Chilling with the Actors from McFarland USA

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I did receive an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles and McFarland, USA to facilitate this post.

You guys have read my review of McFarland USA  (if not make sure to check it out!) , and now you get a chance to hear from the seven young actors that played the McFarland USA cross country team in the film. These seven young men are relatively new to acting, and several of them actually hail from McFarland. It was really fun chatting with them about the movie, the training, and of course the Kevin Costner.

Sergio Avelar, Ramiro Rodriguez, Hector Duran, Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz, Michael Aguero, and Rafael Martinez are the seven young actors that make up the McFarland cross country team in McFarland USA. For most of them this was their first feature film, and you could tell as soon as they entered the room they were all really excited to be a part of a movie with such an inspirational story.

One thing that I noticed talking to the guys, was the sense of family and teamwork seen in McFarland USA wasn’t too much of a stretch for these guys. There was a palpable bond between them. They were laughing and picking on each other like a band of brothers, not just cast mates.

On Working with Kevin Costner

Of course one of the very first questions they are always asked is what was it like working with a veteran like Kevin Costner. They really enjoyed asking Kevin about his experiences with other actors, and of course learning the ins and outs of what it means to be an actor in Hollywood. The guys shared,

Kevin a great legend, such a humble guy. We had tons of experiences. He has more stories that a library, I swear

On Running, Running, and More Running

McFarland USA is about a cross country team, so of course that means running, running, and more running. The guys had one month of training in order to prepare for the running in the movie, all except Ramiro Rodriguez who plays Danny Diaz who only had about a week. Even during filming they did a ton of running! They shared they did five or six miles as a warmup! Don’t know about you, but even as a former long distance runner myself,  that is a crazy amount of running!

Though the training does make sense because there is a whole lot of running including a part where the guys have to run up HUGE mounds of shelled almonds. If this girl was to give that a whirl, you would need to break out the AED paddles and the oxygen tanks!

On Being a Part of Such an Inspiring Film

For all seven of the actors, being a part of McFarland USA was so much more than just another acting job. For Ramiro Rodriguez and Sergio Avelar, it was amazing because they were both from McFarland. They both enjoyed bringing light to the pride of their community.

For the others it was about being Latino actors getting the opportunity to play inspiring, strong characters. It was a chance to show the world that Latino roles aren’t just about playing gang bangers, but playing main roles that inspire not just their culture but anyone that sees McFarland USA.

The things this film reinforces is the idea of equality and not judging a book by its cover because [Jim White] comes into this small town, and he kind of judges the book by its cover. But once you get deeper into values that are there, you see that everybody’s equal.

If there are two things that I took from this interview, it’s that you need to watch for lots of more great things from these seven young actors, and that being a part of McFarland USA wasn’t just about their careers it’s about finding a new sense of family. The brotherhood that formed between these guys isn’t something that’s going to go away anytime soon. It was so refreshing to meet such a great group of young men and know that I am going to say I met them when they first started because they are going to have a bright future ahead of all of them.

To see these seven actors in action, make sure to head to the theaters and see McFarland USA out in theaters everywhere