I think that every male actor fantasizes with a boxing film.
— Edgar Ramirez
I thought I knew how to work out before I immersed myself into boxing. I now know what an extreme workout really is.
You get to a new school, and you're the new guy, or you're the foreigner, or you're the guy with the funny accent. That first day at school was a whole new opportunity to create a new persona.
The truth is not a bidimensional thing; it's not flat. It's rounded; it's like a sphere, so there's always a hidden face. There's one that is revealed because there's light reflecting on it, but there's always a hidden one, and once you go around to see the hidden one, it moves, and that's life.
What drew me to the character is that Roberto Duran is the son of an American soldier - a Marine - stationed in Panama and a humble Panamanian mother, and he was abandoned.
The reality is that not only were we massively hit in 2008 when the bubble burst, and then we realized how deep the social gap, the economic gap in the world is between the super rich and the poor; also, we realized how impacted the environment has been. So there's been a physical consequence of that.
You can't judge your characters or otherwise; it's not about you, it's about them.
That's what happens in a good horror movie: there are always metaphors of greater subjects like humanity and empathy and compassion. It's not about the action and scary moments: You really care about these characters because they're mirrors of our own reflections.
I'm just the second Bodhi. I think there will be more. I have the feeling this is only the first re-imagination of 'Point Break'.
I have a huge promotion: you've heard from me on 'Vantage Point' and also with 'Cyrano Fernandez' - that is a Venezuelan movie that I star in and co-produced, and it's based on the romance of Cyrano de Bergerac. And it's set in a Venezuelan slum. It's a free version of the French play.
War is a tragedy. It's not pretty, and in my opinion, there are no winners. Everybody's a victim, from the one who's suffering pain to the person inflicting it.
I had to understand the whole bounty hunting thing, because we don't have that in Venezuela. Nothing similar at all, at least not legal.
Imagine stepping into the shoes of Roberto Duran, one of the most legendary boxers in the history of the sport, and definitely the most legendary Latin American boxer, and then having 'Raging Bull' in my corner. I mean, imagine that? Just having Robert De Niro to play the trainer in the movie, that was fantastic.
I belonged to the 'Point Break' generation - I watched the original when I was 13 years old. It's basically the story of the rescue of the human spirit, and we continue to fight that same spiritual battle, but with a political expression.
Boxing, in the most general terms, is a poor man's sport. All you have is your hands to make a living.
I remember I would always joke among my friends about a remake of 'Point Break'. I would say, 'You know what? Whenever there's a remake of 'Point Break', I'm going to do it.'
Everything goes in waves. Evolution goes in waves. The ocean goes in waves. Energy goes in waves. Sound travels in waves.
I'm very physical. I love to work out; I'm very athletic. It's a great therapy, not only for my body, but for my mind.
Carlos was a character, a character fabricated by Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, fabricated by the secret services of the epoch, fabricated by the governments of the epoch, by the radical groups of the epoch, by the communications media.
I'm restless. I'm all the time here and there and trying to get myself busy and creative. It's something that's part of my personality since I was a kid.
I always try to look for the hidden face of the character, the hidden face that we all have.
Men are taught that if we are not the ultimate provider, we are a complete failure. We have to be number one in everything we do. There is nothing more delusional or paralysing than what I have just described.
Bodhisattva is enlightened in the Buddhist philosophy, religion, tradition. He's enlightened. It's fine - I don't really fight it - but many people use the term 'zen' and terms like 'nirvana,' 'enlightenment' in an almost superficial way. It's not that complicated.
Carlos, on paper, and Carlos, the guy who was in jail, is known to be a cultivated guy, the guy who handles big amounts of information, and for me, that was very important.
I think, for any actor, dealing with the paranormal is intriguing.
The tale of 'Point Break' is about doing what you love and committing to what you love. It's relevant to me as a Venezuelan, to you as an American, to any Chinese person watching the film.
I met Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu years ago during my college days, and I was in charge of international promotion of this movie festival he was invited to as part of the jury, and then he saw my work on a short film that was directed by a friend of mine.
There's no way to reconstruct reality. It happened once. What you do is reinterpret and recreate. Even if you have the person who lived it and did it next to you, the event happened just once.
Whenever someone comes up to me saying, 'I saw you in 'Carlos' and then I saw the rest of your movies,' for me, it's an expression that we might be doing something well. So my life hasn't changed that much. I just try not to go to very crowded places if I'm not in the mood.
It's been a teenage fantasy of mine to play Bodhi.
For me, it was very important to be part of a boxing film that actually explores the psychological aspects of the sport, more than just the physical aspects. I haven't seen boxing movies very often that really go so deep into the minds of the boxers. It really puts out how much it is about strategy and tactics and technique.
In boxing, there are no bad guys or good guys. Just people trying to make a living and trying to live up to their pride and to try to become someone.
If you get conquered by ego, then you are losing the fight.
Duran is a mythological figure in Latin America. He grew up in a time of turbulence because Panama was basically occupied by the United States. So he felt obliged to fight Americans in the ring. He felt the whole pride of his country and the need for cultural and political emancipation in his hands.
Boxing combines, in perfect proportion, strength, speed, and endurance. Normally, most sports are either about one of the three: either about speed or endurance or strength. Boxing combines all three of them. It's really intense.
We are all seduced by charismatic people, whether it's in your office or in the bus or in the train. There are people who just, like, come through the door, and everybody turns around and looks at them and feels drawn to them.
There's never a dull moment on a David O. Russell set. But that's the beauty of it. That's the magic.
Panama is a country that's been dealing with issues of identity since its very birth. It was born on Wall Street. It was born out of engineering construction. It was the canal. Because of the canal, the country was born, so the country has been divided into pro-canal and against-canal people for so long.
I look for roles that allow me to immerse in different worlds, immerse in worlds that are different from mine. Then, when you finish a film, you're a different person. I look for that. I look to be impacted, to be transformed, changed by my roles. That's why I do this.
Being enlightened is just being aware. It's just being aware of something that you weren't aware before.
I am a very active audience member. I want to be moved. I want to be confronted. I want to feel.
Feminism is nothing but equality, and actually, feminism benefits men because it liberates us and it releases us from many stigmas imposed by the macho culture on us as well. So if more of us could understand that it's nothing but equality, I think many agendas in terms of equality would have advanced quicker because it really helps us as well.
I think that the 'Bourne Trilogy,' it's definitely redefined the genre and took it to a new level. It was really great to be part of that experience. It is a very smart movie and a very smart script, great director, and great, you know, fellow actors.
I think, for an actor, the whole world is a place of work because if you focus on characters and on stories, they are everywhere, so yeah, I feel very privileged to have had this great opportunities in the international cinema and especially in the American cinema.
Love is also a very violent thing. Totally violent. Suddenly, you are, like, at this party your friends invite you to, and you meet this person, and your life is turned upside down, and the next day you can't stop thinking about them. That's violent. Hopefully, it's for the better, but it's a violent thing.
I'm definitely interested in exploring human contradictions. Contradictions are what make us human - it's what defines us as human beings. Contradictions are what make characters interesting, and I've been lucky to be presented with characters who have a lot of contradictions.
Bolivar's legacy has always been a part of the Venezuelan/Latin American imagery, especially in the countries that he liberated or he helped to liberate. He's been a very prominent figure.
We use the term 'fight' very lightly - 'I've been fighting so hard to get my car, I've been fighting so hard to get that job, I've been fighting so hard to get that girl.' But the reality is boxers do fight bitterly to get whatever they want or whatever they need in life, and most of them come from nothing, which is the case of Roberto Duran.
I remember when I first met Katherine Bigelow for 'Zero Dark Thirty' - actually, we met for another movie, and that never got made, and then she called me and invited me to 'Zero Dark Thirty'.
I'm not an aggressive person at all. But I know how to fight.
