A BIG SHOUT OUT
Cabrera finds ‘Salvation’ in big series promotion
SANTIAGO CABRERA receives an unexpected promotion in Monday’s second season premiere of the summer series “Salvation” on CBS. In Season 1, Cabrera, as billionaire scientist Darius Tanz, was tasked with trying to stop a wayward asteroid from colliding with earth. Other problems arose. A hacker organization called Re/Syst has been dropping nuclear bombs on mid-size American cities. Now, President Pauline Mackenzie (Tovah Feldshuh) feels the only way to contain the national freak-out is to name Tanz her Vice President.
Huh? Cabrera, 40, says his first reaction was, “Really? Me?” The surprise move has liberated Tanz from his cave of computer screens and into the White House and the public eye. “It was a shocker right off the bat,” Cabrera says. “Darius starts to navigate a whole different world. To say he’s overwhelmed is an understatement. It’s been great and elevated the show with a new layer, which you hope for when you do a Season 2.” Fans of “Big Little Lies” will recognize
Cabrera’s laid-back lanky good looks from his role as Joseph Bachman, whose extramarital relationship with Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) led to a dreadful car accident. Scheduling conflicts prevent him from returning for that show’s second season on HBO. “It was so cleverly put together and it was so good to be part of a team like that and work with Reese one-on-one,” he says.
Cabrera films “Salvation” in Vancouver and has his family— wife Anna Marcea, a theater director, and two-year-old son, Kilian — staying with him during the shooshoot. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, ezuel the middle child of a Chilean Chi diplomat, the actor was wa raised mainly in England la and has worked all over ov the world. Now that he h has a son, the stability afforded af him by filming a network ne series suddenly makes mak a lot of sense. “I wasw in Detroit a couple of years agago [filming ‘Transformers’]ers’] and I couldn’t get back home to LA. I went with the cast to see ‘Suicide Squad’ with a bunch of Navy SEALS,” he says. “There was a moment when I wanted a simpler life. Now I can take two, three months off and just be home with [his son].” Cabrera is still filming “Salvation” and keeping tabs on his favorite World Cup teams via his iPad. “I just love watching it. Chile is out. That’s a huge disappointment,” says Cabrera, who has played for charity events such as Soccer Aid in 2008 and 2014. “There are teams of actors and musicians and retired soccer players. You get to play with your idols.”