Christian De La Fuente – High Class

Q) What are the current projects that you are working on?

A) I have an agreement to be in the first eight episodes of the show “The Class” and after that we’ll see. I am auditioning for other things, as well. Right now, I am very happy doing this new sitcom for CBS.

Q) Please tell us the premise for your show “The Class” and about your character, Aaron.

A) The premise is that a high school graduation class from ten years ago reunite. They are all now around twenty-eight years old. One of the classmates organizes the party as a surprise for his girlfriend. For the surprise, he gets together all the friends from school. At the party, his girlfriend breaks up with him. That allows the friends to reconnect with each other. From that episode, we see how their lives start interacting with each other and how their lives have changed. We see how the beautiful girl married an older guy. The cool guy who was supposed to have a lot of girlfriends is now still living with his mother. The hot guy, Kyle (Sean Maguire), is still hot, but now he’s gay. I play Kyle’s boyfriend.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) It was because of everyone that is involved with the show. The writers and producers are from “Friends” (David Crane) and “Mad About You” (Jeffery Klarik). The director is James Borrows who worked on “Will and Grace,” “Cheers” and many other sitcoms. Having the opportunity to work with many of these giants of sitcom was something I couldn’t let go.

Q) What has been your most memorable moment from filming?

A) Of course, always, the most memorable day is going to be the first one. Then, you can do anything and they’ll be great moments. I am pretty sure there are going to be great moments to come in the future, as well. Always, the first day has a different flavor. You don’t know anyone, you’re nervous and you have to do a great job. My first episode was just as a guest star and then possibly I was going to appear in more episodes. The fact that I did one and now I am doing eight is good. It means I did a good job on the first episode, but I was nervous. I knew that episode was more important to me than the rest because it could decide if I was going to stay or not.

Q) What is it like working with famous director James Burrows?

A) It’s like going to class every day and not having to pay. It’s the first time they’re paying me to learn, instead of me paying. It’s great! He’s just a genius. He’s had all the success he’s had because he’s really a great director. He’s also a great human being. He’s not those kind of scary directors where they yell or it’s stressful working with them. He’s a very nice guy and he’s pretty confident of his talents. He doesn’t need to really be aggressive.

Q) Why should viewers take the time to tune into “The Class?”

A) It has one characteristic that is very different. In many sitcoms, we are used to seeing one story or, at the most, two storylines. It could be a sitcom about a family or about a group of friends. Maybe it’s about a guy with two kids or about a family that lives with their parents. It’s one storyline. The difference with “The Class” is that it is more similar to what TV has become today. With reality television today, you watch six storylines simultaneously. You’ll watch six guys on an island, so they all have different storylines. Or, you’ll see  ten guys in a house and they have different storylines. Then, they start interacting with each other and the good guy becomes the bad guy or the bad guy becomes the good guy. All those story lines we have them here in “The Class.” There are eight characters with eight different storylines. All of the storylines mix with each other. There are marriages and the husbands start interacting with the friends. It has a very quick rhythm and very quick timing. Scenes are not longer than two minutes and then you cut to another one and another one. It’s very entertaining because the way the stories are told is a very innovative way to do it.

Q) You are a producer and an actor. What else would you like to try your hand at in the entertainment industry?

A) I always try to do one thing at a time. When you get too many balls in the air they start falling. There are some projects that I definitely want to do. We’re trying to develop a great movie about the story of the Mexican tennis player Pancho Gonzalez. It’s a project I really love because I am a fan of tennis and I think he was one of the greatest tennis players ever. Not everybody knows a lot about him. He played the longest match in the history of tennis ever. He played the best round of Wimbledon at the age of forty-two. It’s an interesting group of people we’re trying to develop and, hopefully, make the film in the future. As far as in the industry, I’ve done a lot of things from theater to TV and film. I just want to keep doing everything and not limit myself to be an actor that only does one kind of work. I’ve done TV and movies in English and in Spanish. I want to be open to other things. The fact that I’ve been open to take new challenges have made me a better person and actor. I just want to keep doing that. I want to keep getting better at what I do and I think the only way is to keep trying. Hopefully, good projects are going to come and new challenges and that I’m going to be able to take them and overcome them.

Q) How has your Hispanic heritage shaped who you are as a person?

A) I think that heritage really is the base of what you are. The differences between each of us is the way we were raised and the culture that we have. Me, as a Latino (especially being born and raised outside of this country), I know that of course sometimes you have different sense of humor and celebrate different holidays. You have different ways of life and then you have to adapt. On the other hand, that makes you different. I think that difference, in a city where there are so many actors, that sometimes it plays in your favor. When they need something that they haven’t seen and you are able to bring that to the table, that’s good. It’s an advantage. On the other hand, when they are looking for something very specific and it’s very American, you don’t have it because you have a different culture.

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

A) I am a pilot so I fly a lot. I love flying and when I have time off of more than a day I try to go to Chile. I am in the Air Force (as a Lieutenant in the reserves) so any time I can I go and fly there and spend time with my friends in the Air Force. If I don’t have that much time off then I’ll just stay here and play sports. I play tennis, golf and I run. It’s always good to keep your body busy and burning energy.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) First of all, to everybody that has supported me I have to say thanks. Hopefully, I’ll keep working hard and I won’t disappoint them so they will keep supporting me. At the end of the day, we are in this business and we are here because there are people that turned on the TV and/or people that go buy tickets. If it weren’t for that, then I’d be acting in my bedroom.