Liam Sharpe – The Head of Joaquín Murrieta

By starrymag | April 6, 2023

By: Gladys Luna

 

 

Q) “The Head of Joaquín Murrieta” is set around a complicated period in time between Mexico and The United States. Was there something about the story or the character that made you want to participate in it?

 

A) It’s an honor to get to tell the world the story of your home. “The Head of Joaquín Murrieta” is the origin story of modern-day California. It wasn’t a pretty time in history, but that only makes it that much more important to share. And for better or worse, it’s this complex history that made my life possible a century and a half later, and it’s an honor to play a part in reviving it. Not to mention playing the bad guy is always fun — though Oliver does take it to the extreme.

 

 

Q) Oliver has been presented as a man committed to his country and the values that he believes in. What kind of resources or material did you utilize in order to bring this character to life?

A) No matter who your character is, they believe they’re the good guy — or at least believe their actions are justified. So, as the artist who brings them to life, you have to understand their perspective. In Oliver’s case, this required a deep dive into the history and politics of the time, what preceded those events, where Oliver comes from and why he’s such an enthusiastic member of the murderous California Rangers, who from a modern lens would easily be classified as pure evil. It’s rarely that simple — though in this case, it’s hard to argue otherwise — which only makes embodying this personality that much more challenging. Let’s just say Oliver definitely has some unresolved childhood trauma.

 

Q) Which part of playing this character do you consider has truly pushed your boundaries as an actor?

A) I mean, at the end of the day Oliver is a murderous a**hole. So, understanding his perspective and doing (on screen, let’s be clear) the horrible things he does doesn’t exactly come naturally. But I think one of the most challenging things we do as actors is taking a character through an experience that we ourselves have never been through. So, as Oliver, creating the vulnerability of never having had a positive male role model in his life — since I myself am very grateful to have two loving and supporting parents — and then realizing that that backstory is what shapes his relationship with Captain Love (Steve Wilcox), who Oliver sees as a father figure.

 

Q) How does this story resonate with you as a person and as an actor?

A) Like I said, this is the story of my home, a place I have so much love for. And the series doesn’t shy away from the reality of its time and place. It does a fantastic job of ignoring the common oversimplification of “USA vs Mexico” and addressing the fact that Mexico and the USA were both governments invading this land. There were a lot of people already living in California before either Mexico or the USA got there, and Mexico had already displaced and subjugated many of those original inhabitants of these lands — not to mention all the many other peoples who were also very present in California during this time period. The USA was a latecomer to all of this, and they exacerbated the conflict significantly. And that’s exactly what Oliver and the California Rangers represent. I love how real and raw this series is. It doesn’t pull any punches, but it highlights so much beauty as well.

 

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on this series and who did you connect with on a personal level?

A) I’m glad to say that I wasn’t overly familiar with any of their work before signing on to this project, because if I had been I probably would have been a lot more nervous to work with such incredible and accomplished star talent. And, frankly, I’d be remiss to mention only a few of the people I connected with on this journey because we were one big family. There’s honestly no one I didn’t form a deep connection with, which in itself is such a unique and beautiful experience – to have made such incredible and lasting relationships with virtually the entire cast, and so much of the crew too. That’s a really special production when you can come away from the experience with that many new friendships.

 

Q) Halfway through this story there’s a scene where Oliver is forced to make a life changing decision that goes entirely against who he is and turns the course of his story.

A) Indeed, he does. I’ll let everyone go see it for themselves.

 

Q) Talk about what it was like for you to perform such a scene.

A) I think the hardest part, at least for me, and especially in such pivotal scenes is that I always feel I can do more. In some ways you plan everything else, your whole performance of the character around those moments. And I’m a perfectionist, so I always end up with dozens of critiques for myself, and for that scene we did very few takes, which only added to wishing I could’ve done more. But that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

 

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments you had from filming “The Head of Joaquín Murrieta?”

A) Almost getting taken out by a horse swinging its head around, slipping and nearly falling off a boulder while trying to look cool during a take and skateboarding around Mexico on our off days.

 

Q) If you were given the chance to rewrite Oliver’s storyline, what kind of finale would you have given him?

A) I don’t want to give anything away for anyone who hasn’t finished the season yet… but I’m rooting for an Oliver and Adela (Becky Zhu Wu) team-up down the line.

 

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from exploring this powerful series?

A) This is a beautiful show with a whole lot of meaning packed into it, and you’ll get that by watching and discovering it for yourself. But to put this series into a broader context — we’ve now got world-class content being made all over the world. “The Head of Joaquín Murrieta” is a joint Mexican-Colombian effort. You’ve got “Squid Game” out of Korea, “Lupin” out of France, “Dark” out of Germany, “House of Cards” out of Spain…that’s just to name a very, very few. There’s fantastic content coming to everyone from everywhere and we should all be very, very excited about it.

 

Q) Are there any upcoming projects that you have been busy working on?

A) A lot, actually! Since even before we started filming “Murrieta,” I’ve been helping write a number of feature and television projects, a few of which are finally ready for Sharpe Studios, my production company to start creating. So, expect to see those in the works very soon and all of which I’ve made sure have a role for a Californian-German linguist-turned-actor. And some good guy roles as well, to avoid being too well hated.

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and the work you do on our screens?

A) You’re all amazing, thank you so much for watching and caring about these important stories, and for giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do. If you see me around LA, San Francisco or Mexico City, say hi!