Emilio Rivera – Mayans M.C.

By starrymag | September 10, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

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

A) “Mayans” takes a lot of my time. We started back in May and we’ll be done by the end of September. Usually when we’re doing that, we don’t do anything else. But I do have a film with Rob Zombie called 3 From Hell that I went back and finished earlier this year.

Q) How was your “Mayans M.C.” character Marcus Alvarez originally described to you?

A) As a business man. He was a business man who had seen it all and done it all. He was in Chino prison and an ex-gang member. He’s older now and more about the business than anything else. He can be biting when he has to be, but would rather not.

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t initially there for him?

A) I brought a little bit of me ten years ago, some stuff I saw in my past life. I brought some of that to him. I’m just not a wild guy. I just toned him down a lot and created Marcus out. It was pretty much on paper what Kurt [Sutter] had written already. If I could just do what was on paper it was going to work out okay and here we are nine years later.

Q) What continues to challenge you about portraying him?

A) Well, now that I belong to the cartel it’s kind of weird because he was this leader for all these years on the show. He started on “Sons of Anarchy” and now he’s taking orders from someone else. I’m not sure where it is going because I really don’t know what is going on as to why we did it. I have some ideas as maybe why he crossed to that side. But it’s been a little bit different yet cool. I’m not the shot caller anymore.

Q) Have you had much of a say in how Marcus developed for Season 2?

A) Not much. I’m pretty much doing what is on the page. Not much because the storyline is not about Marcus Alvarez. It’s about what is going on with the cartel and I’m kind of like in the middle. I’m in the middle of both sides, but at the same time they’ve given me a bunch to do. You’re in for a crazy ride, man. I’m digging it.

Q) Was there someone in particular you were hoping to share a scene with this season?

A) I can’t say that either because they’re really on us about that stuff. [laughs] It’s just one of the most fun seasons for me, from all the years that I’ve been on “Sons of Anarchy.” So, it’s been a treat for me. It really has.

Q) Who do you think is Marcus’ biggest ally and also his biggest threat?

A) That’s a great question. We’ll find out. [laughs] Sometimes you think someone is your friend and they are friends with you for the wrong reasons. So, that’s a great question.

Q) How do you shake off a long day of filming the series?

A) I’ll smoke a cigar. Sometimes you have some heavy stuff to do and sometimes you’re working twelve to fourteen hours. When I have one of those days where I’m stone tired and I just really want to go to sleep (which I had a few of those this year), I’ll smoke a cigar and then take a shower. I’ll think about what I did and how I could have done it better. As actors, you think “I should have done this or that.” But it is what it is and hopefully when they put it together it looks good.

Q) What do you think it is about “Mayans M.C.” that has made it such a fan favorite?

A) It’s the fans. The fans have been really loyal. The show’s numbers really went up. The “Sons” fans jumped right in so that just shows loyalty. I hand it back to the fans because they’ve been loyal. Just like the club guys are loyal, the fans have been just as loyal, which is pretty cool.

Q) We have loved seeing you as Chivo on the show “On My Block.” What made you want to be a part of this series?

A) At first I didn’t. It’s not that I didn’t want to be a part of it, but I was going through some family stuff. So, they called and I said “no.” I was not in the mood to see anybody. My brother passed away. A couple weeks later I started to feel better and my agent called and asked them if they still wanted to see me. They said, “Of course we still want to see him.” So, we went down there and had a meeting with them. It was weird because this guy is really off. He’s a trip. He’s a character I never played before. I went in and I did a scene, which I thought I was happy with, and they asked, “Let’s do it this way.” Every time I’d do it I was like, “Really? This is what you want?” It was just felt really weird. They were like, “No, just keep doing it. Just keep doing it.” Sometimes when I’m filming a TV show, I’ll cut myself down because I feel like I’m doing nothing or maybe I’m doing too much. But then when I watch it, I need to be over the top. He’s just a trippy guy. As actors you want to express yourself with words, but with him he has no expression. He’s like a robot. Now we’re going back for Season 3, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of Chivo. I really love the character, but it’s really hard to play.

Q) Talk about working with Brett Gray.

A) Brett Gray is one of the most talented cats out there. Hopefully, they get twenty seasons of “On My Block,” but when “On My Block” is done and whatever he does on hiatus he’s going to be the new Chris Rock or Chris Tucker. He’s that guy. He’s so I’m just so glad that we’re teamed together. I study him and he studies me. Whatever they tell us we do. What a great person to have to improv with. Of course, we have to do what is on the paper, but we make our own little faces. He’ll make a stupid face and I’ll make a stupid face. It just works! I’ve been doing this for such a long time so I love improv and this kind of comedy stuff. That’s what I started doing. I started off in comedy. He is just naturally gifted. He’s such a little badass. I’m really proud of him.

Q) What did you think when you learned Chivo and Jamal would be battling over Juanita?

A) I thought it was hilarious! We did some behind of scenes stuff for the promos and we’re literally fighting over her. I’m holding her by the head and he’s grabbing her by the leg. We’re just fighting over her back and forth. It’s really funny! Then, he’s so animated. Once you do like that, you’re able to go for it. I’m just as animated as he is. I like actors that do that, really explore. It just makes you explore as well. Brett is the easiest guy to work with.

Q) You have had such an incredible career. What have been some of your favorite projects to work on?

A) I’ve been blessed to have been able to work with some of the biggest actors and in some of the biggest movies in the business, but some of the stuff is where we didn’t have any money. The ones that are more heartfelt stories. I did a movie called Road Dogs and it was something that was really close to me because I was really close to that character. But I remember we were running on short ends. Back then we were shooting on film and we were literally going to different places asking if they had any spare film. A lot of times they had to throw away the film when it’s just so little and it’s called “short ends.” Sometimes we literally had one take. They’d say to me, “We only have enough film for this one take, are you ready?” You couldn’t mess up. It was like being on stage. So, I was always ready. With big budget films if you messed up you would do it again and again. You could do it twenty times. But back then we didn’t have that luxury on small films.

Q) You were on “The Bold and The Beautiful,” in Con Air, on “NYPD Blue” and “Weeds.” You have quite a body of work!

A) Con Air is one of the top of the line. And I got cut out of the movie. It was four months of working with twenty-five dudes. It was just one of the best experiences for a young actor. It was when I had just started and was four years into it. It’s something that I’ve never gone through again. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time on a lot of the sets I’ve been on. But I have a lot of great stories from that one.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the fan feedback you receive to your work?

A) I do. I love it. It’s pretty cool. It’s funny you mentioned “The Bold and The Beautiful.” Back in the day, in 1996, when I was doing that show we didn’t have social media. We had fan mail. So, the mail would come in a bag to the studio. It was really cool. People would send us lucky charms. It was real mail that we read. I would try to be cool and answer back, but it became a lot of work. I would spend like a whole week trying to answer back and I didn’t answer back so much. But now I can reply “thank you” and “thanks for watching” really quick and not feel really bad. Or I could start a blog and talk about what’s going on and what I’m doing right now, which is pretty cool.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure we share with our readers about what is to come for you?

A) On September 3rd get ready for a wild ride. I want to thank everybody for the love. I give the love right back. Also, on September 16th I’m coming back with Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell and also the third season of “On My Block” is coming early next year. I hope you guys are watching!

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I want to tell everybody like I always tell everybody, thank you so much for supporting me over the years. You guys have been very vocal about it and I love you right back. I really do. Anywhere I go, whether I’m with my family or alone, people always want to take a picture or have an autograph signed. If you see me, always come up because I’m always glad to do it. Sometimes I’m in a rush and it’ll probably be a quick selfie. It’s okay. You give me, I give right back.