YANCEY ARIAS

Return of the Kingpin

NBC may have killed off Kingpin,
but Yancey Arias is alive and kicking

You made quite a splash on Kingpin. Were you surprised it wasn’t picked up?
We were all very surprised. We had no doubt that we were going to come back. I had a doubt at first when we shot the pilot because I thought, How can they possibly accept all this violence—even though it was a great story? But once it was shot I knew that Kingpin was a great piece. It was an emotionally driven character piece that given the chance would be the best thing on television ever.

After the pilot we got the pick up for mid-season, which meant we would get six episodes. So I thought, Wait a minute. They’re interested. Every script was so well-done that I was like, “Oh my God. Let’s bring it.” And everyone was on the same page. We all unified as a team and did everything we could to make this baby fly.

By the time the sixth episode was done we saw the script and we knew the door was open for Miguel Cadena and his brother to walk away from the situation. They didn’t just kill us off. They didn’t have us in a war against the federales. So I thought, Well that means something. They want to take this to the next level. We were all so excited when the show premiered in 2003 because the numbers were great the first weekend.

Whoever made the decision to pull it…I know that after the fact I heard a lot of different press coming from the NBC camp. I remember hearing things like, “Oh my God. I wish we hadn’t done that. That was a mistake. We should have kept it.”

But I’ve been really blessed. I mean Kingpin was definitely the thing that opened doors for me, and every project I’ve taken since has been magical. I hope to keep going in that direction.

Why do you think it wasn’t picked up? Did it have more to do with ratings or its controversial nature?
Well, no one ever really said why. I think that the world of television is complex enough and a lot of it has to do with numbers. My gut feeling tells me that maybe it could have been the fact that it was a little bit too violent. But I think that anyone that has done a TV show that got cancelled knows that there is that unspoken thing. That when a show doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. No matter how good it is, if the decision is made to kill it, it’s done and you move on. Television is very unforgiving in that way.

What do you say to Latinos who think that roles like your role in Kingpin only serve to reinforce negative stereotypes about Latinos?
Well, it’s really subjective, but they have the right to speak their minds and I love them for coming out and voicing their opinions. That’s what makes people strong. They are not just quiet and sitting back going, “Okay, this is what we have now.” It’s their point of view. It’s their perspective.

One very interesting thing, though, is that before Kingpin came out people assumed that it was all about drug dealing. People came out saying negative things about it, and after the first episode they said, “Ah ha! Thought so.” Then the second episode came out and they said, “Wait a minute. This show is really about people and being torn by your environment. It’s not just about the drugs.” There were lessons to be learned. People realized the potential of the show, so the same people that protested and wrote letters before it even came out shot themselves in the foot. Because those same people would look at me and say, “Oh my God. You were wonderful. The show is great. Why is it leaving?” And I thought, “Uh, sorry. You know that letter that you wrote and commotion that you made. Well, sorry.”

Nevertheless, I think that something like Kingpin taught people a lesson with respect to the fact that we have a lot of talented people in the Latino community. No one can ever say, “Latinos can’t cut it. They can’t ever lead a show.”

You played a Mexican on Kingpin, but you’re actually Colombian and Puerto Rican. What kind of identity does a kid of Colombian-Puerto Rican descent born and raised in New York grow up with?
Well, I grew up with good food, lots of love. I was taught to stay true to who you are, to remember to speak Spanish. My upbringing was filled with a lot of passion, a lot of love, a lot of family, and a lot of parties.

Was your ethnicity ever a source of inner-conflict as you were growing up?
Only when I was a kid. But when I became an older gentleman—I’m 32 now—my ethnicity has only been an issue when they are looking for a Caucasian actor instead of a Latino actor. Other than that I have been able to rise above all that on any occasion.

That is great, because a lot of times when you are a kid it can be difficult.
Yeah, I remember when I was a child, about 10 or 11, I went roller-skating. I was the only Latino in the roller-skating rink and I caught the eye of this girl that I thought might wanted to roller-skate with me. So I asked if she wanted to skate with me and she said, “No. You’re too dark.” That broke my heart. But you know with the attention span that kids have, I just got over it.

Well I’m sure she regrets it now.
[laughs]

One of your first dreams was to be a baseball player, and you played baseball in high school. There aren’t too many jocks that are also into drama. When did you decide Yancey Arias should be an actor?
Being a jock you watch movies like Scarface and Colors. You watch films like that and you think, Wait a minute. I’m just as passionate as that guy. I could do this too. So I decided, “You know what, I’m going to listen to my grandma.” My grandma said to me when I was about seven, “That’s my little negrito. He’s going to be on television.” Then I would say, “Grandma, you’re crazy. I’m going to play baseball. That’s what I want to do.”

Isn’t it true that your acting aspirations didn’t go over too well with your baseball coach? Tell us about this and how it lead to you pursuing acting more seriously.
My coach was a “meano,” to put it lightly. He was my history teacher and he was the coach of the baseball team. Because my grades weren’t high enough for him, he decided that he didn’t want me on the team. And that crushed me because I’d been playing baseball since I was eight. I was heartbroken. I came home crying and I said, “Ma. Call him! Call him! Reverse this thing! Please!” But he wouldn’t budge.

But then I met another teacher and this teacher was the head of the music department. He taught me how to sing. So very easily and very smoothly I found a place for myself at that school, and I found that I had these great talents that I’ve never really researched until I met this teacher—who was Mr. James Green. Then I realized, Boy, you’ve got something cooking here. So very quickly I immersed myself into theater.

Still, baseball was always lurking in the back of my mind. When I went to college at Carnegie Mellon, the baseball team saw that I could pitch and they wanted to make me a relief pitcher. I started pitching and all of a sudden my drama partner comes out and says, “Look, you made it into this school because of your acting and your singing skills, not because of your baseball skills. You’re missing too many classes. We’re asking you to figure out your priorities and drop this baseball thing.” And I was like, “Oh boy. Here we go again. Why can’t I do both?

But you just can’t, you’ve got to master one. So I gave in because quite honestly my calling was acting.

So you had to give up on baseball?
I gave up the baseball, but I still played softball for the next nine or ten years. But then I moved to California and boy was I happy to find out that they’ve got this 28 and over baseball league called the BABL. They also have the Pacific Coast League.

Well then I guess in the long run you did get to do both because you’re an actor and you still play baseball.
Oh yeah! I’ve got a team that can take on almost any team out there. I mean I’ve got a bunch of guys that played in college like myself and a bunch that played in the Minors…That to me is the ultimate. I get to take care of that flame that’s always been burning since I was a child. And what a great way to do it.

Are American audiences ready for a network primetime drama with a predominantly Latino cast?
Oh they’re ready. The audience is ready. Who knows about the network? First of all, the Latino community spends more money on movies and more time watching television than any other group in America. Why not give them something, not just to be proud of, but something that they can reflect on and say, “I experienced that.”

You are a successful dark-skined Latino actor…
Amen.

In a world where Latino actors (especially on Univision and Mexican television) are often chosen as much for their Caucasian features as their acting skills, is it important to you to represent as an attractive brown-skinned Latino actor?
It has never been an issue for me. I have only once, maybe twice, been confronted by the color of my skin. The way I was raised and my experiences in life taught me simply that heart overcomes everything. If you have a heart of gold, passion, strength, skills, understanding, humanity; if you’re a good guy, do all the right things, treat people the way you treat yourself, then, my friend, you will reign victorious time and time again.

I heard that you were engaged for a long time, and it took you four years to set a date. What took you so long?
My wife and I started dating when I was 25 and she was 22. I was way too young back then. I didn’t have my head on straight then. When I was 29 I started to really understand my life. I began to understand who I was and what I wanted; how I wanted to lead my life and what it meant to be in a relationship. I decided that there was something so strong between Anna and myself that it was worth figuring out. Because we were at a pivotal point where we were about to split. At that point, during the fourth year, we had someone intervene, and we got in touch with this wonderful woman, Risa Weber, who is kind of our spiritual guide/therapist.

When I really learned how to communicate on a different level with the woman who I really love deep down inside—despite the differences we had—it really became about one thing. How do we communicate with one another and how do we achieve what we want from one another without things escalating? Without taking things so personally? How do we really listen? How do we step away when emotions get involved, instead of screaming at each other? That kind of stuff.

So once I started learning more about myself, then I really grew in our relationship. By the time I turned 30, I really felt like a man. I really felt like I owned who I was. So at 31 I decided, “You know what honey? You’ve been through the thick and thin with me. We both came through a lot of understanding about ourselves. We know how to communicate with one another now. There is no reason why we can’t take this to the next level now.” A lot of people jump into marriage without having that kind of understanding, so you’ve got more divorces. We got lucky. We stuck it out. We figured out what that bond was and how to communicate with one another. It’s been great now, and I hope the best for the future.

What advice do you have for Latino men?
Be true to yourselves brothers. Be honest people. Be honest with your loved ones. Be honest with your family. Don’t hide nothin’. The things that I’ve learned about who I am have pivoted my live and actually improved my career. They actually improved my skills as an actor, because now all I focus on is the truth. All I focus on is giving my heart over to someone, listening without any agenda—just listening. Taking the time for people. Now that is a strong Latino brother. And I implore my Latino brothers to get in touch with who they are. Be honest with yourself and be honest with everyone else around you, period.