Carlos Gómez – The Baker and the Beauty

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been busy working on?

A) We’ve been with the show from casting it to now airing it for a year. We got cast February of 2019 and then after that I did a short little movie with Aidan Quinn. Then, I went right back into the upfronts of the show. We started filming in Puerto Rico for five months shooting. We came back and had the Corona Virus. So, this show has taken us pretty much the whole year.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the new series “The Baker and the Beauty?”

A) For me, someone told my agent about a script that was about a Cuban family in Miami that owns a bakery. It’s on ABC (a big network). I am Cuban and I am from Miami so I thought that was too good to be true. I met with producers and I wanted to make sure that if they were going to do a show about a Cuban family that it’s going to be authentic – that it is going to be a Cuban family and not just a kind of white-washed family. I talked to the producers and as soon as I had that first meeting, I knew that they were really serious about making this authentically a Cuban family. We had Latin writers that had already written for network shows that were Latin. So, I knew it was a legit project and it turned out beautifully.

Q) Was there anything you added to your role of Rafael that wasn’t in his initial breakdown?

A) I’m Cuban and I speak Spanish fluently and I grew up in Miami. As you know, in Miami people speak Spanglish…Even though a lot of people are born in the United States that are Cuban and living in Miami, you have a whole lot of culture engrained in you because your parents were born in Cuba or your grandparents were born in Cuba. And Cubans are very family oriented. So, whenever I could sprinkle it with “Cuban-isms,” my lines or scenes, I always did. I made sure that not only me but all of the cast as well. Most of the cast members are all Latin as well from different countries. So, we really kept it very flavored with a lot of Latin-isms in the show.

Q) Were you familiar at all with any of your costars before working with them on this show?

A) It’s funny because Lisa Vidal, who plays my wife, I had never worked with her but I’d known her. We’ve both been in the business for like thirty years, so I knew of her and she knew of me but we had never worked together. We were at a premiere and I had already gotten the part and they were casting for my wife. She happened to walk into the premiere and sat right next to me. I asked her, “Have you read for this show ‘Baker and the Beauty?’” She goes, “No, I haven’t.” I said, “You know what? I think you’d be great to play my wife.” The next day her agent got her an audition and she auditioned and got the role and played my wife on the show. Victor Rasuk, who plays Daniel (the lead), socially we knew each other but had not worked together. And David Del Rio and I, we both did In the Heights. I did it earlier on Broadway and he came and did it on Broadway as well. So, I knew of him as well.

Q) What are some of your favorite episodes or moments from filming the series?

A) It’s hard to not giveaway, but things happen…We have situations that happen in episodes four and five where the audience is going to go like, “What?!” It’s like a soap opera. The audience is going to be in shock because of what happened. And there is a lot of whacky craziness that happens. It’s a very funny show. It’s very heartfelt. It’s like a hybrid of “This Is Us” and “Modern Family.” There is drama, there is laughter, there is a lot of great music and a lot of great food. And there is a Latin comradery. Also, for the American audience they are going to see what an immigrant family looks like after they have lived in the United States for ten years. Immigrants get a bad rep – stereotypical through the media. But this is a family that came from Cuba and establishes themselves and works very, very hard to live the American dream. And this is what it looks like. It’s great that people are going to be able to see that.

Q) How did you shake off a long day on set?

A) We would go and eat a lot of Puerto Rican food. We went out dancing a lot. Every Friday night as soon as we’d wrap, we’d go have dinner somewhere. We got along so well as a cast. I think because we were all Latin and we were on an island and so many things happened in Puerto Rico…There were earthquakes and hurricanes. So, we really became (I know it sounds cliché) a family in Puerto Rico. To this day, we still hang out all of us together. So, we’d shake off our days and our long hours with a lot of food and a lot of salsa dancing.

Q) What do you think it is about “The Baker and the Beauty” that will make it a fast fan favorite series?

A) It’s a feel-good show. It’s funny, it’s about a family, it’s about morals and it’s about values. It’s about things we sometimes get so wrapped up in daily life that we forget about. We forget about what is important in our life and with this you have a romantic storyline with my son, Daniel Garcia and Noa Hamilton (Nathalie Kelley). But then also you have how it effects the family and how that family reacts to this woman coming into our lives. It’s like a little bit of escapism. If you want to just to disconnect from everything that is going on right now, I think this is the perfect anecdote for that.

Q) Since there wasn’t able to be a big premiere, will you be live tweeting the first episode?

A) We had a lot of things planned. We were going to do a lot of plans that didn’t go through. I’m sure we’re going to be live tweeting that first episode. I’m sure we’ll be some way together. You’ll be able to tune in while the show is going on and see what we have going on. I’m sure we’ll figure that out.

Q) You’ve been a part of a number of incredible projects throughout the years. What have been some of your personal favorites that you have worked on?

A) I’ve been doing this for a long time so I’m going to date myself. I played Julio on “Friends.” It was called The Empty Vase. I was one of five Latins to ever be on friends. Dan Bucatinsky, who is also on our show, is also Latin and was on “Friends.” So, we have that two-degree of separation in common. I also did a movie called Fools Rush In with Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry a long time ago. Recently, I did Ride Along 2 and it was great working with Kevin Hart. That was a lot of fun because we shot it in Miami, my hometown. “The Glades” was a fantastic show because for me I got to go back to my hometown to live in Hollywood, Florida for four seasons where I could go visit my family during the weekends. Then I’d come up and I’d work. Shooting in Florida and living in Florida for four years was a dream come true for any actor to be able to shoot a TV series in your own hometown. That was a lot of fun. That cast (with Matt Passmore and Michelle Hurd) was like a family. We still hang out with each other and are still in contact. The beauty of our industry is we get to make these little families, instant families, that we become so close to that we spend so much time with because you’re on set for twelve or fourteen hours a day. Then, sometimes the show stops and some people stay in touch and some people don’t, but the people who do stay in touch it creates a very tight bond. That’s the beauty of our career.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

A) Thank you! First of all, thank you for all of the support throughout these years. It’s been a beautiful career. I’m so blessed and lucky to be able to bring entertainment to people and share my work with people. And tune in on April 13^th at 10pm on ABC for “Baker and the Beauty.” It’s something very different. It’s going to be a fun ride and I hope that everybody tunes in and enjoys it and has as much fun watching it as we did shooting it.