Michael Pena, king of
The ‘Star Map Boy’, ‘Drug Dealer’ and ‘Orderly’ is now the lead, through talent and perseverance
Michael Pena didn’t know how he could possibly make a living as an actor. That’s because when he started out, nearly 24 years ago now, he couldn’t even land an audition, much less an actual role.
“For a Latin guy to get an audition, for any kind of part that’s meaningful, was tough,” Pena recalled, speaking by telephone from his Los Angeles home. “When the old breakdowns used to come out, the description of who they wanted for roles would say ‘Caucasian,’ and it’d be ‘Caucasian’ for like the first 10 parts. And then it would be the 15th part that would be open to other ethnicities. So the best that I could do was 15th place.
“It was hard,” he admitted. “All my roommates were auditioning for really great stuff, and I wouldn’t even be seen for the smaller parts, because they were so ethnic-specific. It’s really great that I’m seeing everything change, and you want to be part of the generation where inclusivity is a priority.
“Now it’s becoming the norm,” Pena added. “And to me it’s just very satisfying. If my child decides to become an actor, hopefully he’ll have an easier time than I did.”
In his earliest film and television projects, the Chicago-born Pena notched such screen credits as “Star Map Boy”, “Drug Dealer” and “Orderly”. Through talent and perseverance, however, he won steadily bigger and better parts in such projects as Gone In 60 Seconds (2000), Crash (2004), World Trade Center (2006), End Of Watch (2012), Cesar Chavez (2014), Ant-Man (2015), The Mule (2018), Ant-Man And The
Wasp (2018), Narcos: Mexico (2018) and Dora And The Lost City Of Gold (2019).
Now there’s Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island, (or simply Fantasy Island), which is now in Thai cinemas. Yes, it’s a big-screen iteration of the television series that ran from 1977 to 1984 and starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr Roarke.
Only this time, as the inclusion of “Blumhouse” in the film’s title suggests, it will put a horror-movie spin on the old wish-fulfilment story.
Montalban, of course, was one of the biggest Latin stars of his day, a rarity among rarities.
“I never met him!” Pena exclaimed. “I wish I would have, but I never met him. I think I was working as an extra when he was still around.
“I’m fortunate, but I think it would be great if there were even more Latin people starring in stuff,” he said. “Like I said, we’re definitely progressing, but as a whole there’s a lot more work to be done.
“There hasn’t been a Latin-led movie that I’m aware of that’s really become a hit,” Pena continued, “or, if there is, there’s one every couple of years, and the odds aren’t going to be with you if that’s the case. So we’re progressing, but there’s still a lot of work to do, that’s for sure.”
Pena wasn’t particularly familiar with the original Fantasy Island. After all, he was precisely one year and one day old when it debuted in January 1976. However, he did catch repeats through the years, and one of the show’s classic elements resonated with him.
“I always wanted to see the opening sequence,” the actor said, laughing. “I loved it when Tattoo [Herve Villechaize] starts saying, ‘The plane, boss, the plane!.’ To me the first 15 minutes of it were amazing.”
It was during those first 15 minutes of each episode that Mr Roarke, sporting his trademark white suit, greeted his guests on Fantasy Island and explained to them that events might unfold in unexpected and not-always-happy ways. Pena’s Mr Roarke serves a similar function in the film, informing his guests (played by, among others, Lucy
Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island,
Hale, Maggie Q and Austin Stowell) that they must see their fantasies through … no matter what happens.
“I know [writer/director] Jeff Wadlow,” Pena said, “and I spoke to him about this before it came together. I thought it was a great idea, because it’s good when you can take a television show and make it into a movie, but still keep the working premise.
“The premise of Fantasy Island is alive and well, and, if you can add to it, better,” he said. “So what better way to do it? The idea is that this is where you could have your wishes, your fantasies, whatever you want to call it, become reality — but you have to suffer the consequences, and you learn from it.
“That is exactly what the TV show was, except the movie takes it to another level.”
Pena admitted to feeling some pressure during one of the early days of production on the movie. It occurred when he shot the moment, which can be seen in the trailer, when he delivers the line: “Let me officially welcome you to Fantasy Island.
“I knew that it was something that Fantasy Island was known for, so there was that, as well as a couple of other things that I tried to make natural,” Pena said. “I remember doing it. I think it was the first week that we did that, that we shot that scene.
“In a weird way, it was one of those things where you just have to pull your
bootstraps up and say, ‘OK, here we go,’” he said. “But it was kind of nostalgic, and it gave me a really good feeling.”
No surprise, if the film connects with audiences and proves to be a hit, Pena is prepared to play Mr Roarke again.
“I’m ready to party, for sure,” the actor said. “He can do this to a whole new group of people. I’d love to.”
In the meantime, up next for Pena is Tom And Jerry, a live-action/animated comedy about those original frenemies, the frustrated house cat, Tom, and the wily mouse, Jerry. Also starring in the film are Ken Jeong, Colin Jost and Chloe Grace Moretz. It’s tentatively slated for release at Christmas.
For those keeping track of such things, Pena has either acted in or lent his voice to a string of family films during the past few years, including Turbo (2013), The Lego Ninja Movie (2017), My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), A Wrinkle In Time (2018), the Ant-Man adventures and the aforementioned Dora And The Lost City of Gold. The actor acknowledged that he made several of those choices in order to participate in projects his son Roman, now 12, could see.
“There’s something about fatherhood that changes you as a person and as a performer,” Pena said. “Earlier in my career I did a lot of drama, because that’s what I loved to study. I watched movies like A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) hundreds and hundreds of times. It’s one of those things, in terms of performances, that I really appreciate.
“But then there’s something special that happens when you see your kid sitting right next to you, and he’s laughing at somebody else’s creation,” he said. “That really gave me a good insight into what it’s like to be an audience like him. So I would pretty much go off of his reactions, and I started to actually enjoy those family movies.
“For instance, Turbo, a couple years ago, I thought was such a good movie, and my son thought it was beautiful,” he added. “We both agree that it’s a beautiful movie. It’s almost like anything else: You have to put yourself in their chair in order for you to be able to appreciate certain things.
“So now I can really appreciate family films and I like them,” Pena concluded. “And I like doing them.”
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You want to be part of the generation where inclusivity is a priority