‘This is me’
Role on CBS series ‘S.W.A.T.’ a ‘dream come true’ for Carlo Arrechea
Growing up in Cuba, Carlo Arrechea was exposed to the happiness that entertainment could add to life.
At age 6, the third-generation actor played the son to his biological mother in a Cuban telenovela.
It was then he feel in love with acting. His latest achievement is his role as Gio Torres on the CBS show “S.W.A.T.” The series airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays.
Torres is a middleweight Cuban boxer, aka “The Caribbean King,” who is poised to win a huge match when his pregnant wife if kidnapped and held for ransom. He enlists the S.W.A.T. team and works with them to retrieve his wife just in time for the delivery of their first child.
“Being able to play Gio was a dream come true,” he says. “This role marks my U.S. debut. I was able to play a Cuban character as well, which has made the entire experience so special.”
Arrechea knew immediately that he wanted the role when he read the script.
“I was, like, ‘This is me,’” he says of the character. “Although the main difference was I had never boxed. Once I got the audition, I hired a boxing coach, because I needed to be as authentic as I could. I rehearsed for about three weeks nonstop to pull it all off.”
Arrechea also didn’t want to portray Torres as a clichéd boxer.
“He’s a fighter,” he says. “Gio has all this love for his wife and upcoming baby. I had to have all that fire in the scene.”
Arrechea has had a lot of success over the course of his career.
He snagged small roles in the telenovelas “Más saber el diablo,” “El Cartel 2” and “Alguien te Mira.”
He made the leap to the successful Nickelodeon Latin America series “Grachi,” where he starred as Sebastian for three seasons (152 episodes).
It was during this time that he also starred in his first leading film role, in the romantic comedy “La Rebúsqueda,” the highest-grossing Salvadoran film in the country’s history.
“‘Grachi’ was special because it was a series that took my name out to the masses,” he says. “It was in Spanish, but it wasn’t only for a Spanishspeaking audience. Sebastian was a fun character to play, and within the three seasons, I got a chance to grow alongside the character.”
With the film industry slowed down due to the pandemic, Arrechea is looking for his next challenge.
He’s using his downtime to work with his acting coach. He’s also like to get to New Mexico for role.
“I always say the right roles always find the actors,” he says. “There’s so much filming in New Mexico that when things start up again, I’m looking at productions there. I enjoy co-creating with the writers and director on productions.”