Luis Gerardo Mendez

Luis Gerardo Mendez talks new movie 'Half Brothers' and more!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
With Mario Lopez a Mario Lopez driving me now on
zoom from the new movie Half Brothers actor Louis Rado Mendez.
Welcome back to the show Man. Nice to see you man.
Thanks man, so happy to see you. Last last time
I saw you was pretty uh beautiful times. I know
the world was a different place, but I distinctly remember

(00:22):
you telling me about this story, um, which is now
a movie. Congratulations. Half Brothers is out now. Uh. For
those not familiar with describe the premise, Uh, We'll have
brothers is the story about to have brothers, one Mexican,
one from the United States. They don't know the other

(00:42):
one exists. They have no idea the other one exists
until the father is really ill. They meet in the
hospital and the father's last wheel wish, sorry, is for
them to do a road trip in the States to
understand why they never met before and to understand why
the father never in back to Mexico. And Uh it's
a road movie. It's a comedy about the differences between

(01:05):
people from Mexico and the States. But also, and most important,
it is about how in a way we are have
brothers and we are not that different. I love it.
That's such a clever premise. And uh, what part of
Mexico are you from? Originally I'm from Oscalientis. I'm from Oscalinde,
is a really small town in the middle of the country,
and we film we shot the film in San Miel

(01:26):
de Allende. Yeah, and in the States like Albuquerque, New Mexico,
like all that area, Chicago. Um so yeah, it's it's
bi cultural bilingual film. Oh that's awesome, man, I look
forward to checking it out. Good for you. Um and
this was the first English language project built around you, right, yeah,
this is this is the first time I'm producing a

(01:47):
film in the States. I've been producing a couple of
films and TV shows in Mexico. I did the first
Netflix original in Spanish club the Cuerabo's Club of Crows
a couple of years ago. But this is the first
time I'm producing a film with a studio like Focus Features,
which is really exciting because my favorite films when I
was in my twenties were Focus Features films, you know,

(02:07):
like Little Sunshine, the Coen Brothers films, uh I turn
on Spotless mind, so totally being developing a film with
them was really really exciting, especially because we could talk
about really important stuff, you know, like being being a
Mexican working in the States. It's really important for me
to see myself represented in the screen the way I

(02:30):
want to see myself represented in the screen. You know,
it's not about having a Mexican character in a in
a Hollywood film, in a small part. Is about telling
the stories that are important to us. You're exactly right
and being kind of myself. I can appreciate that, and
I'm looking forward to the film. You need to see it, Mario.
I think I'm gonna I'm gonna totally see it. You

(02:50):
have my word on that. I was also excited to hear.
By the way, congratulations you're joining Narcos Mexico on Netflix,
one of my favorite shows. Um, what can you tell
us about your role? Uh that I'm as excited as
you are. It's one of my favorite shows as well. Uh,
I've been a huge fan from season one. UM, I
cannot tell you that much. It's it's a cop. It's
a cop from Suarez. Is a really really interesting character

(03:14):
and one of the leagues in this season. Um, and
I'm really excited, you know, because the story, Uh, my
character stories are really relevant origin story of really terrible
thing that is still happening in my country. So I
think it's really important to see those fames on screen
as well. No, and I had great well, my my

(03:36):
parents happened to be from and so I know uh
a lot about it. Are they Are they picking up
Louise from where they left off last season? I don't
know if Netflix is gonna assume me for this. I
don't know, yeah, sort of, yeah, I think so. Okay,
so I knows they're still there in chapel and everything. Okay,
got it. That's good. You're gonna You're gonna get me

(03:57):
in a lot of trouble Mario. No, I mean it's
still goes on, assuming they still that has some continent.
No one listens. Now this is called the actor who
played Pablo Escoba, who was great in the in the
in season one, he came back as a director. How
was Wagner. That's really cool, man. I mean we have
some of the best directors in Latin American show yes,

(04:20):
and the writing the writing staff of Narcos Mexico, and
I'm pretty sure he's one of the best writing staffs
in the business. Uh So, Yeah, I'm really excited to
be working with these people, you said Bagnermoa who played
publics in the in the in the Narcos Columbia. He's
he's directing a couple of episodes. Now I just work
with him. He's tremendous actor and he's an extraordinary director.

(04:41):
So yeah, I'm really excited about about this, this this show,
and yeah, that's it. What I what you have my word,
I'm gonna watch both of those Narcos and um uh
half Brothers. Uh, what are your plans for the holidays?
Before we let you go here? Where are you spending Christmas?
I have a beach in in Oaxaca, in in the

(05:01):
coast of Oahaca in Mexico, in a place called Massunte,
which is a beautiful, beautiful beach that it's not that
well no as concun or Touloum, but it's one of
the most beautiful beaches in the world. So I'm gonna
be there for a couple of weeks. Then I'm going
to l A. I have some things to do there,
and then I'm gonna be back shooting Narcos here. But now,
like all my energies is focusing in the opening of

(05:25):
Have Brothers, we We opened last weekend in the second
place at the box office in the US, which is
really exciting with half of the movie theaters closed. But
but we we do have some movie like drive in,
some drive ins open in California. So thanks to all
the people that that I went to see the film,
um this this weekend or next weekend. And yeah, the

(05:48):
film is also going to be available to watch soon
so everyone can enjoy Ustome Home a watch. Have Brothers
out now Luis Mario plas on with Mario little passing