Esai Morales Walks His Talk

By Joseph Castel

At 45, he’s still the quintessential Latin bad boy. Beginning with his portrayal of a vindictive gang banger opposite Sean Penn in 1983’s Bad Boys to Ritche’s Valen’s older dysfunctional brother in LaBamba to his latest role as an assassin in La Linea with Ray Liotta, Morales sinks his soul into playing the heavy. But in reality, Morales confesses to Adelante that he’s one of the most sensitive persons he knows and has worked hard to steer away from Latino macho stereotypes seeking more complex Latin material and characters. That’s why Morales has sought to play such diverse roles as a journalist in The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca or Detective Tony Rodriquez on NYPD Blue.

Adelante held an exclusive interview with Morales regarding the miraculous resurrection of his canceled Jericho television series (second season began Feb. 12), the upcoming election, the Iraq war, and why he’s so good at being bad.

Castel: You’re used to playing the heavy.
Morales: Yeah, the industry has an easy place for bad guys. Good guys don’t draw as much attention. In Jericho, I’m a good guy in a bad army. Since I have Latin, dark features the industry’s played up on that image. If you have softer features it’s harder to play against that type. But the funny thing is I’m one of the most sensitive people I know. After La Bamba I started resenting playing the bad guy. I had played a gang member in Bad Boys and the angry brother in La Bamba. I was offered the role of the cholo in Stand and Deliver, but I didn’t want to play another angry Mexican.

Castel: Any other famous roles that you turned down because you thought were Latino stereotypes?
Morales: I had the role of Cuevos Jones in Escape from L.A. All I had to do was meet with the director and the film’s star, Kurt Russell. I found the script to be the most racist material I ever read. I was in shock. Cuervo Jones was the leader of an army of Mud People, undesirable criminals that had flooded the United States.

Castel: A metaphor for immigrants.
Morales: Exactly. I told the director that the character was a little “thin.” He said, ‘thank you for coming’ and the interview was over. My agent told me, ‘Leave it to you to talk yourself out of $500,000.’ I tossed the script in the garbage on my way out of Paramount Studios. 

Castel: So you do walk the talk.
Morales: You know something, that money would be long gone by now, but that negative image is still out there. My role in La Linea is a dark character also, but he’s more complex in a situation chalk full of ambiguities.

Castel: Tell me about your Jericho character, Major Beck.
Morales: He’s a soldier who came up the military rank who did what he was told. He’s a good soldier. His family disappeared when the nuclear bombs went off. Even though he doesn’t know where his family is, he stays focused on doing his job. The characters in the show close to him push him about his family, and that’s when we see his vulnerability. But he still has a mission to do.

Castel: How did you prep for that role?
Morales: I dedicate this role to my late cousin Amos Diaz, who was a Marine for 24 years. He was a Marine’s Marine, tough as nails. He died of cancer in 2004.

Castel: What can we expect from your character this coming season?
Morales: I can’t tell you because they will kill me. Bigger than the army is CBS. We’ll find out if Major Beck is put to the test, if he’s a pragmatist, or is he a hero?

Castel: Why do you think the fans convinced the Network to bring Jericho back to television after CBS canceled it?
Morales: I think it’s the kind of show that demonstrates what could happen if the United States was devastated by nuclear bombs. It’s a little foreboding. What would we do if we had to go back to primitive instincts? It tests your character. It’s one thing when you have all the amenities, but it’s another when your world is blown apart. It tests your metal.

Castel: Do you think the religious right watches it because of its Apocalypse nature?
Morales: Yes, there’s that aspect of it and because of the Biblical name. People want to see what it might be like. Who you would align yourself with? The larger group is not necessarily the best choice. The show makes us think and puts us in a precarious situation. Whose allegiance would I pledge if we were invaded? Some of the characters are manipulated by the media. Jericho touches on how the media filters the truth.

Castel: Do you think the media manipulates the truth?
Morales: I find it troubling that the media determines what choices you have, like our Presidential candidates. They (candidates) are more and more alike and less a representation of the population. Dennis Kucinich was the guy I was supporting. He’s for peace. He just dropped out. Not one of the candidates is talking about how bad the war is.

Castel: You’ve been very political early on in your career.
Morales: My first stumping was for Dukakis in 1988. I recently went on the Montel Williams Show, and I heard that our 13th President, Millard Fillmore, ran on an anti-immigration platform. He used fear to get votes. Fear is a hot button to push.

Castel: Especially with the Republicans.
Morales: Fillmore was against Irish Catholics, who were the scourge in his day.

Castel: The potato famine in Ireland led to a wave of Irish immigrants.
Morales: Yes. Today it’s Mexicans coming across the border looking for a better life. I’m so sick of the Democrats not holding the Republicans responsible for what they’ve done about the Iraq War. They keep taking our young men to war. If you speak against the war, you’re labeled a liberal, a leftist. You know what makes you left?

Castel: No. What?
Morales: The desire to help the poor, the desire to make people honest, spread the wealth, to uphold the constitution. But then you get branded a Pinko, Communist—nothing could be farther from the truth. Having a conscious brands you a lefty. Not wanting to keep quiet because you’re doing well, while the rest of our brothers and sisters starve.

Castel: What’s been your most favorite role to date in film or TV?
Morales: La Bamba, Jerricho and La Linea. This last film’s character was a bit twisted. He thinks he’s working for God. He believes if he prays and goes to Church and confesses to a priest, he will be forgiven. I beat someone to death with my own forehead.

Castel: Ouch.
Morales: It’s not senseless violence. Ray Liota has to stop my character from talking to the Taliban.

Castel: What’s this new music career? You played Castillo in the Mambo Kings on stage in San Francisco. Tell me about it.
Morales: I have to admit I was not the best singer, there were nights I didn’t excel and nights that I did. We did get standing ovations.

Castel: Are you going to continue singing?
Morales: Yes. At Sundance I did some Karaoke and had to stomp on a testicle to get to those high notes in Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. . .(singing)  “Mamma, I just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he’s dead. . .”

Castel: Wow. I’ve never been serenaded before.
Morales: I should have been a singer. In the old days, the studio would have tutored me. I’m going to Woodstock to train. I’m a jack of all trades, but not really a master at anything. I tell people I’m a music masturbator. I use music to console myself or seduce a lover. It’s a fast track to intimacy. When you sing a song, you burry your soul.

Castel: Are you seeing someone?
Morales: I met someone on Jericho but she just got out of a ten year relationship and to her credit she doesn’t want to jump into another relationship.

Castel: What advice would you give young people?
Morales: When I visit schools, I tell the youth that when you can’t communicate properly, you bottle those feelings up. It can be very destructive. I tell young men to get those feelings out and learn how to handle them, because if you cannot, they will handle you.

The Brooklyn born actor has definitely found an outlet to express his range of feelings that has kept the masses entertained for nearly three decades.

In addition to Jericho’s second season that premiered Feb. 12 and runs for seven episodes, Morales is presently starring in the award-winning indie film, American Fusion.

This romantic comedy highlights the negative racial stereotypes and social mores that still plague U.S. society—all while uncovering the love story between Morales’ character, a Mexican-American dentist and a Chinese immigrant.

Morales describes himself as an “actorvist.” He’s involved with numerous charities and non-profits which include: the National Hispanic Foundation—which he co-founded with actor Jimmy Smits — that works to advance the presence of Latinos in the media; He’s a founding board member of the Earth Communications Office (E.C.O.), which is a clearing house for environmental information and has worked closely with the Wildlife Preservation Fund in Costa Rica; and the Health Education Aids Liaison (H.E.A.L.).

Morales presently resides in Los Angeles. When not working, he enjoys writing songs, singing, and playing the guitar. His single, “Reason to Live,” recently made its radio debut.