Again, it's all about the material and the script and all those things. A director does not make a movie, you know?
And in the same manner, I think a lot of the studios are catching on and doing projects that are a little more laid back.
And with Soderbergh, it's basically that he sent me a script of Traffic with an offer to do that particular role.
But then Latinos themselves are the ones that can open and close doors because they are becoming writers and directors.
But then, the big studios are more into the action packed special effects things where the independent films are more emotional and spiritual process of life.
Even if you come across a whole new thing, a whole new crew or director, understand that you can still trust what they're doing and they can trust what you're doing.
I always wondered if you clone your wife and have the cloned wife on the moon and the real wife down here, would that be considered cheating?
I am selective because I'm not interested in just doing anything to make money.
I did it because I would be the first Puerto Rican on the moon in a movie.
I don't approach it as someone who is playing a violent character; I don't look at it that way. I look at it as somebody who has issues.
I enjoy what I do and should that ever present itself, being a leading man, that would be another step into the unknown and I welcome that.
I guess a big reason that I do live in Vermont is because I want my children to grow up and just have a childhood and not be like an urban child who is five or six years old and has to play a game of survival.
I have five children. I have four that we adopted and one of our own. They're ten, eight, six and a half, and twins that are six.
I have to say I do see myself as a role model because I come from a place that was really hardcore as far as crime and drugs, but that got balanced out with the good things that happened, people trying to save the neighborhood and not giving up.
I just feel that doors are opening for Latinos.
I just think so many different people have so many different issues.
I love doing what I do and I like stepping off. That's how I like to live my life.
I never think about anything that I am doing that way I keep them fresh. I make it up as I go.
I only said one thing, it's all about trust. You work with someone like SS and you trust what he's doing and he trusts what you're doing.
I see tantrums throughout life. I guess people go through what they go through and keep it with them.
I think it's a little bit of being selective and having the right material find you.
I think life is funny sometimes. I play along with it.
I think part of the problem is the education system doesn't work - it's not accountable.
I think the Lower East Side inspires me. That whole neighborhood, a lot of the people that I worked with, seeing what we've gone through in life, being given an opportunity to understand who I am; my identity, my culture, and my roots.
I used to do street theater, usually at block parties, and most of the time they had political messages.
I used to work with young people and organize a lot of social events in the neighborhoods.
I want to be able to produce good work.
I want to direct my kids in some movie. And something with Eddie Murphy in the fall.
I was a community activist and used to help organize ten ants in buildings that were abandoned by landlords.
I was a social worker on the Lower East Side working with young people. I did that for about thirteen years.
I'm a practical person. I like to do what I need to do and not get all bottled up in the bureaucratic and political aspect.
I'm happy being a character actor.
I'm really interested in the story and the material and what I can do with it.
If I make a movie, I want to put a couple of Latino actors in it. I'm looking for that mix.
If I want my children to learn what bomba and plena is, I will teach them.
It's a privilege to work in your community with your people, but after a while you get burned out.
It's not all these projects tied into all these big time major studios. It's not all the politics.
It's ok to show all your colors.
Life is too short. I try to make the best of it.
My mom had me and she got on the plane and came to New York.
So, when I make a movie, I'm not thinking about what the studio wants to do, I'm thinking about myself as an artist in relationship to the piece.
Some guy could come along and make a movie for $10,000 and that could have much more of an impact on an audience than some movie that cost $100 million, you know?
The only way we're going to change our society is to have society change itself from within.
There is a whole new crew of Latino actors coming up.
Traffic had an incredible cast and a really, really well written script, a great director and a wonderful crew of people and that's how we approached it though.
TV is not a baby sitter.
We saw what happened a few years ago at the Academy Awards. A whole bunch of movies were nominated and the majority of those movies were independent films.
Well, like I said, we all grow. We all learn new things.
Well, PT Anderson sent me a script of Boogie Nights which I let lay around my house for about three months, then one day I'm cleaning my office and decided that I'd better read this before the guy calls me back. I never put it down, bro.
Well, you know, from one end, as the independent filmmaking world goes, I think it's a wonderful thing.
You always like to be in a position where you can be someone's inspiration or guide.
You'll never get me to play Osama Ben Laden. You can never pay me enough to be a devil like that.
Luis had a featured part in his high school play of Bye Bye Birdie.
Luis graduated from City College of New York.
Luis made his television debut in an episode of Miami Vice.
Luis won Best Supporting Actor at the Imagen Foundation Awards, for his role in Punch-Drunk Love.
Luis voiced the character of "Ricardo Diaz" in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and then reprised his role again in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Luis is regularly cast in films by Brian DePalma, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Steven Soderberg.
Luis is 5' 7 1/2" (1.71 m).
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