I Dream of Delilah
Delilah Cotto is going places. The blossoming actress has got talent, charisma, desire, and most of all…well see for yourself.

The whole thing has gotten tiring. It seems when people talk about the young, beautiful, talented Latinas of Hollywood only two names pop up. You’d think Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek were the only Latinas making a living as actresses.

Which is why I was so pleasantly surprised recently when I went to see Empire. It was the day I got my first dose of Delilah Cotto. Yes, Empire was good. The plot was entertaining and stayed away from the cheese of many “Latino” films. John Leguizamo was great, Denise Richards looked hot, and Fat Joe played a heck of a gangster. But my true delight was found in Delilah Cotto. Her role as John Leguizamo’s girlfriend was dead on. Her performance and persona was something I hadn’t expected. With the successful release of Empire under her belt, Delilah seems ready for bigger things. Thankfully, it appears that Hollywood may finally be ready for Delilah and others like her. The time may have finally come when Hollywood takes note of something I’ve been saying for years: J-Lo and Salma are just the tip of the iceberg.

Congrats on your role in Empire. Great movie. You were a virtual unknown who got to act alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. How did you land such a plum role?
Well, it just so happens that I’ve known the director for a long time. He is a friend of mine and when he first wrote the script, he came up to me (he knew I was an actress) and said, “I have this script and I want you to tell me what you think. Give me your opinion and tell me what you think of the role of Carmen because I wrote it with you in mind.”

He actually wrote the role itself with you in mind.
Yeah, and this particular writer/director [Frank Reyes] does that a lot. Often times he’ll sit at his computer and when he starts to write…he has certain people that he sees, envisions as the characters.

What do you think it was about you that inspired him to create this character?
I know that when he was fighting for me—because it was a fight for me to get this role since I am virtually an unknown actress in Hollywood—his biggest argument was that he wanted someone who was a real Latina from New York. He wanted someone who has that edge, who is Puerto Rican, and who is unfamiliar. He wanted an unknown because he wanted someone that was as close to the real deal as possible.

Was it hard working with John Leguizamo?
Working with John, I have to say was an inspiration. It was easy. He makes it easy. John and I come from the same school of acting. We both studied with the same teacher…It was fairly easy because when we got together and we started talking about the role and just working on the character we saw eye to eye a lot on the material. We had the same approach in terms of where we were going to go. We would improvise the material first and then take whatever we got from the improvisation and use that as our underlying core foundation for the work…I know that ultimately what got me into this film was an audition that I had to have with John. I had a one on one audition with John and somewhere in the middle of our working on the material he started calling me by the name of the character instead of my real name. The next day he went to the director and said she is my leading woman.

So when you blow up you’re going to owe John and Frank big time right?
(Laughs) Absolutely. I’ve learned a great deal from both of them.

What about Denise Richards, is she nice or is she a conceited you know what?
Not at all. Denise was a big surprise. Usually when you see a beautiful woman that has the essence that Denise Richard has, right away you think, “ah she must be conceited in real life.” In fact that wasn’t the case at all. She was very down to earth, very giving, very complementing. She doesn’t hold back. When she sees something that she thinks is good she’ll say it. And she’s not competitive the way you might think. It was great.

I have to ask you, is John a good kisser?
Ah…yeah.

You’re keeping your answer short I see.
John has really nice lips, so the kissing experience was really cool.

Since Empire came out have you found that people have started to recognize you or can you walk into McDonald’s without anyone bothering you?
It’s really interesting because I don’t think I look like Carmen. There was something that I brought to Carmen in the film that is not quite who I am, so a lot of people do not recognize me right away…I think that my energy and my essence that I have in life is completely different from Carmen…which I think is good, it gives me some versatility. I did a role on Kingpin and you probably wouldn’t even know that I was the same person. I look completely different. I play a Mexican. And that was amazing, another completely different character from Carmen.

You’re Puerto Rican. Why do Puerto Ricans seem so happy all the time?
I can’t speak for all Puerto Ricans, but I think there is something about being Puerto Rican…there is a pride that we carry even with all the conflicts that you have with any culture. That pride overcomes all those other elements—which is we have what we call orgullo. We are really proud of who we are…even if we don’t marry Puerto Rican. Let’s say we marry a white guy, I think there’s still that pride. We still love our Latin food and our music and our country. I wasn’t born in Puerto Rico, I was born and raised in Brooklyn, but I love Puerto Rico.

We have a department called Coconut of the Month. Who would you nominate for it?
I really couldn’t speak on that, it wouldn’t be fair. None of us are perfect, we all have our issues. All I can do is speak for myself and I have to tell you I love my Latin men, I love my Latin culture…as the director of Empire once told me: we can live a whole lifetime and never run out of stories to tell about who we are. Hopefully there is going to come a time in Hollywood where a story on a sellout won’t be necessary because people won’t have to feel like they have to sacrifice themselves in order to succeed.

You have an incredible physique, are you the type that barely works out and is naturally “gifted” or are you at the gym all the time?
Before I started working out at the gym people would ask me if I work out all the time. I would say no, and they never believed me. I never did go to the gym. I would just dance. I have a background in dancing…dancing is a workout so in a sense my whole life I’ve been physical. I think I get that from my dad because he was always into karate and doing sit-ups and push-ups and walking on his hands.

What’s the deal with the casting couch? Is it a myth or is it still a reality sometimes?
You know what, I used to think that it was a myth. Now I beg to differ. Have I experienced it myself? I’ve been very lucky that I haven’t, but I’ve seen it. It does exist.

What did you see?
I happen to know women who have slept with directors to acquire roles in a film.

Do you think it was more motivated by the women approaching the directors or the directors putting it out there?
It’s a very good combination of both. It’s motivated by, initially, the director, usually who is a man, along with the desperation of women who think it’s the only way they can get there, and it is a shame. Other times it is also laziness and lack of ambition or aggressiveness.

What’s better, a man with a good body that dresses like a bum or a flabby guy who dresses like he’s GQ?
If I had to choose it would be neither. A man has to be charismatic, intelligent, talented, ambitious, determined, and strong. How a man dresses and what his body looks like is not as important as all those other elements.

What’s the most important flirting skill?
I would have to say the most important flirting skill would be keen insight, because every one is an individual. In order to flirt with someone in a way that is successful you have to be keenly intuitive about the person that you are just discovering.

I like that one. I thought you were going to say something cheesy like nice smile.
No, that’s not me. You can accuse me of anything, but hopefully never cheesy.

What’s your biggest regret in life?
I have to say that I constantly tell myself that I have no regrets in life because ultimately everything that we have experienced and that we go through brings us to the present place. To say that I have regrets would mean that I am not happy were I am right now, and that is not true.

What advice would you have for Latino men?
Remember you are beautiful, passionate, exotic men. Remember you are not better than anyone, but no one is better than you. If you own this there is nothing you can’t achieve.