rather than a revolutionary man .
Latin Times : What new projects are you currently working on ? Esai Morales : I am on two tv-shows . One is called Criminal Minds on CBS and the other one is called Major Crimes on TNT . Very popular shows and I am enjoying being part of them . I also shot two movies recently , Saving Westbrook High and Recon : Jarhead II . Saving Westbrook High deals with the heavy topic of school closures in the U . S . Recon : Jarhead II is a war movie .
Soon I will be shooting a movie called La Vida Robot staring George Lopez based on the true and inspirational story of a group of Latino high school kids who compete in an underwater robotics competition with the likes of MIT . I am also very active with the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts which I co-founded with Sonia Braga and Jimmy Smitts .
Latin Times : What advice can you give young Latinos who are striving to become actors ? Esai Morales : Persist . Then persist again . Surround yourself with positive role models . Learn the skill of acting . It is a craft that must be learned . There is method to our madness . What you bring into it with your own unique perspective and talent is a bonus .
Latin Times : Who alive or passed have been your hero or inspiration in your life ? Esai Morales : Jose Ferrer and Raul Julia are at the top of my list . Jose Ferrer received an Academy Award ( R ) for playing a non-Latino role . He was not the gardener or the butler . He was Cyrano de Bergerac . The first Puerto Rican as well as the first Latin actor to win an Academy Award . These are men who not only broke new ground but opened paths for others as well as set high standards .
I also admire John Lennon and Paul Robes .
Born Esai Manuel Morales , Jr . on Oct . 1 , 1962 in Brooklyn , NY , he was the son of Puerto Rican parents Esai Morales , Sr ., a welder , and Iris Margarita , a prominent activist with the International Ladies ’ Garment Workers ’ Union ( ILGWU ). Morales lived with his mother after his parents separated while he was quite young , although a heated argument with her in his early teens prompted him to leave home . Soon after , the 14-year-old , who had shown an early interest in acting , found his way to the prestigious New York School for the Performing Arts . While there , he made his stage debut at the New York Shakespeare Festival in a production of “ The Tempest ” opposite the late Raul Julia . Other work from this early period included a stage production of “ El Hermano ” at the Ensemble Theater in New York . It was , however , Morales ’ breakout film debut in the gritty crime drama “ Bad Boys ” ( 1983 ) that brought him to national attention . As Paco Moreno , an unrepentant street thug seeking revenge against a fellow inmate ( Sean Penn ) in a youth correctional facility , Morales convincingly exuded enough malice that it allowed him to hold his own against the performance of the more seasoned Penn . He played the part so well , in fact , that for the remainder of his career he would struggle against being pigeon-holed in the role of the angry Latino .
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