I lived in Chicago, in a shady part of town, and the cops would always stop me since I'm Mexican and I look like the other dudes. Style played a part in it. You're not really going to dress in a suit in a tie.
What happened happened. What's gonna happen, is gonna happen.
In the beginning, I was always playing some kind of gangbanger and the token Mexican dude who didn't have a lot of lines but was in the entire movie. At the same time, everyone gets typecast, and I decided that if I was going to play a stereotypical role, I was going to play it like a three-dimensional character.
I'm just an actor. If it's drama, I add as much humour as the part will stand. And if it's a comedy, add as much drama as you can, so it balances out; you don't wanna be too serious.
A good comic explores the imagination, but it's always got to have those notes of truth running through it.
There is always pressure in any movie set. If you think about it, there is something that you memorize and it is almost like public speaking every day, all day. There is a crew of people, there are monitors and if you mess up, you have to do it until you get it right and then sometimes, you would go blank.
Eddie Murphy is just so off-the-cuff and can make anything funny. You hope that someday you'll acquire that skill, but maybe you're born with that.
I've always noticed that girls cry way easier than guys do.
The joy of 'Crash' was that it was all about the work. It was my first real part. Before that, it was a line here and there, maybe a scene. 'Crash' was five scenes, a beautiful arc, a little vignette of my own. It really meant something.
It's so interesting to watch Ben Stiller work because he just knows what's funny.
I'm clearly not a writer, but I'm always a fan of them.
I took a year and a half off, when my kid was born, because I didn't want to be one of those dads where the kid doesn't know who his dad is.
You can have a kid and just be off at work all the time, and it's all mom. But, I spent a lot of time with him, so now, every time I see him, he's like, "Dada!"
I love documentaries and I watch documentaries to no end.
My first ten years in Hollywood were really tough. I'd be coaching friends who came to me for acting advice, and then they'd make it before I did. I'd still be helping them while they were on movie sets and I had four lines on a TV show.
I have really good managers and agents who are very selective in what they send me.
I think that when you’re doing a comedy and it makes you laugh, there’s a certain… like you can reject it, and it’s okay. It’s not promoting it or making it seem cool. I think that’s when you get into hot water.
I want to do more sci-fi films. I want to play half-alien, half-illegal alien.
I grew up reading the newspapers, mostly the sports section. I was a wrestler and would check to see if I was ranked.
I guess people recognize me, but I'm not a household name. Two out of every five people who come up to me know my name. The one thing I don't want is to be followed by paparazzi.
I think writing is the most underrated thing in Hollywood.
