Emilio Rivera nasceu a 24 de Fevereiro de 1961 em San Antonio, Texas. De ascendência mexicana e cubana, Emilio é o filho mais velho de quatro irmãos e três irmãs. A sua difícil infância foi passada em Elysian Valley, um bairro da área periférica de Los Angeles, Califórnia.
O seu primeiro papel em televisão foi na série
Renegade ao lado de Lorenzo Lamas e desde então nunca mais parou e na sua filmografia de actor podemos encontrar de tudo um pouco.
Emilio Rivera participou em filmes como
The Cable Guy (1996),
Con Air (1997),
Traffic (2000),
Road Dogz (2000),
Ali G Indahouse (2002),
High Crimes (2002),
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002),
Never Get Outta the Boat (2002),
A Man Apart (2003),
Bruce Almighty (2003),
Collateral (2004),
Purple Heart (2005),
Harsh Times (2005),
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005),
Spider-Man 3 (2007) e
Street Kings (2008).
Em televisão, para além de
Sons of Anarchy, teve participações nas séries de tv
Renegade,
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.,
Beverly Hills 90210,
Unsolved Mysteries,
JAG,
Walker Texas Ranger,
L.A. Heat,
X Files,
NYPD Blue,
ER,
Titus,
Son of the Beach,
The Young and the Restless,
The Shield,
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,
Bones,
Shark,
My Name is Earl,
Brothers & Sisters,
Raines,
Girlfriends,
Moonlight,
Weeds,
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,
CSI: NY,
Lie to Me e
Southland.
O seu respeitado estatuto, adquirido através do seu vasto currículo no cinema e na televisão, e os seus atributos enquanto actor permite-lhe estar no top dos actores latinos da actualidade.
Mas os fãs de
Sons of Anarchy conhecem-no principalmente pelo seu papel de
Marcus Alvarez, o líder dos Mayans MC, um
motorcycle club que é rival de SAMCRO e que está sediado em Oakland, Califórnia. Curiosamente Emilio Rivera foi contratado para fazer parte dos Sons, mas à última hora foi decida uma alteração ao seu papel com o resultado que todos nós conhecemos. E ainda bem que assim foi.
Esta entrevista ao Emilio foi solicitada via facebook e as respostas obtidas através de email. Vai ser agora publicada em inglês e será posteriormente traduzida para português. Até lá, e para os que têm mais dificuldades em perceber a língua inglesa, podem utilizar o
Tradutor do Google como possível ferramenta de ajuda.
Resta-nos agradecer ao Emilio a disponibilidade que demonstrou para responder às nossas questões. Agora, vamos ao que realmente interessa:
1 – Emilio, you've worked in movies and television. Do you prefer one to the other?
Emilio Rivera: Cannot say if I like Film or T.V. better, it all depends on the project. Either that or I'm happiest when I'm working.
2 - How is it working with renowned directors such as Steven Soderbergh or Michael Mann?
ER: It was great to work with Steven Soderbergh and Michael Mann. Both directors are very meticulous and pay attention what the actors think of their characters and let them make them their own work and that’s why their films are great.
3 - You’ve been in the business for a long time. What was your favourite role so far?
ER: Besides playing Alvarez on Sons of Anarchy, my other favourite roles have been “Big Joe” in Road Dogz (2000) and “Angel” in Never Get Outta the Boat (2002), mainly because these two guys are very close to whom I've been in my life.
4 - How did you get the role of ‘Marcus Alvarez’ on Sons of Anarchy?
ER: I was originally hired as a Son but, after the Pilot got picked up, they decided to go another way and I became Alvarez.
5 - You play an important role on the show, the leader of an MC. Were you familiar with this subculture or did you have to do some research in order to get caught up?
ER: I didn’t really do a lot of research. I've been a bad guy myself for many years. I ran around with all sorts of outlaws of different kinds for most of my life. I just had to ask a few questions and I was ready to go. That plus over 16 years of playing bad guys and I was ready to take on this role.
6 - What was your biggest concern when you took on this role on Sons of Anarchy? Did you draw from your life experience in order to do a better job?
ER: I always draw from life exeriences. I have seen and done alot of bad things in my life in the past, and by no mean do I say that in a bragging way, but life is best teacher.
7 - Were you afraid of the reaction of real life american MC’s? Were you confident that you could play this role well?
ER: I was never afraid. I always wanted to be respectful and I wanted all the MC’s that I represent to be proud of my work and they really are. I do a lot of bike runs and they always take me in with open arms, so I think I'm doing an O.K. job.
8 - What is your favourite scene and/or character on Sons of Anarchy?
ER: My favourite scene was when I killed my son. It was a very tough scene for me; also when Katey broke down in the kitchen and when all hell broke loose when they found out Luann died, everybody was on point in that scene. The whole cast was; when Jax is at he mall and that couple had his son not one word said and I felt all of Jax’s emotions. It was a great scene; Opie's reaction when Donna got killed. There are too many scenes to list. It’s just a bad ass show, with the best ensemble cast anybody could ask for.
9 - Did you get a special bike like the other guys did?
ER: No, I did not get a bike but I have a couple of my own Harleys, one of which I have used on the show.
10 - What do you think makes Sons of Anarchy such a unique show?
ER: SoA is unique because there’s never been nothing like it before. In real life people don’t like to pay attention to bikers, maybe out of fear, I don’t know, but in the privacy of their safe home they can watch what they think might be going on in that kind of lifestyle.
11 - Will ‘Marcus Alvarez’ be back for Season four?
ER: I'm hoping I'll be back for Season 4, but I don’t know yet.
12 - You have a big family: three brothers and three sisters, you’re married to a beautiful actress, Yadi Valerio, and you have three children. What role does your family play in your work? Are they your harshest critics or is there a clear line that separates work from personal life? ER: I'm my own worst critic, because I always feel I could have done it better or tried something different. My family on the other hand is my biggest fan and biggest supporter, all of them. My wife has got my back in whatever I do and guides me through a lot of my decisions. She makes me feel like I'm special and that makes my heart feel good. I love my family, that’s what I'm all about.
13 - How do you deal with the fame? Have you had any fans approach you in the streets?
ER: The fame is cool. I get approached a lot. There are a lot of SoA fans out there. I guess that’s what comes when you are on a hit show. I'm cool with it just as long as the people are respectful.
14 - We wonder if you get a chance to watch much television and, if so, what types of shows do you like to watch?
ER: Besides "Sons of Anarchy", I like to watch "Southland", "Pawn Stars", "Forensic Files", "Cold Case" and It's "Always Sunny in Philadelphia". My son Rocko is 4 years old so we are stuck on Sprout TV: "Sesame Street", "Caillou" and our favourite "Tom and Jerry".
15 - What does ‘Marcus Alvarez’ want for 2011?
ER: Five more seasons of Sons of Anarchy. Hope you all have a great 2011. Much love and respect always. EMILIO RIVERA.
