Miguel Ángel Silvestre – Sense8

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What first attracted you to the role of Lito?

A) First, I was told this was going to be the Wachowski sisters first project. Since I’m a big fan of their work I really did my best for the first three auditions without knowing anything about the projects. I just knew it was going to be something interesting. I also knew they were going to be very committed to the LGBT cause. Some people from my family belong to the LGBT community and I always thought if I was going to play a role like that I wanted it to be by people who were committed to it and had a nice energy who would deliver empathy through their characters. So, in a way I thought of the W and I felt that as they are very committed to it I thought they were going to do their best and the best energy to deliver empathy through the characters. Then, they gave me three episodes and I decided to read it. I couldn’t really imagine the results as I was watching something very complex. It really surprised me when I saw the first episode. I got to see finally more or less what was in their minds. So, it was always about trust and of course wanting to work with them, which to me is stunning. They are geniuses and committed to something that I really believe.

Q) In the series, each of the characters are physically linked to one another. In times of their most dire need, they connect with others who are able to provide them with the things they lack. In Season One Wolfgang was there for Lito when Lito needed to be a fighter. Lito was there for Wolfgang as well. What are the other strengths does Lito possess that he can use to help the other Sense8?

A) I was really surprised when I read the eighth episode (I believe) where Lito helps Sun cry. I was really surprised by Lana by that scene because of the relationship between Sun (Doona Bae) and Lito. Remember Sun was the one who was helping Lito. By the second season, we see Lito is fighting for something and you would compare it with Sun’s life. Sun gets very annoyed and says, “Stop crying. The one who should be crying is me.” And I say to her, “You would never do that, right? “ and She says, “Never.” I tell her, “Maybe that’s why I’m here.” So, we see this beautiful moment where Lito and Sun are crying together, but then Lito disappears. Sun is just crying by herself. I think that was a beautiful moment because Sun lacks her feelings and emotions. That was very special for her that suddenly she can cry. I thought it was a beautiful moment and I really liked the way the scene came out.

Q) What was your most difficult scene to film?

A) Probably it’s not the most difficult, but the one that surprised me the most was the parade we were doing in Sao Paolo. I remember Lana put these beautiful lines and said she wanted me to do them in front of the audience in the gay parade San Paolo. I’m going to hide the camera so no one knows we are filming so people are going to think that you are doing it for real, but it is Miguel doing this statement. I just want to mix fiction with reality. I want to see the reactions and the way you deliver. So, I was working so hard with the lines because I knew I needed them to know my heart. I knew there would probably be only one or two takes so I remember when I was getting ready for the scene and the people were cheering. When Lana said, “Action,” I started delivering the lines and all the strategy I had in my mind went away because the reaction from the audience I was getting was so big. The love I was getting from the audience, I completely forgot the strategy I had for that scene. So, it became very real and spontaneous. In a way, I was not the owner of my expression. They were giving me so much that I completely lost my mind in a way. So, when we get to see the first take it was beyond…It’s something that I am never going to forget and the experience I had with the warmth and all the reactions from the almost four million people in the crowd. Those are the kinds of scenes I am going to remember forever.

Q) Is there another character other than Lito that you identify with more or is he the closest one to you, Miguel?

A) Lito is very different from me, but it rings a bell. I am coming from a country where there is a dictatorship in Spain. I went from one pole to the other with the celebration of authenticity and great artists and heroes. That’s not what Lito went through because that’s in Mexico so it is a different world in that sense. But I guess that Lito is an actor and he is very scared of losing his faith. I can relate to that world of course because I am an actor, but he faces this two paths and he needs to choose one of them. So, he needs to be authentic and try to be the best so he can do the part of living a lie. He tries to be as pure and authentic as possible. So, it’s very nice to play a role that has that in mind because in a way it helps you out in real life. It’s kind of like part of Lana’s message. It gets inside of you as you are playing it. I would say that one of the things I am learning by working with the Wachowski sisters is that they really believe that we are all one. Deep down we have little, little details that make us different. The more you embrace your shadows and your sense in side of you (your light) the more specific you can be with your expression. So, they don’t believe in perfection. They believe in mistakes: the way you fall, the way you stand, etc. That’s where they find the spontaneity. It becomes true. That’s kind of also the path that Lito is leading. That’s something I always try to think of when I am approaching a role or something. What kind of mistakes or shadows that come from me that I can put in it in order to make it more precise?

Q) We haven’t gotten to see much of Lito’s backstory. Were you hoping that in the future we could have explored that more?

A) I don’t know. It’s so surprising what is in the Wachowski sisters minds. I remember I was trying to guess where they were going to go or in which direction a new episode was going to go. I always failed. [laughs] Their minds go beyond where my mind can go. I stopped making guesses. I would have loved for them to go there. Also the show is so alive in the editing room. I got very surprised when I saw the season, which by the way I really liked. I thought it was a beautiful step from the first season that steps into another dimension and adds some new characters that I thought it was very well done. That’s what I told the Wachowski sisters. I told them they did a great job and I really enjoyed it as an audience.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moments from behind the scenes?

A) I guess this year I remember I was watching Doona Bae doing a scene where we were all in Korea. Sometimes I like to go to see my friends and I like to hear the takes. Lana doesn’t like to cut the takes. So, some of the takes last twenty minutes and they leave the microphones on because while Lana is talking something can happen and then later in the editing room they can use it. So, the nice thing is through the monitor you can hear all of the directions Lana is giving to the actor. I find it very inspiring and interesting to see the scene and then hear what she has to say and her directions. I think it’s so interesting and I felt it was beautiful to hear her directions to Doona Bae where she was at the graveyard talking to her parents. That is something that stays in my mind. I really liked it. I enjoyed it a lot. I think it’s so beautiful the way that Lana directs because she speaks in metaphors so she doesn’t directly say what she wants. She tries to look for it through you. So, that’s why she doesn’t tell you to do something this way or that way. I guess Lana is also interested in Doona’s culture since her directions to her were completely different to me than what she gave her. That was really interesting.

Q) What have you learned or taken away from your portrayal of Lito?

A) I guess that when you’re mind and your desire are aligned in the same direction that gets the best from you. So accepting who you really are with the good and the bad is going to bring out the best in you and you can give the best of you to the people around you. I guess that’s one of the main things with Lito. Also, here’s the thing. One of my favorite writers is Lorca wrote once about a play called “Bodas de Sangre.” In that play he speaks about desire and love. There is a line where he says, “When love gets into your guts no one can take it away. Nobody can pull it away.” So, I always felt that meant that love and desire is a force of nature that we cannot judge, fight against, control or argue. If you would paddle against the current (the current being a force of nature) you would die of exhaustion because you cannot fight against the rain, the sun or a tsunami. It’s impossible. All is beyond our mind. It’s stronger than our mind. I just always saw that any times of love and desire should never be judged by anybody because it is an offense to nature. So, that is the way I see it when you just flow with your needs or you don’t fight against them it gets the best from you.

Q) Most responses we received from fans were to thank you and express gratitude for the character. Was that something you expected when you took on this role?

A) I always say when they tell me that I feel very thankful that I can work with two directors that are so committed and that have the gift to put it in words and put it into a show. I feel very thankful. It is always very nice when I go to the supermarket and someone says, “That scene reminds me of a moment in my life.” Or “Thank you for doing the role.” I think that Lana and Lilly have such a beautiful point of a view about life and diversity that gives voice to many people that they give thanks to finally be portrayed in a human way – not tormented – in a show. So, when they say that to me I say thanks to Lana. I am the lucky one to have been a part of her painting which is a painting that I completely believe and it is a painting that when she tells me “do this” I don’t even hesitate because I know how committed she is to the beauty and meaning of anything they do. That’s why when Lana says, “Do this,” “do that” or “kiss this person” or “take off your clothes” I don’t even judge – I just jump to it because I know it is going to land in a beautiful place and in a beautiful taste. I believe in their taste and their point of view. I know they would never make something feel inauthentic. I really believe in that. I remember when I met Lana that she said something that was very important to me. Sometimes I’m going to ask you to things that are not going to feel real to you, but this is the way I see. This is the utopia that I want to portray. I don’t want to portray LGBT people are tormented. Not anymore. I just want your nephew to see this one day and think this is normal. Once I went to New York where I saw an exposition of a painter named Kerry James Marshall who is a black painter. He decided to celebrate black people and depict black people in positive ways – never in misery, slavery or any negativity. You see two black people dancing in a living room and you see food in their dishes. So, it’s like there is a wealth. You see a sunset and you see a beautiful kiss or a beautiful black women in a sexy way – but never depicting any negativity. I decided to read about this guy and he basically said, “This is what I want to show to the world. I don’t want to put any emphasis on anything that was painful for us in the past because this is my present and the way I want the future to look like.” So, I started to understand what Lana was saying. If she told me, “I don’t want you to cry here. I even want to add some humor here because I don’t want people to think ‘Poor guy. He’s so tormented. No, no, no. I don’t want to portray that. I don’t want to put any emphasis on that.’” So, knowing that I just said to Lana, “You can ask whatever you want form me. I’ll just jump and do it.”