July 2, 2024 • 38 mins
The BUZZ is kicking off "Hotel Cocaine" week with Don Mike who plays Omar on the MGM+ series. Omar works at the The Mutiny Hotel and is described as the suave, hip, and cool man of the club scene. The actor spoke with us about the Los Angeles premiere of the show which took place last month, reconnecting with cast members, and watching the pilot on the big screen.
While Omar may not have a big story occurring at the moment, we did speak about what we would like to see for him if/when the series is picked up for a second season. Mike and I dove deep into what kind of backstory we would like to potentially see for Omar, especially during the time period the series takes place. He also talked with us about how people did not recognize him when he came back to filming the series after the strikes were over. Find out exactly how this topic came up!
After talking with Mike about how he got into the acting field, we both had a very insightful conversation (with me getting on my soapbox a bit) about diversity in television and how we need more in front AND behind the camera telling stories.
"Hotel Cocaine" drops new episodes Sundays at 9 PM ET on MGM+.
While Omar may not have a big story occurring at the moment, we did speak about what we would like to see for him if/when the series is picked up for a second season. Mike and I dove deep into what kind of backstory we would like to potentially see for Omar, especially during the time period the series takes place. He also talked with us about how people did not recognize him when he came back to filming the series after the strikes were over. Find out exactly how this topic came up!
After talking with Mike about how he got into the acting field, we both had a very insightful conversation (with me getting on my soapbox a bit) about diversity in television and how we need more in front AND behind the camera telling stories.
"Hotel Cocaine" drops new episodes Sundays at 9 PM ET on MGM+.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Buzz Buzz. The Buzz is on. The Buzz is on the show that
gets you up close and personal withsome of the hottest stars. Now here's
your host, Novelle Jayly. What'sgoing on, guys. It's Novelle Jay
Lee here at the Buzz at BuzzworthyRadio. We are kicking off Hotel Cocaine
Week by speaking with Don Mike,who plays the role of Omar on the
(00:22):
MGM Plus series. We got totalk to him about landing the role and
filming in the Dominican Republic. Butthere was a piece of information that we
came across yesterday that we dove intoin this show, and I don't want
to give too much away, butit was very interesting how it ties back
into an interview I did with theshow's creator, Chris Brancato, so stay
(00:43):
tuned for that. But I enjoytalking with Don about the show and hopefully
what we are able to see witha potential backstory for Omar's character if and
when the show does get picked upfor a season two. So please enjoy
our interview with Don Mike. Checkit out. Don Mike is joining me
here on the bus. Thank youso much for coming by and speaking with
(01:07):
me. I mean it was It'san absolute pleasure. I fell in love
with Hotel Cocaine since up one.So being able to talk to you about
this show and being a part ofthe show, I really appreciate it.
Thank you. So you got togo to the the Los Angeles premiere of
the show. Just what was it? Maybe two weeks ago? Two weeks
ago, three weeks ago? Yeah, just about how let me ask you
(01:32):
about that? How was that?Because you know, just seeing everybody on
the red carpet and promoting the showand talking about the show, and just
being around everybody that wants to talkabout the show and supporting you guys.
What was that experience like for youbeing there? It was incredible. It
was festive, it was flashy,of course with all the outfits. Yeah,
(01:55):
it was almost like a little likeside what's the what I'm looking for?
I mean, it definitely played tothe theme of the show with how
everybody was dressed, that's for sure. Yeah, that's what I'm getting at.
It's almost like a Hotel Cocaine kindof side, little extra piece.
You know, back in the daythey had DVDs, they had the extra
(02:16):
yeahs, So it kind of feltlike that a little bit too. Just
everybody was in the same space.We all got reunited, most of us
because some of the cast couldn't makeit working on the projects, which are
good problems to have, but itwas worse. Yeah, it was beautiful.
It was great to see the firstepisode on a major on a big
(02:37):
screen, a lot of the producersthere. It just brought everything home.
The soundtrack to the show obviously ison fire. I mean, the show
takes place in nineteen seventy nine,nineteen seventy eight, basically almost to the
eighties anyway, and it's just I'mjust amazed that the music that they're able
to use for the show, aswell as characters that they were able to
(02:58):
incorporate into the show. While thosecelebrity personas were in episodes, they don't
dominate the episodes, which I like. They they're integral to the story and
I love that aspect about it.What are the comments I said to Mark
Foyerstein who plays Burton on the show, and how his character was the inspiration
(03:19):
which now just aired Rick James's SuperFreak. I just thought that was absolutely
hilarious that they were able to tellit in that way and being like,
my character is the inspiration for thissong. I think that I think that
was great to the show. ButI think, honestly, the and I
(03:40):
don't I'm not ashamed of saying it, but I say it all the time.
I think, honestly, the themesong is what roped me in into
the show. Yes, yeah,I'll dude. I heard it when I
first got it and I screened itbefore it aired, and I heard the
(04:00):
song and then I found out itwas Swiss Beats who was behind it.
I said, yo, this,dude. I was like, I need
a full I need a full MPthree of it. I need I need
the jam right now so I candownload it because this is fire, legit
fire. And I'm so mad thatwhen Chris told me the story of how
he got him to do the song, it's now lost because it was such
(04:24):
a great story of how that cameto be on how he got him to
do the theme song. But man, oh man, it just fits the
tone of the show, and Omarseems to be a really good right hand
man for Roman. Well yeah,just quickly, before you get to that,
did you mean that when Chris toldyou the story, you had like
(04:45):
you recorded it, but you Idid, Yeah, Okay, that's what
you meant. Okay, Okay,gotcha. Dang, that was a cool
little piece to have. Oh itliterally it was recording, and then we
noticed that the camera shut off.So then I went back, but I
saw like it was recording, andthen when I went into it to do
the edits, it literally lost it. At bult Fun, I was like
(05:08):
no, and then I'm like eh, and it was man. That still
to this day burns my heart.And maybe maybe at the season two premire
you'll get to meet Swizzy and nowyou know, get the exclusive never say
never. I literally am hoping thathappens for sure. And yes, so
(05:29):
speaking of yeah, yeah, speakingof which, with Omar, let's talk
about the character of Omar and hisrelationship with Roman and the mutiny and pretty
much everybody. It just seems likehe he definitely fits that seventies mold of
swag. I mean, honestly fromwhat I've seen, So yeah, Omar.
(05:50):
I just grabbed Omar as you know, the cool cat in the cart,
the cool cat of the cut.He's you know, he's got the
seventies drip going. He's smart,he's savvy, he knows all the movies
and shakers. He knows all thecartel you know, all the cartel dealers
and all the you know, allthe heavy hitters and all the movies and
shakers. But most the ways inwhich you get to see him in the
(06:13):
show is him putting out metaphorical fires. You know, there's not enough down
p so and so cartels are havingare getting white, so kind of reporting
things to Roman and then uh.In episode four you kind of get to
see him checking in, checking inon his man to make sure everything is
cool, because you know, yeah, he's not, he's not you know,
it's not moving the way he usuallymoves. He usually moves. So,
(06:38):
yeah, Omar's in some sense,Omar's the blue helping to you know,
keep things together with the Mutiny becauseyou know, there's a lot of
it's a lot of the Butcher's,it's a lot of crazy things going on.
There's a lot of crazy things.I mean, you know, listen.
Obviously, the club itself looks greatfrom how you look at it on
the screen with the mutiny girls andhow everything's coming together with Janis and and
(07:00):
and whatnot. But I will say, as you just said about an episode
four, it does take a turn. It definitely takes a turn that what
we've just seen in the last threeSo it's it's really about to get so
heavy that I'm now sitting here wonderinghow's Omar gonna fit into this entire thing,
because when I just said at thebeginning, Roman literally he's now at
(07:24):
a point where he can't even goback to do what he was originally planning
on doing in the first place,was to in essence bring his brother down
for the Dea. Now it's likespoiler alert for those of you who are
listening and watching this. He there'sthere's a point of no return for Roman
at this point, and now I'mjust kind of sitting here wondering where's where's
(07:46):
Omar gonna go? Where is thisgonna take him? That's that's kind of
TBD to be decided. As theseries goes on, you'll, uh,
you'll get to see all the eventsthat unravel. Omar is not a huge
part of, you know, thosethe major plot line and the subplots as
(08:07):
well. Omar's mainly seen at themutiny. Has been talks about expanding that
if with this this season two,if that's guaranteed, seeing what Omar's backstory
could look like and okay, youknow some of the things he might be
doing outside of the Munion because he'sonly seen at the mutiny pretty much right,
right, So there's been talks.We'll see, we'll see what happens.
(08:30):
We'll see what the team wants todo. But hey, I'm open
to whatever suggestions lay through my way. Do you have any not preconceived notions,
but do you have anything that youwould like to see Omar's backstory beat
about? Like where do you wherewould you where would you see him?
Like where would you like to seehim come up to? Where? Because
(08:52):
my thing is like I definitely wantto see how wherever he was prior to
the mutiny? How did he getinvolved in being a part of the mutiny?
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't know. In this
script, Omar was first introduced asbeing Afro Cuban, so I thought,
hey, maybe we can season two, we can expand on that and see
(09:13):
if he is indeed Afro Cuban.Because I spoke to Chris about that.
I don't know if he was necessarilymarried to that idea, but I thought
it would be cool to explore,like, well, what does this backstory
look like coming in from Cuba tothe States, especially with the intersectionality of
him being black too. Like mh, that's an explored territory, you know,
(09:35):
that that specific intersectionality. I know, recently there's been a whole wave
of recognition with the various Afro Latinoscommunity in the States. After the communities
in the States, you know,more recognition of the Afro roots and celebrating
the heritage and celebrating with the Africandescendants contributed to what is now known as
(09:58):
Latin American culture, whether it's knowsalus and music or you know, various
things like that. So I'm notsure what that's gonna look like. I'm
not sure how they'll be able tofit Omar into into that storyline to make
sure it's not just you know,it's not just there to be there.
It actually carries weight and it goforward. But like I said, that'd
(10:20):
be a cool angle to visit.Whatever the team wants to do if they
see this, you know, let'slet's let's talk, let's have a conversation.
I'm happy to I'm happy to unpack. That would be a very interesting
story to play because as you justsaid, you know, with being Afro
Cuban, the character of Omar beingAfro Cuban, And another comment I made
(10:41):
is like, I love the factthat this show is is showcasing forth like
the Latina community and in this andgoing between the languages on the show.
I think it's absolutely I love Ilove that aspect about it and in this
show. So I kind of wantto see I want to see that somehow
entered in the story and just explore, just explore that it's I think that
(11:03):
would be a just interesting story totell, especially for the time that this
takes place, because it still takesplace in nineteen seventy eight and it's still
it's I hate saying that it wasstill in a time and let me correct
that we can say that about thisnow during the present, but it still
(11:24):
took place in a time where youknow, you're seeing people of color not
really fully accepted yet, especially inthose types of positions, and this is
the type of positions we're seeing themin. And so I definitely think that
this is a really great story totell, and I think Chris and Maurice
County would be able to tell thatstory in such a way where it's not
(11:46):
insulting to the viewers. So Ithink that would be a very great story
to tell. So yeah, andbuilding upon that too, I think there's
connective tissue because nineteen seventy eight,that's so Season two would probably take us
to nineteen seventy nine or nineteen eighty, and nineteen eighty was one of the
biggest race riots in the States.Right before in la there was a I
(12:07):
think like an insurance salesman who hegot either killed by the police or you
know, brutally beaten down and thepolice got acquitted, and you know,
half the city breakdown. You know, if you've talked to Danny, he'll
tell you about this, because Ithink at the time he was a child
and he was aware of what's goingon. Sure, it was a very
big moment at the time, andsome of those issues are still persisting.
(12:30):
It's very prevalent even to this day. So it's I think that's the mirroring
effect of being able to see inthat time piece. But yet somehow,
when you're looking at even though it'sdating back to around nineteen eighty, you're
looking at it and then it's goinglike, well, this is this is
literally the story that we're seeing today, so it's so prevalent to tell that
(12:54):
story. So I'm kind of hopingthat we do get to go in that
direction if and when we do hearnews about it being a season two.
It's definitely a great story to tell. Like I said, you have amazing
storytellers on that show to tell thestory, So crossing our fingers for that
for you and everybody else on theshow. One of the things I thought
(13:15):
was also cool about the show isthat you guys filled this primarily in the
Dominican Republic. Yeah, as faras I know, we shot the whole
thing in the so the whole thing, There was no other Everything was shot
in DR as far as I know. Yeah, like a few minor scenes
that were shot outside of DR,but I don't know about that. As
far as I know, everything wasshot in a Dominican Republic. Oh my
(13:37):
gosh, how how is that?Because you know, I personally have never
been to DR in yet that thatis a goal. That is a goal.
So I'm not gonna say who mayor may not have invited me to
go to DR if there is aseason to pick up, But there was
someone on the show that said that, granted, if any of you watched
(13:58):
the interview, you already heard whoit was. Okay, okay, okay,
I won't say anything. I'll keepthat as an easter act for the
viewers. That's right, That's right. So I said, you know what,
if that is the case, I'lltotally go when there's a season to
pick up and I'll be there.Yeah, I would be there. That
would be a great first experience.But literally, how how beautiful is it?
(14:18):
How great is it? Hey,it's the Dominican Republic. It's a
tropical paradise. As an actor,usually when we get when we get to
fly out to work somewhere, it'susually a treat. But to get flown
out to the tropical paradise that isa Dominican Republic for four months, you
know what I'm saying. With thecreative team, the same creative team as
(14:41):
Narcos and The Godfather. Yeah,and having an international cast and crew,
I mean, what more? Whatmore could you vomb man? That's true,
you know, it's it's a dream. It's so many boxes are checked
off within that experience. Not tomention, I'm sure you you you were
told we shot during the first partof the strike. Yes, I was
(15:01):
Yep, the writer's strike and thenwhen SHAG went on strike, we had
to shut down of course because theleads are sag, but you know,
we were still working during the strike, so we had that bit of security,
and then we knew that when thestrike was over, we knew that
we would come back and still havea job. So all those things just
dream dream, experience, life highlight, and career highlight as well. That
(15:24):
was when we talked about that whenI was initially at ATX with the cast
and crew of the show, andas you just said, that was mentioned
and that was brought up. Youknow, one of my things that I
was worried about with it, especiallywhen the strikes happened on both sides with
the writers and actors, because wesee this with multiple shows. The strikes
(15:45):
affected them to the point where theyactually either did not make it off the
cutting room floor or they wound upgetting canceled because of the strikes. And
that was one of my biggest flexis about this at the time when they
told me the story and I askedthem, did they think that that was
going to be a possibility if weweren't going to have Hotel Cocaine. See
(16:07):
the light of day basically, andeverybody in Unison said no, they were
not worried about it at all becausethey had such strong writers, a strong
creator and Chris an executive producer,Maurice and just the talent that's on the
show and Guierra mol Navarro of beinga part of it as well. Like
they they trusted this work, thisbody of work, and that's why they
(16:29):
were never hesitant on the fact ofwe weren't going to see the light of
day. They literally were like,this is going to happen. It's going
to get the green light. Everybody'sgoing to see it. And I was
very happy to see that. Andalso people are responding to it very well,
so I'm just glad to see thataspect of the show. So but
(16:49):
since the comment was brought up abouthow it was done during the strike and
then they had to come back afterthe strike, there was a comment I
just read just yet, not justus, but maybe it was yesterday,
you know, you know this,There was a comment that there was an
interview that I did, as Imentioned, with Chris and Maurice, and
(17:10):
there was there was a comment thathe made about there was an actor it
seemed like their physical appearance may havediffered upon return. But I then decided
to check this actor's Instagram, okay, okay, and there was a comment
that I saw that this actor wentto a a premiere where this actor literally
(17:34):
put in this caption. No onerecognized him when he showed up on the
red carpet, and he's like,I wonder why why was that? And
I'm not I mean, it justit just seems like the name is on
the tip of my tongue. Ifeel like it is Ron Pike. Maybe
(18:00):
I'm gonna be Ron Ron Pike.It might rhyme with Ron Pike. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah? Whocould it be? ROI? I
don't know. It seems that Ifeel like he has an afro. Okay,
you know this. It looked likehe was wearing He might have been
in the Maroon's fit at the HotelCocaine premiere. I think it was a
(18:22):
Maroon or something to that nature.Burgundy action. A Burgundy action is a
good one, yes, because Ihave that same color suit. That's the
only reason I know. But Ithink I'm may be talking to him right
now. Oh oh oh right,I got I got the off Burgundy today,
(18:42):
You know what I mean? Off, Burgundy is off, a little
brow action going on. That's right, that's right with it. So yeah,
what about that the bag, Let'sget to it. So what I
was like when you said that tome? And I was going, he
was talking about you, So whatwas different? I mean, I'm just
(19:06):
like going like, uh, whatis he saying? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah, yeah, No, Iwas. I was out there in the
dr man, I was, youknow, because I don't have a huge
part of the show, I hada lot of time off, so the
gym was right there. I wasgoing to the gym a lot. You
know, we're by the beach.I want to you know, I want
(19:30):
to make sure that I look good. You wanted to make sure if you
had to have the shirt off,you wanted to make sure it was worthy
of having a shirt off. Iget it, Yeah, I get everybody.
Everybody around me is looking good,whether it's on set, whether it's
just walking around you know, thebeautiful island that is the dr and and
look I was I wanted to looklike a little snack too, you know,
(19:51):
I wanted to get my snack on. So you know, I literally
said this to myself. I waslike, I have three weeks before I
leave for San Diego for Comic Con, and I'm going like, I,
no, I need to do somethingbefore I get out there, especially since
I'm staying at the hotel by theMarina. I was like, yeah,
we need to do something real quickabout that. So I get that,
(20:11):
I get that parting things up alittle bit. No, I was.
I was dropping away a little bitwhen I was out there, and I
kind of felt bad for the forthe costumes department because like every time I
would come in, like they hadto redo, had to redo all,
they had to redo all the out. Yeah, because I was rapping,
I was dropping a lot when Iwas out there. And then shout out
to she did a lot of thecostumes. She worked also on Del Chapel
(20:36):
series on Netflix. So yeah,but when I came back home from the
strike, I had a lot oftime and uh, you know, just
of course being in a colored districtrestriction and a lot of walking helped a
lot with it. So yeah,by the time I came back, you
know after three months, everybody waslike, wait, who oh, it's
done, thank done so different,all different, all different aesthetic. Everybody
(21:02):
literally just looked at you and goinglike, who's that like who or a
new guy? I mean, likeif you you had that at Hotel Cocaine
and then you also were at amovie premiere and everybody was saying that about
you too, like that that thatsays a lot even that I like premiere
too for Hotel Cocaine, Like therewas some some of the producers, some
(21:23):
of the MGM folks, you know, I had to reintroduce myself because yeah,
so even okay, so now thetimeline is just oh my gosh.
So then you had the movie premiere, there was notice noticing your difference there.
Then that get mentioned, it getsmentioned at at TV Festival by Chris
about your appearance. Then you hadthe premiere a week after that, and
(21:48):
now everybody is seeing you and they'regoing, who do who do we invite?
Who is who is this plus onethat we don't know about? And
I think that's absolutely hilarious that it'sjust they had no idea it was you.
When they had you had to basicallyreintroduce yourself as if you were Olivia
Pope or somebody, so like,no, no, it's still me,
(22:12):
Like I'm still in this that thatguy's me. Did they not recognize your
voice? Like as soon as youstart speaking, did they not go wait,
say that again? Right right?That's why I'm going, like,
wait, so, so not onlydid your appearents change, but so did
your voice. That's hilarious. II I can't believe that you picked out
(22:40):
that nugget of that interview and thenbrought it to my attention so we can
talk about it here. I thinkthat's one of the best things that's ever
happened here on this shows. Youhave to be the first. You have
to be the first, I mean, and let me and like I reiterated
at the beginning of this, thisshow is just it's definitely different than what
(23:00):
I've ever seen on any any showthat I have watched. And I know
that it does take on the personaof Maurice's father, but obviously we embellished
some parts of the show, obviouslyfor dramatic effect. You know, Roman
did not have a brother in reallife, so we get to see that
(23:21):
with you and as an ester Caraball. And you know, I also said
that he probably is Bob from Seinfeldin another life, you know, if
you ever yeah, yeah right,maybe, I mean listen, I literally
came across those scenes maybe a monthbefore I talked to him, and I
literally just looked at it and Iwatched I watched the show, and when
(23:44):
I got when, I got itahead and I said, oh, yeah,
you're totally Bob in another life.Totally Bob in another life. But
it was it's just for me,just it's just seeing these relationships and seeing
Mark's characters Burt and being the levityof the show, and just the maturity,
(24:04):
the sexiness, the drug cartels andeverything like that. It's just when
you do shows like this, especiallywhen they're this type of heavy in the
seriousness aspect of it, when youget to have that opportunity to bring levity
to the table, it's definitely differentthan what you see in most shows because
you don't really get that, andyour show brings that to the forefront.
(24:30):
You know, There's so many wittylines that are said by a lot of
these actors, even though when they'retrying to be serious, but it's it's
to me and when I hear it, I just start chuckling because it's hilarious
to me. So I love thefact that they're able to incorporate humor into
the show. And like I said, the cast and crew of everybody.
It just it makes it worth watching. It makes it worth watching the series,
(24:52):
and I'm very happy to see thatit's getting the recognition that it should
be getting. So and I'm gladthat you are a part of that as
obar, And like it's like wesaid, I hope that they get to
explore your story more going forward.One thing I definitely wanted to ask you
as well is getting into this worldof the acting bug like you you were
(25:15):
in an episode of one of theError Verse shows, just just being a
part of this field. How didyou How did you get into that your
backstory, getting into the acting,into the acting realm, you know,
And I I look at it andI always tell with actors, I'm going
like, I bless you because it'ssuch a tough medium. It's it's so
hard, but I respect all thework that you do. So how did
(25:37):
you get involved in this world?Yes, it is difficult. Indeed,
a lot of people think it's easy, and you know, they think they
that they have personality and you know, they're a little funny they can get
into it. For me, itstarted with I was an expiring music producer,
so I would say, yes,the film is difficult. But music
(25:59):
is whole is a whole different ballgame. Like at least film and and you
know, and TV, you haveunions, you have certain regulatory bodies to
make sure people are compensated, tomake sure people are taken care of,
to make sure people are not takingadvantage of when it comes to contracts and
things of that nature. But inmusic it's it's kind of still the wild
wild West, especially with the youknow, the switch from uh from CD
(26:25):
to MP three to not streaming right, those transitions, it's been it's a
lot of smoking marriage. So Iwas pursuing, you know, I was
trying to be a producer. Iwas you know, I was on foot
of loops, cooking out, gettingmy you know, making beats, trying
to be like Swizzy you know whatI mean, of course, to be
Timbo Boy one Da Tea minus thewhole nine. And things were stagnant.
(26:48):
I wasn't happy with, like Isaid, the way contracts were being done
and things of that nature. Soat this time I was in college,
and uh, you know, Ifind myself taking filmmaking classes as an elective,
just to pursue like a different creativeoutlet outside of music and then this
(27:10):
coincided with the rise of streaming,and there was a lot of cases on
TV. You know, notably Insecurewas like about to blow up, and
oh yes, at its moment,you know that way that you know,
black cash was rising, an empirewas already doing big, you know what
I'm saying. So I was like, oh, I see us, I
(27:30):
see me, I see you.You know people me and in some cases
people like you and me were makingour stories and it's like who. So
there's a certain level of authenticity thatwas going to be infused with those projects
if we are telling our stories righton some foodboo with the bat. So
I was like, okay, I'malready taking these classes behind the scenes of
(27:52):
how to make films. Let meshoot my shot and let me throw my
hat at the race. You know. Yeah, worst thing comes to work,
worst thing will happen. But atleast now there's more opportunity than you
know, ten, fifteen, twentyyears ago. I completely agree with this.
I did like an op ed onmy website about diversity and television primarily
(28:14):
and in the soap ober genre.I know a lot of people in that
genre. I love that genre.I watch that genre every day, and
they talk about the fact that wewant to include diversity in our shows,
but yet where is it. We'rereally not seeing it. You have these
diverse actors on your show, butwhy are you not utilizing them to the
(28:34):
best of their talents and their abilities, whether it's in front of the camera
or behind the camera. And that'sbeen one of the biggest topics that has
been prevalent on this show outside ofthe show the past. I'm putting myself
in the spot here with Matt fifteenyears and you know, we you know,
(28:55):
there was a there was a showin particular where where I had an
actor on my podcas I said,literally said, we had no black writers.
We don't have any black directors.You know, when you speak about
authenticity when it comes to us withthe people of color, and we're not
getting we're not getting that. Weweren't getting that representation for a little while.
And then, as you just putit out, we had got these
(29:17):
shows within the last ten years withEmpire and Power and Blackish and Grownish,
and just seeing that we had theseshows with black leads and getting to tell
our story and their story, itwas very refreshing to see that we were
able to put the pen and paperand bring it to the screen and be
(29:37):
widely received and accepted. And somehowI feel like that's going back into the
reverse again, yea, and we'renot getting that representation that we are striving
for and that we have strived for. And just hearing you talk about that,
(30:00):
and hearing that from you too,especially from my point of view and
when I had it a few weeksago, it's very refreshing to know that
this is something that is very evidentto not just myself but to everyone else
as well, that we're not we'renot getting the chance to tell our story
and we had the outlet to beable to do that. But why are
(30:22):
we not? Why are we notgetting that focus? Is basically what I
want to say, food for thought, thought, And I just want to
just comment again about the shows thatyou even mentioned. I mean, when
you I watched those shows religiously whenthey came out religiously, and then we
(30:48):
had again math in my head eightyfour eighty five, the Palsy show came
out, and that really set thebar because then we got a different world
from that, and then we hadthe UPN where the UPN Network was literally
showcasing a lot of of those showsshowing us and when the Girlfriends came on
(31:12):
the scene, when the Game cameon the scene, and mountcol Eddi,
everything like literally we had something thatwe were able to have our material be
told, and then that got takenaway, and then we didn't have that,
And then a few years later,then the Powers and then the Empires
and then everything and everything else startedcoming out, the Grownishes and then the
(31:33):
and then the Blackishes and everything likethat. Then we had that for a
hot minute, and then now that'sgone. Now we're back at square one.
What's going to be the next bigthing for us? And you know,
there's just there. As you justsaid, throw your hat into the
ring and tell that story, andI'm glad you did, but there's definitely
also more to be told, notjust in front, but also behind because
(31:53):
I just feel like we don't evenhave a lot of people behind the camera
that are showcasing us, you knowwhat I mean, that are not us,
And I feel like we need moreof us behind the camera as well,
leading the charge. That's just meabsolutely yes, in those in those
executive positions as well, you know, absolutely, and we don't we don't
(32:15):
hear any stories about that. Imean, we hear about Avia Dubrene,
but we don't who who else dowe hear about that are in these type
of roles, in these types ofpositions, we don't necessarily get We don't
have let's not even say get,we don't have that opportunity to hear about
them. That's the better way ofsaying we don't have that. And I
(32:36):
feel like we we work our assesoff to get to where we are,
and I feel like that's why arewe not getting that recognition that we so
are deserving of. So sorry forgettingon my soapbox, guys, but this
is definitely it's definitely a topic thatmeans a lot to me. I know
(33:00):
that it hasn't been one that Ihaven't talked about in the last ten years,
but when I started seeing more ofthings coming out of the woodwork where
social media could be While it can'tbe good for you, it also could
be detrimental for you because you havepeople coming out being very vulgar with their
responses to people, especially to peopleof color, and what they're seeing with
(33:23):
that. And then when I'm comingacross actors and actresses being bully because of
the color of their skin from thesepeople behind the computer screen. You know,
it just really made me sit backand think, I'm my gosh,
we need the voices to speak up. We need somebody to speak up.
I and for me saying this nowpublicly, like this on my platform,
(33:44):
even though I did it on myplatform, but saying it now in this
connotation with the video, you know, I apologize again how it took me
this long to really say this again, but it needed to be said.
It needs to be brought up,and we need that representation, and we
also need that support for us aswell. And if we're not, if
(34:09):
we're not reciprocating that, I mean, we support these people every day by
watching their shows. I watch you, I watch everybody that's doing this show.
And mind you, this show HotelCocaine also has people of color,
not just with us, but youhave people of color with the Latina community
that's a part of the show.And just supporting these people. But yet
(34:34):
we're not doing what we need todo to support our community in disregard.
I mean, I feel like that'shalf fast to me, and that's why
I apologize for the fact that Ihadn't done that in such a long time,
but then getting your eyes open towhat you're seeing from everybody that's not
receptive to us. It really,it really did put a lot of things
(35:00):
in perspective. So I was gladto get to say this to that piece
of the conversation with what you justsaid. So I wanted to say that,
I was proud to say that,and I was glad to say that.
I love that. Thank you forsharing that absolutely, and thank you
for coming here and spending your timewith me and talking about the show and
(35:20):
how you got into the acting field. And I'm looking forward to seeing what
comes up with the rest of HotelCocaine and Episode four premieres this Sunday,
So make sure you guys remember therewas a time switch if you want to
watch it when it drops. Itdid drop for the first two episodes at
ten o'clock on Sundays. It's nowdropping at nine o'clock on Sundays, so
now it's an hour earlier, Somake sure you guys check that out.
(35:45):
And obviously after it drops, youhave pretty much an entire week to watch
the show. But if you wantto catch it on Sundays, it's now
dropping at nine o'clock and MGM plusand I think it's eight episodes this entire
season, so we got we gotfive more apps to go. So after
episode four, I'm gonna be witheverybody. I don't know what happens after
episode four, so I'm gonna beon the ride with y'all. So I'm
(36:08):
kind of excited to see what happensafter four. Me too, Me too.
You want to see the whole run, I'm gonna see the whole run,
and I will definitely make sure Icomment on the episodes I have not
seen yet, So I'm looking forwardto I'm looking forward to going through five
through eight with all of y'all witha fresh set of eyes. So I'm
(36:28):
excited for that. So keep fingerscrossed that we hear that it's going to
be picked up for a second season. I would love that, obviously for
selfish reasons, but obviously for selfishreasons, but also because you know,
I want y'all guys to work.But but I'm you know, of course,
but I'm very excited to see what'sahead for you guys. So thank
(36:51):
you so much, Don Mike forstopping by. Let's let's do this again,
and let's do this again, eitherin dr or on zoom whatever works.
You know what, Let's let's saythis when it gets picked up.
Yes, cr yes, there isfour. That's right, knock it down.
It's gonna happen. Pleas absolutely,Manie. Thanks to Don Mike for
(37:15):
stopping by the Buzzcast today. Andyou can catch Hotel Cocaine every Sunday when
it drops a new episode at ninepm on MGM Plus. But that's gonna
do for me for right now.I'm the Veljlee and we're gonna continue Hotel
Cocaine week tomorrow when Ernie Obaia stopsby the show. And we got a
surprise guest this Friday. We're notgonna reveal who that is yet, but
(37:36):
expect that to be dropped this week. For more information on our show,
you can always log onto our websiteat buzzworthyradiocast dot com. You can also
follow us on x at Buzzworthy Radioand liking us on our Facebook page.
We're also on Instagram at buzznav andat Buzzworthy Radio. And finally, you
can download our podcast as an audioshow on Amazon Music and I Hard Radio.
(38:00):
We'll see you guys next time.Take care, stay in the no
catch up on all the buzz podcastsand videos at buzzworthyradiocast dot com. Keep
getting the latest buzz with Buzzworthyradio nowon Amazon Music.
Buzz Buzz. The Buzz is on. The Buzz is on the show that
gets you up close and personal withsome of the hottest stars. Now here's
your host, Novelle Jayly. What'sgoing on, guys. It's Novelle Jay
Lee here at the Buzz at BuzzworthyRadio. We are kicking off Hotel Cocaine
Week by speaking with Don Mike,who plays the role of Omar on the
(00:22):
MGM Plus series. We got totalk to him about landing the role and
filming in the Dominican Republic. Butthere was a piece of information that we
came across yesterday that we dove intoin this show, and I don't want
to give too much away, butit was very interesting how it ties back
into an interview I did with theshow's creator, Chris Brancato, so stay
(00:43):
tuned for that. But I enjoytalking with Don about the show and hopefully
what we are able to see witha potential backstory for Omar's character if and
when the show does get picked upfor a season two. So please enjoy
our interview with Don Mike. Checkit out. Don Mike is joining me
here on the bus. Thank youso much for coming by and speaking with
(01:07):
me. I mean it was It'san absolute pleasure. I fell in love
with Hotel Cocaine since up one.So being able to talk to you about
this show and being a part ofthe show, I really appreciate it.
Thank you. So you got togo to the the Los Angeles premiere of
the show. Just what was it? Maybe two weeks ago? Two weeks
ago, three weeks ago? Yeah, just about how let me ask you
(01:32):
about that? How was that?Because you know, just seeing everybody on
the red carpet and promoting the showand talking about the show, and just
being around everybody that wants to talkabout the show and supporting you guys.
What was that experience like for youbeing there? It was incredible. It
was festive, it was flashy,of course with all the outfits. Yeah,
(01:55):
it was almost like a little likeside what's the what I'm looking for?
I mean, it definitely played tothe theme of the show with how
everybody was dressed, that's for sure. Yeah, that's what I'm getting at.
It's almost like a Hotel Cocaine kindof side, little extra piece.
You know, back in the daythey had DVDs, they had the extra
(02:16):
yeahs, So it kind of feltlike that a little bit too. Just
everybody was in the same space.We all got reunited, most of us
because some of the cast couldn't makeit working on the projects, which are
good problems to have, but itwas worse. Yeah, it was beautiful.
It was great to see the firstepisode on a major on a big
(02:37):
screen, a lot of the producersthere. It just brought everything home.
The soundtrack to the show obviously ison fire. I mean, the show
takes place in nineteen seventy nine,nineteen seventy eight, basically almost to the
eighties anyway, and it's just I'mjust amazed that the music that they're able
to use for the show, aswell as characters that they were able to
(02:58):
incorporate into the show. While thosecelebrity personas were in episodes, they don't
dominate the episodes, which I like. They they're integral to the story and
I love that aspect about it.What are the comments I said to Mark
Foyerstein who plays Burton on the show, and how his character was the inspiration
(03:19):
which now just aired Rick James's SuperFreak. I just thought that was absolutely
hilarious that they were able to tellit in that way and being like,
my character is the inspiration for thissong. I think that I think that
was great to the show. ButI think, honestly, the and I
(03:40):
don't I'm not ashamed of saying it, but I say it all the time.
I think, honestly, the themesong is what roped me in into
the show. Yes, yeah,I'll dude. I heard it when I
first got it and I screened itbefore it aired, and I heard the
(04:00):
song and then I found out itwas Swiss Beats who was behind it.
I said, yo, this,dude. I was like, I need
a full I need a full MPthree of it. I need I need
the jam right now so I candownload it because this is fire, legit
fire. And I'm so mad thatwhen Chris told me the story of how
he got him to do the song, it's now lost because it was such
(04:24):
a great story of how that cameto be on how he got him to
do the theme song. But man, oh man, it just fits the
tone of the show, and Omarseems to be a really good right hand
man for Roman. Well yeah,just quickly, before you get to that,
did you mean that when Chris toldyou the story, you had like
(04:45):
you recorded it, but you Idid, Yeah, Okay, that's what
you meant. Okay, Okay,gotcha. Dang, that was a cool
little piece to have. Oh itliterally it was recording, and then we
noticed that the camera shut off.So then I went back, but I
saw like it was recording, andthen when I went into it to do
the edits, it literally lost it. At bult Fun, I was like
(05:08):
no, and then I'm like eh, and it was man. That still
to this day burns my heart.And maybe maybe at the season two premire
you'll get to meet Swizzy and nowyou know, get the exclusive never say
never. I literally am hoping thathappens for sure. And yes, so
(05:29):
speaking of yeah, yeah, speakingof which, with Omar, let's talk
about the character of Omar and hisrelationship with Roman and the mutiny and pretty
much everybody. It just seems likehe he definitely fits that seventies mold of
swag. I mean, honestly fromwhat I've seen, So yeah, Omar.
(05:50):
I just grabbed Omar as you know, the cool cat in the cart,
the cool cat of the cut.He's you know, he's got the
seventies drip going. He's smart,he's savvy, he knows all the movies
and shakers. He knows all thecartel you know, all the cartel dealers
and all the you know, allthe heavy hitters and all the movies and
shakers. But most the ways inwhich you get to see him in the
(06:13):
show is him putting out metaphorical fires. You know, there's not enough down
p so and so cartels are havingare getting white, so kind of reporting
things to Roman and then uh.In episode four you kind of get to
see him checking in, checking inon his man to make sure everything is
cool, because you know, yeah, he's not, he's not you know,
it's not moving the way he usuallymoves. He usually moves. So,
(06:38):
yeah, Omar's in some sense,Omar's the blue helping to you know,
keep things together with the Mutiny becauseyou know, there's a lot of
it's a lot of the Butcher's,it's a lot of crazy things going on.
There's a lot of crazy things.I mean, you know, listen.
Obviously, the club itself looks greatfrom how you look at it on
the screen with the mutiny girls andhow everything's coming together with Janis and and
(07:00):
and whatnot. But I will say, as you just said about an episode
four, it does take a turn. It definitely takes a turn that what
we've just seen in the last threeSo it's it's really about to get so
heavy that I'm now sitting here wonderinghow's Omar gonna fit into this entire thing,
because when I just said at thebeginning, Roman literally he's now at
(07:24):
a point where he can't even goback to do what he was originally planning
on doing in the first place,was to in essence bring his brother down
for the Dea. Now it's likespoiler alert for those of you who are
listening and watching this. He there'sthere's a point of no return for Roman
at this point, and now I'mjust kind of sitting here wondering where's where's
(07:46):
Omar gonna go? Where is thisgonna take him? That's that's kind of
TBD to be decided. As theseries goes on, you'll, uh,
you'll get to see all the eventsthat unravel. Omar is not a huge
part of, you know, thosethe major plot line and the subplots as
(08:07):
well. Omar's mainly seen at themutiny. Has been talks about expanding that
if with this this season two,if that's guaranteed, seeing what Omar's backstory
could look like and okay, youknow some of the things he might be
doing outside of the Munion because he'sonly seen at the mutiny pretty much right,
right, So there's been talks.We'll see, we'll see what happens.
(08:30):
We'll see what the team wants todo. But hey, I'm open
to whatever suggestions lay through my way. Do you have any not preconceived notions,
but do you have anything that youwould like to see Omar's backstory beat
about? Like where do you wherewould you where would you see him?
Like where would you like to seehim come up to? Where? Because
(08:52):
my thing is like I definitely wantto see how wherever he was prior to
the mutiny? How did he getinvolved in being a part of the mutiny?
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't know. In this
script, Omar was first introduced asbeing Afro Cuban, so I thought,
hey, maybe we can season two, we can expand on that and see
(09:13):
if he is indeed Afro Cuban.Because I spoke to Chris about that.
I don't know if he was necessarilymarried to that idea, but I thought
it would be cool to explore,like, well, what does this backstory
look like coming in from Cuba tothe States, especially with the intersectionality of
him being black too. Like mh, that's an explored territory, you know,
(09:35):
that that specific intersectionality. I know, recently there's been a whole wave
of recognition with the various Afro Latinoscommunity in the States. After the communities
in the States, you know,more recognition of the Afro roots and celebrating
the heritage and celebrating with the Africandescendants contributed to what is now known as
(09:58):
Latin American culture, whether it's knowsalus and music or you know, various
things like that. So I'm notsure what that's gonna look like. I'm
not sure how they'll be able tofit Omar into into that storyline to make
sure it's not just you know,it's not just there to be there.
It actually carries weight and it goforward. But like I said, that'd
(10:20):
be a cool angle to visit.Whatever the team wants to do if they
see this, you know, let'slet's let's talk, let's have a conversation.
I'm happy to I'm happy to unpack. That would be a very interesting
story to play because as you justsaid, you know, with being Afro
Cuban, the character of Omar beingAfro Cuban, And another comment I made
(10:41):
is like, I love the factthat this show is is showcasing forth like
the Latina community and in this andgoing between the languages on the show.
I think it's absolutely I love Ilove that aspect about it and in this
show. So I kind of wantto see I want to see that somehow
entered in the story and just explore, just explore that it's I think that
(11:03):
would be a just interesting story totell, especially for the time that this
takes place, because it still takesplace in nineteen seventy eight and it's still
it's I hate saying that it wasstill in a time and let me correct
that we can say that about thisnow during the present, but it still
(11:24):
took place in a time where youknow, you're seeing people of color not
really fully accepted yet, especially inthose types of positions, and this is
the type of positions we're seeing themin. And so I definitely think that
this is a really great story totell, and I think Chris and Maurice
County would be able to tell thatstory in such a way where it's not
(11:46):
insulting to the viewers. So Ithink that would be a very great story
to tell. So yeah, andbuilding upon that too, I think there's
connective tissue because nineteen seventy eight,that's so Season two would probably take us
to nineteen seventy nine or nineteen eighty, and nineteen eighty was one of the
biggest race riots in the States.Right before in la there was a I
(12:07):
think like an insurance salesman who hegot either killed by the police or you
know, brutally beaten down and thepolice got acquitted, and you know,
half the city breakdown. You know, if you've talked to Danny, he'll
tell you about this, because Ithink at the time he was a child
and he was aware of what's goingon. Sure, it was a very
big moment at the time, andsome of those issues are still persisting.
(12:30):
It's very prevalent even to this day. So it's I think that's the mirroring
effect of being able to see inthat time piece. But yet somehow,
when you're looking at even though it'sdating back to around nineteen eighty, you're
looking at it and then it's goinglike, well, this is this is
literally the story that we're seeing today, so it's so prevalent to tell that
(12:54):
story. So I'm kind of hopingthat we do get to go in that
direction if and when we do hearnews about it being a season two.
It's definitely a great story to tell. Like I said, you have amazing
storytellers on that show to tell thestory, So crossing our fingers for that
for you and everybody else on theshow. One of the things I thought
(13:15):
was also cool about the show isthat you guys filled this primarily in the
Dominican Republic. Yeah, as faras I know, we shot the whole
thing in the so the whole thing, There was no other Everything was shot
in DR as far as I know. Yeah, like a few minor scenes
that were shot outside of DR,but I don't know about that. As
far as I know, everything wasshot in a Dominican Republic. Oh my
(13:37):
gosh, how how is that?Because you know, I personally have never
been to DR in yet that thatis a goal. That is a goal.
So I'm not gonna say who mayor may not have invited me to
go to DR if there is aseason to pick up, But there was
someone on the show that said that, granted, if any of you watched
(13:58):
the interview, you already heard whoit was. Okay, okay, okay,
I won't say anything. I'll keepthat as an easter act for the
viewers. That's right, That's right. So I said, you know what,
if that is the case, I'lltotally go when there's a season to
pick up and I'll be there.Yeah, I would be there. That
would be a great first experience.But literally, how how beautiful is it?
(14:18):
How great is it? Hey,it's the Dominican Republic. It's a
tropical paradise. As an actor,usually when we get when we get to
fly out to work somewhere, it'susually a treat. But to get flown
out to the tropical paradise that isa Dominican Republic for four months, you
know what I'm saying. With thecreative team, the same creative team as
(14:41):
Narcos and The Godfather. Yeah,and having an international cast and crew,
I mean, what more? Whatmore could you vomb man? That's true,
you know, it's it's a dream. It's so many boxes are checked
off within that experience. Not tomention, I'm sure you you you were
told we shot during the first partof the strike. Yes, I was
(15:01):
Yep, the writer's strike and thenwhen SHAG went on strike, we had
to shut down of course because theleads are sag, but you know,
we were still working during the strike, so we had that bit of security,
and then we knew that when thestrike was over, we knew that
we would come back and still havea job. So all those things just
dream dream, experience, life highlight, and career highlight as well. That
(15:24):
was when we talked about that whenI was initially at ATX with the cast
and crew of the show, andas you just said, that was mentioned
and that was brought up. Youknow, one of my things that I
was worried about with it, especiallywhen the strikes happened on both sides with
the writers and actors, because wesee this with multiple shows. The strikes
(15:45):
affected them to the point where theyactually either did not make it off the
cutting room floor or they wound upgetting canceled because of the strikes. And
that was one of my biggest flexis about this at the time when they
told me the story and I askedthem, did they think that that was
going to be a possibility if weweren't going to have Hotel Cocaine. See
(16:07):
the light of day basically, andeverybody in Unison said no, they were
not worried about it at all becausethey had such strong writers, a strong
creator and Chris an executive producer,Maurice and just the talent that's on the
show and Guierra mol Navarro of beinga part of it as well. Like
they they trusted this work, thisbody of work, and that's why they
(16:29):
were never hesitant on the fact ofwe weren't going to see the light of
day. They literally were like,this is going to happen. It's going
to get the green light. Everybody'sgoing to see it. And I was
very happy to see that. Andalso people are responding to it very well,
so I'm just glad to see thataspect of the show. So but
(16:49):
since the comment was brought up abouthow it was done during the strike and
then they had to come back afterthe strike, there was a comment I
just read just yet, not justus, but maybe it was yesterday,
you know, you know this,There was a comment that there was an
interview that I did, as Imentioned, with Chris and Maurice, and
(17:10):
there was there was a comment thathe made about there was an actor it
seemed like their physical appearance may havediffered upon return. But I then decided
to check this actor's Instagram, okay, okay, and there was a comment
that I saw that this actor wentto a a premiere where this actor literally
(17:34):
put in this caption. No onerecognized him when he showed up on the
red carpet, and he's like,I wonder why why was that? And
I'm not I mean, it justit just seems like the name is on
the tip of my tongue. Ifeel like it is Ron Pike. Maybe
(18:00):
I'm gonna be Ron Ron Pike.It might rhyme with Ron Pike. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah? Whocould it be? ROI? I
don't know. It seems that Ifeel like he has an afro. Okay,
you know this. It looked likehe was wearing He might have been
in the Maroon's fit at the HotelCocaine premiere. I think it was a
(18:22):
Maroon or something to that nature.Burgundy action. A Burgundy action is a
good one, yes, because Ihave that same color suit. That's the
only reason I know. But Ithink I'm may be talking to him right
now. Oh oh oh right,I got I got the off Burgundy today,
(18:42):
You know what I mean? Off, Burgundy is off, a little
brow action going on. That's right, that's right with it. So yeah,
what about that the bag, Let'sget to it. So what I
was like when you said that tome? And I was going, he
was talking about you, So whatwas different? I mean, I'm just
(19:06):
like going like, uh, whatis he saying? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah, yeah, No, Iwas. I was out there in the
dr man, I was, youknow, because I don't have a huge
part of the show, I hada lot of time off, so the
gym was right there. I wasgoing to the gym a lot. You
know, we're by the beach.I want to you know, I want
(19:30):
to make sure that I look good. You wanted to make sure if you
had to have the shirt off,you wanted to make sure it was worthy
of having a shirt off. Iget it, Yeah, I get everybody.
Everybody around me is looking good,whether it's on set, whether it's
just walking around you know, thebeautiful island that is the dr and and
look I was I wanted to looklike a little snack too, you know,
(19:51):
I wanted to get my snack on. So you know, I literally
said this to myself. I waslike, I have three weeks before I
leave for San Diego for Comic Con, and I'm going like, I,
no, I need to do somethingbefore I get out there, especially since
I'm staying at the hotel by theMarina. I was like, yeah,
we need to do something real quickabout that. So I get that,
(20:11):
I get that parting things up alittle bit. No, I was.
I was dropping away a little bitwhen I was out there, and I
kind of felt bad for the forthe costumes department because like every time I
would come in, like they hadto redo, had to redo all,
they had to redo all the out. Yeah, because I was rapping,
I was dropping a lot when Iwas out there. And then shout out
to she did a lot of thecostumes. She worked also on Del Chapel
(20:36):
series on Netflix. So yeah,but when I came back home from the
strike, I had a lot oftime and uh, you know, just
of course being in a colored districtrestriction and a lot of walking helped a
lot with it. So yeah,by the time I came back, you
know after three months, everybody waslike, wait, who oh, it's
done, thank done so different,all different, all different aesthetic. Everybody
(21:02):
literally just looked at you and goinglike, who's that like who or a
new guy? I mean, likeif you you had that at Hotel Cocaine
and then you also were at amovie premiere and everybody was saying that about
you too, like that that thatsays a lot even that I like premiere
too for Hotel Cocaine, Like therewas some some of the producers, some
(21:23):
of the MGM folks, you know, I had to reintroduce myself because yeah,
so even okay, so now thetimeline is just oh my gosh.
So then you had the movie premiere, there was notice noticing your difference there.
Then that get mentioned, it getsmentioned at at TV Festival by Chris
about your appearance. Then you hadthe premiere a week after that, and
(21:48):
now everybody is seeing you and they'regoing, who do who do we invite?
Who is who is this plus onethat we don't know about? And
I think that's absolutely hilarious that it'sjust they had no idea it was you.
When they had you had to basicallyreintroduce yourself as if you were Olivia
Pope or somebody, so like,no, no, it's still me,
(22:12):
Like I'm still in this that thatguy's me. Did they not recognize your
voice? Like as soon as youstart speaking, did they not go wait,
say that again? Right right?That's why I'm going, like,
wait, so, so not onlydid your appearents change, but so did
your voice. That's hilarious. II I can't believe that you picked out
(22:40):
that nugget of that interview and thenbrought it to my attention so we can
talk about it here. I thinkthat's one of the best things that's ever
happened here on this shows. Youhave to be the first. You have
to be the first, I mean, and let me and like I reiterated
at the beginning of this, thisshow is just it's definitely different than what
(23:00):
I've ever seen on any any showthat I have watched. And I know
that it does take on the personaof Maurice's father, but obviously we embellished
some parts of the show, obviouslyfor dramatic effect. You know, Roman
did not have a brother in reallife, so we get to see that
(23:21):
with you and as an ester Caraball. And you know, I also said
that he probably is Bob from Seinfeldin another life, you know, if
you ever yeah, yeah right,maybe, I mean listen, I literally
came across those scenes maybe a monthbefore I talked to him, and I
literally just looked at it and Iwatched I watched the show, and when
(23:44):
I got when, I got itahead and I said, oh, yeah,
you're totally Bob in another life.Totally Bob in another life. But
it was it's just for me,just it's just seeing these relationships and seeing
Mark's characters Burt and being the levityof the show, and just the maturity,
(24:04):
the sexiness, the drug cartels andeverything like that. It's just when
you do shows like this, especiallywhen they're this type of heavy in the
seriousness aspect of it, when youget to have that opportunity to bring levity
to the table, it's definitely differentthan what you see in most shows because
you don't really get that, andyour show brings that to the forefront.
(24:30):
You know, There's so many wittylines that are said by a lot of
these actors, even though when they'retrying to be serious, but it's it's
to me and when I hear it, I just start chuckling because it's hilarious
to me. So I love thefact that they're able to incorporate humor into
the show. And like I said, the cast and crew of everybody.
It just it makes it worth watching. It makes it worth watching the series,
(24:52):
and I'm very happy to see thatit's getting the recognition that it should
be getting. So and I'm gladthat you are a part of that as
obar, And like it's like wesaid, I hope that they get to
explore your story more going forward.One thing I definitely wanted to ask you
as well is getting into this worldof the acting bug like you you were
(25:15):
in an episode of one of theError Verse shows, just just being a
part of this field. How didyou How did you get into that your
backstory, getting into the acting,into the acting realm, you know,
And I I look at it andI always tell with actors, I'm going
like, I bless you because it'ssuch a tough medium. It's it's so
hard, but I respect all thework that you do. So how did
(25:37):
you get involved in this world?Yes, it is difficult. Indeed,
a lot of people think it's easy, and you know, they think they
that they have personality and you know, they're a little funny they can get
into it. For me, itstarted with I was an expiring music producer,
so I would say, yes,the film is difficult. But music
(25:59):
is whole is a whole different ballgame. Like at least film and and you
know, and TV, you haveunions, you have certain regulatory bodies to
make sure people are compensated, tomake sure people are taken care of,
to make sure people are not takingadvantage of when it comes to contracts and
things of that nature. But inmusic it's it's kind of still the wild
wild West, especially with the youknow, the switch from uh from CD
(26:25):
to MP three to not streaming right, those transitions, it's been it's a
lot of smoking marriage. So Iwas pursuing, you know, I was
trying to be a producer. Iwas you know, I was on foot
of loops, cooking out, gettingmy you know, making beats, trying
to be like Swizzy you know whatI mean, of course, to be
Timbo Boy one Da Tea minus thewhole nine. And things were stagnant.
(26:48):
I wasn't happy with, like Isaid, the way contracts were being done
and things of that nature. Soat this time I was in college,
and uh, you know, Ifind myself taking filmmaking classes as an elective,
just to pursue like a different creativeoutlet outside of music and then this
(27:10):
coincided with the rise of streaming,and there was a lot of cases on
TV. You know, notably Insecurewas like about to blow up, and
oh yes, at its moment,you know that way that you know,
black cash was rising, an empirewas already doing big, you know what
I'm saying. So I was like, oh, I see us, I
(27:30):
see me, I see you.You know people me and in some cases
people like you and me were makingour stories and it's like who. So
there's a certain level of authenticity thatwas going to be infused with those projects
if we are telling our stories righton some foodboo with the bat. So
I was like, okay, I'malready taking these classes behind the scenes of
(27:52):
how to make films. Let meshoot my shot and let me throw my
hat at the race. You know. Yeah, worst thing comes to work,
worst thing will happen. But atleast now there's more opportunity than you
know, ten, fifteen, twentyyears ago. I completely agree with this.
I did like an op ed onmy website about diversity and television primarily
(28:14):
and in the soap ober genre.I know a lot of people in that
genre. I love that genre.I watch that genre every day, and
they talk about the fact that wewant to include diversity in our shows,
but yet where is it. We'rereally not seeing it. You have these
diverse actors on your show, butwhy are you not utilizing them to the
(28:34):
best of their talents and their abilities, whether it's in front of the camera
or behind the camera. And that'sbeen one of the biggest topics that has
been prevalent on this show outside ofthe show the past. I'm putting myself
in the spot here with Matt fifteenyears and you know, we you know,
(28:55):
there was a there was a showin particular where where I had an
actor on my podcas I said,literally said, we had no black writers.
We don't have any black directors.You know, when you speak about
authenticity when it comes to us withthe people of color, and we're not
getting we're not getting that. Weweren't getting that representation for a little while.
And then, as you just putit out, we had got these
(29:17):
shows within the last ten years withEmpire and Power and Blackish and Grownish,
and just seeing that we had theseshows with black leads and getting to tell
our story and their story, itwas very refreshing to see that we were
able to put the pen and paperand bring it to the screen and be
(29:37):
widely received and accepted. And somehowI feel like that's going back into the
reverse again, yea, and we'renot getting that representation that we are striving
for and that we have strived for. And just hearing you talk about that,
(30:00):
and hearing that from you too,especially from my point of view and
when I had it a few weeksago, it's very refreshing to know that
this is something that is very evidentto not just myself but to everyone else
as well, that we're not we'renot getting the chance to tell our story
and we had the outlet to beable to do that. But why are
(30:22):
we not? Why are we notgetting that focus? Is basically what I
want to say, food for thought, thought, And I just want to
just comment again about the shows thatyou even mentioned. I mean, when
you I watched those shows religiously whenthey came out religiously, and then we
(30:48):
had again math in my head eightyfour eighty five, the Palsy show came
out, and that really set thebar because then we got a different world
from that, and then we hadthe UPN where the UPN Network was literally
showcasing a lot of of those showsshowing us and when the Girlfriends came on
(31:12):
the scene, when the Game cameon the scene, and mountcol Eddi,
everything like literally we had something thatwe were able to have our material be
told, and then that got takenaway, and then we didn't have that,
And then a few years later,then the Powers and then the Empires
and then everything and everything else startedcoming out, the Grownishes and then the
(31:33):
and then the Blackishes and everything likethat. Then we had that for a
hot minute, and then now that'sgone. Now we're back at square one.
What's going to be the next bigthing for us? And you know,
there's just there. As you justsaid, throw your hat into the
ring and tell that story, andI'm glad you did, but there's definitely
also more to be told, notjust in front, but also behind because
(31:53):
I just feel like we don't evenhave a lot of people behind the camera
that are showcasing us, you knowwhat I mean, that are not us,
And I feel like we need moreof us behind the camera as well,
leading the charge. That's just meabsolutely yes, in those in those
executive positions as well, you know, absolutely, and we don't we don't
(32:15):
hear any stories about that. Imean, we hear about Avia Dubrene,
but we don't who who else dowe hear about that are in these type
of roles, in these types ofpositions, we don't necessarily get We don't
have let's not even say get,we don't have that opportunity to hear about
them. That's the better way ofsaying we don't have that. And I
(32:36):
feel like we we work our assesoff to get to where we are,
and I feel like that's why arewe not getting that recognition that we so
are deserving of. So sorry forgettingon my soapbox, guys, but this
is definitely it's definitely a topic thatmeans a lot to me. I know
(33:00):
that it hasn't been one that Ihaven't talked about in the last ten years,
but when I started seeing more ofthings coming out of the woodwork where
social media could be While it can'tbe good for you, it also could
be detrimental for you because you havepeople coming out being very vulgar with their
responses to people, especially to peopleof color, and what they're seeing with
(33:23):
that. And then when I'm comingacross actors and actresses being bully because of
the color of their skin from thesepeople behind the computer screen. You know,
it just really made me sit backand think, I'm my gosh,
we need the voices to speak up. We need somebody to speak up.
I and for me saying this nowpublicly, like this on my platform,
(33:44):
even though I did it on myplatform, but saying it now in this
connotation with the video, you know, I apologize again how it took me
this long to really say this again, but it needed to be said.
It needs to be brought up,and we need that representation, and we
also need that support for us aswell. And if we're not, if
(34:09):
we're not reciprocating that, I mean, we support these people every day by
watching their shows. I watch you, I watch everybody that's doing this show.
And mind you, this show HotelCocaine also has people of color,
not just with us, but youhave people of color with the Latina community
that's a part of the show.And just supporting these people. But yet
(34:34):
we're not doing what we need todo to support our community in disregard.
I mean, I feel like that'shalf fast to me, and that's why
I apologize for the fact that Ihadn't done that in such a long time,
but then getting your eyes open towhat you're seeing from everybody that's not
receptive to us. It really,it really did put a lot of things
(35:00):
in perspective. So I was gladto get to say this to that piece
of the conversation with what you justsaid. So I wanted to say that,
I was proud to say that,and I was glad to say that.
I love that. Thank you forsharing that absolutely, and thank you
for coming here and spending your timewith me and talking about the show and
(35:20):
how you got into the acting field. And I'm looking forward to seeing what
comes up with the rest of HotelCocaine and Episode four premieres this Sunday,
So make sure you guys remember therewas a time switch if you want to
watch it when it drops. Itdid drop for the first two episodes at
ten o'clock on Sundays. It's nowdropping at nine o'clock on Sundays, so
now it's an hour earlier, Somake sure you guys check that out.
(35:45):
And obviously after it drops, youhave pretty much an entire week to watch
the show. But if you wantto catch it on Sundays, it's now
dropping at nine o'clock and MGM plusand I think it's eight episodes this entire
season, so we got we gotfive more apps to go. So after
episode four, I'm gonna be witheverybody. I don't know what happens after
episode four, so I'm gonna beon the ride with y'all. So I'm
(36:08):
kind of excited to see what happensafter four. Me too, Me too.
You want to see the whole run, I'm gonna see the whole run,
and I will definitely make sure Icomment on the episodes I have not
seen yet, So I'm looking forwardto I'm looking forward to going through five
through eight with all of y'all witha fresh set of eyes. So I'm
(36:28):
excited for that. So keep fingerscrossed that we hear that it's going to
be picked up for a second season. I would love that, obviously for
selfish reasons, but obviously for selfishreasons, but also because you know,
I want y'all guys to work.But but I'm you know, of course,
but I'm very excited to see what'sahead for you guys. So thank
(36:51):
you so much, Don Mike forstopping by. Let's let's do this again,
and let's do this again, eitherin dr or on zoom whatever works.
You know what, Let's let's saythis when it gets picked up.
Yes, cr yes, there isfour. That's right, knock it down.
It's gonna happen. Pleas absolutely,Manie. Thanks to Don Mike for
(37:15):
stopping by the Buzzcast today. Andyou can catch Hotel Cocaine every Sunday when
it drops a new episode at ninepm on MGM Plus. But that's gonna
do for me for right now.I'm the Veljlee and we're gonna continue Hotel
Cocaine week tomorrow when Ernie Obaia stopsby the show. And we got a
surprise guest this Friday. We're notgonna reveal who that is yet, but
(37:36):
expect that to be dropped this week. For more information on our show,
you can always log onto our websiteat buzzworthyradiocast dot com. You can also
follow us on x at Buzzworthy Radioand liking us on our Facebook page.
We're also on Instagram at buzznav andat Buzzworthy Radio. And finally, you
can download our podcast as an audioshow on Amazon Music and I Hard Radio.
(38:00):
We'll see you guys next time.Take care, stay in the no
catch up on all the buzz podcastsand videos at buzzworthyradiocast dot com. Keep
getting the latest buzz with Buzzworthyradio nowon Amazon Music.
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