Kevin Alejandro : IESB

Actor Kevin Alejandro stars as Detective Nate Moretta on the critically acclaimed cop drama Southland, which is a raw and authentic look at a police unit in Los Angeles. From the beaches of Malibu to the streets of East Los Angeles, the series, which airs on TNT, is a fast-moving drama that will take viewers inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families.

Having also given memorable performances on Ugly Betty (as Justin's father Santos), Shark (as Danny Reyes, a street-smart, tough prosecutor specializing in organized crime) and Drive (as car thief Winston Salazar), Kevin Alejandro is currently filming a role in Season 3 of the hit television series True Blood, returning to HBO on June 13th.

In this exclusive interview with IESB, the actor talked about his love for the unpredictability of Southland, how much fun he's had working with the show's great ensemble and his very different role on the upcoming season True Blood.

IESB: How did you originally get involved with Southland?

Kevin: I went through the whole process that every actor goes through, when trying to be a part of a show. I went through several auditions and several call-backs, with the studio and network tests. Finally, at the end, they decided on me, which made me extremely happy.

 

IESB: What was the initial appeal of the show and the character for you?

Kevin: What drew me to the show was how smart it is and how it is such a big cast, but they were able to keep all these stories going and keep it interesting without being confusing, and it was so raw. Even when you were reading the script, you could feel how raw the stories were. So, that's what really got me interested. And, the fact that he was a completely different character than I've played.

 

IESB: As an actor, do you enjoy doing the kind of research that you got to do with this, talking to real people and building that backstory for yourself?

Kevin: Oh, man, I loved it. A lot of TV shows don't really have a whole lot of time for you to do that research. You do it as you go along. One of the great things about this show is that they allotted us that time. We went through weapons training, many police academy classes, boot camps and ride-alongs. We had the chance to do all of this stuff. It was almost required of us and set-in-stone that it was something we were going to do, before we actually started shooting, so we had an understanding of how to cuff somebody, how to pull somebody over for a misdemeanor and how to enter a house when there was a distress call. We went into this show with that knowledge, and the opportunity to dive into that. One of the most amazing experiences an actor can have is to go in there and, by the time you get on set, really feel like you have an idea of how these people would react to a certain situation. It's amazing.

 

IESB: Once the show started airing and you were out on the streets filming, what sort of feedback did you hear from the community and from cops who had seen the show? Were they accepting of your representation?

Kevin: Honestly, yes. I have some friends who are a retired police offer and retired SWAT, people who are captains and sergeants, and in the police academy, in different parts of L.A. So, I'm in that world a little bit, and I've heard nothing but absolutely positive things. Just the other night, I was at a friend's birthday party, and there was a random person I had never met before, who was a New York cop, back in the day, and she said, "Your show is, by far, the only cop show that I like because it is very true. All the stories that you guys are telling and are going through, I know somebody or have been through that situation." I always get a, "Thank you," at the end of it. People say, "Thank you for representing us. Thank you for doing the show." So, yeah, all the feedback has been very positive.

 

IESB: Is there anything that you learned or realized about the profession, from working on the show, that really surprised you?

Kevin: Not so much surprised me, but gave me a huge respect for these guys, like with how difficult it is and how outnumbered they are. I am now a lot more aware, in my life, walking down the street, or with who's standing next to me in the grocery store, or who's driving next to me. I'm definitely much more aware. But, what was intriguing was how they go and do this. They go undercover, or they see a kid shot, or they see a mother abused by a husband, and they deal with all of this stuff that goes on, and then they have to go home to their own families. It's very interesting to see how they do that.

 

IESB: What can you say about the next episode, "What Makes Sammy Run?," airing on March 30th?

Kevin: Yeah. I just watched the episode and it's awesome. It's one of my favorites. As an audience member, you get to go through a real journey. Not that you don't already, but you get to go through a real journey with Nate and Sammy (Shawn Hatosy), and Sal (Michael McGrady) and the detectives. You get to step into their shoes, for a minute. It's a great emotional episode, and it's well done. Shawn Hatosy is amazing in the episode, and the Sammy followers are really going to love what he does. And, you get to go through the journey with Nate as well. You see how he deals with his family life being part of his work life. It's just a great episode. A lot of questions get answered.

 

IESB: How has it been to work with this great ensemble cast, most specifically Shawn Hatosy?

Kevin: I go to set knowing that I'm going to be with good people and they inspire me. I learn from Shawn. He's so natural and so real, and it's effortless. I think we work well together. We have good chemistry, and it's the same, all the way around. A lot of us are the same kind of actors, so it's been a great experience. I hope that we get picked up again, so that I can continue working with these guys.

 

IESB: Has it been frustrating to have such a great show with great writing and acting, and have a network that doesn't really know what to do with it, and then going on the roller coaster ride with TNT picking it up?

Kevin: Absolutely. That's part of what builds the comradery between all of us, with Ann [Biderman], Chris [Chulack], John [Wells] and the actors and crew, because it's a journey that we're all going through together, and we all want the same outcome. We all want to work on this show. So, yeah, it is frustrating because we want it to bad. We love the work so much, and what they're putting out. It's one of those things where we're like, "Have you heard anything?" "No." We're always on edge and waiting.

 

IESB: What's been the most enjoyable aspect about being involved with this show?

Kevin: Working with everybody. They're all great. We all love coming to work. It moves so fast. It's a very non-traditional television show. Because of the cameras we use and the style of the show, it just moves at a quick pace. We're in and we're out, and we get the job done quick. That's been exciting. You never know what's going to happen. You never know how the on-lookers are going to react to a situation. There was a night when Shawn and I were supposed to shoot a scene. It was the last shot of the night, in East L.A. We got there and, as we were in the van, all these other cars started pulling up, surrounding this house, and it turned out to be an actual gang alteration. Over the radio, we heard, "You guys have got to get out of there. Something is going down." You never know what's going to happen. That's how real the situation can get, when we're there. So, we had to leave the location and spend the next 45 minutes or an hour looking for another location to finish up the night. That's what's so exciting and great about the show.

 

IESB: You get to distract yourself from waiting to hear if the show will get picked up, by playing a role in Season 3 of True Blood. What can you say about your involvement with the show and what it's like to play somebody so different from Nate Moretta on Southland?

Kevin: Part of the reason why I really wanted to do the show was because it is completely different from Nate Moretta. But, there's not a whole lot I can tell you about True Blood. They're very secretive about what they do over there, but I am having a good time with that. Just the fact that the characters are so different is great, and Alan Ball and all those guys are awesome to work for. It's just completely different. That's what I like about it.

 

IESB: Your character, Jesus Velasquez, is connected to Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) and his mother (Alfre Woodard). How has it been to work with those two?

Kevin: I feel honored that people would actually trust me to be part of a crew like that. Nelsan is a Juilliard man. And, Alfre Woodard is Alfre Woodard. I just feel great that people think that I can hold my own with those guys and that I have good chemistry with them.

 

IESB: Were you nervous about going into an already established and successful show as the new guy, as opposed to having been there from the beginning?

Kevin: It's a very different kind of nerves. To sit in the table reads for True Blood, with it going on its third season, you see all these very evolved characters, whereas I'm coming in to try to create one on this show that's already been established. That's nerve-wracking. I hope that I can hold up my end of the deal. Whereas going into Southland and being a part of it from the very beginning is nerve-wracking, but it's something that you're whole group of people are going through together. We're all creating the same thing, at the same time. So, they're two totally different worlds.

 

IESB: You've played a lawyer on Shark, you're playing a cop on Southland and you recently did a Western, called The Legend of Hell's Gate. Are there any types of roles or specific genres you'd still like to do, but haven't gotten the chance to do yet?

Kevin: Yeah. One thing that people don't know about me is that I'm actually a classically trained actor, and I love Shakespeare. Shakespeare is one of my favorite things to do, so I can't wait for the opportunity to do some Shakespeare.