Arturo Del Puerto Joins the Cast of Hulu’s “Downforce” Pilot

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Arturo Del Puerto has lined up his next project…

The 47-year-old half Puerto Rican and half Spanish actor has joined the 20^th Television pilot for Hulu’s Downforce.

Del Puerto is among a roster of new cast additions that includes Harry Delano, Reece Shearsmith and Amar Chadha-Patel.

The film stars Eve Hewson and Murray Bartlett.

Downforce follows Victoria (Hewson), the estranged daughter of a storied racing team’s owner, Sir Trevor (Bartlett), who is thrust back into the family business, leaving the pair to find common ground or risk destroying the team’s legacy.

Del Puerto plays Emiliano, the ostentatious Spanish owner of a competing team who’s hellbent on destroying Regent Racing.

Alec Berg will direct the pilot and executive produce alongside Adam Countee, who have overall deals at 20th Television.

Del Puerto is currently recurring on the Netflix series Pulse and will next appear in the Netflix/A&E series The Lincoln Lawyer‘s second season.

His additional credits include the Apple+ series For All Mankind, Westworld for HBO, Godfather of Harlem for MGM+ and HBO’s Camping.

On the film front, he played opposite Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman in Twentieth Century Fox’s Independence Day: Resurgence and the Universal Pictures feature Ride Along 2.

Katya Martín to Star in the Indie Horror Comedy “Muffled”

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Katya Martín searching for answers…

The Spanish-American actor, producer, writer and director will star opposite Catharine Daddario in the indie horror comedy Muffled.

The film is written and directed by Stephen McNamee, who makes his feature debut.

Set to enter production in the Greater New Orleans area in early September, the film follows Nora (Martín) and Harper (Daddario) as they return to their hometown to investigate the disappearance of a childhood friend. While interviewing old acquaintances, they discover that their questions are unwelcome, and soon their search takes a dark turn.

Stephen McNamee and Burns McNamee are producing under their banner, I’m Okay Productions, along with Adam Kinyon through Best Dressed Films.

Best known for starring on ABC’s family drama Promised Land, Martín has also previously been seen on shows like Godfather of Harlem, Big Sky, and The Affair.

Mercedes Ruehl Starring in Brad Furman’s Indie Drama “People Not Places”

Posted on July 20, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Mercedes Ruehl is joining the people…

The 76-year-old part-Cuban American Oscar-winning actress will star in director Brad Furman’s indie drama People Not Places, which was scripted by his mother Ellen Brown Furman.

Ruehl is among seven new cast additions that includes Yul Vazquez, Laurence Mason, Obba Babatundé, Joey Bicicchi, Colleen Camp and Olivia Jude.

They join previously announced cast members Shirley MacLaine, Stephen Dorff, Julia Mayorga and Allegra Leguizamo.

People Not Places centers on Clare (MacLaine), an elderly widow living in Atlantic City who meets an erratic homeless man (Dorff) who sleeps in cars. Their shared loneliness causes them to bond, as they find the courage to face his regrettable past and her shortened future.

Furman and Jess Fuerst are producing the film under their Road Less Traveled Productions banner.

Best known for her Oscar-winning performance in The Fisher King, Ruehl has also been seen in films like Hustlers, Last Action Hero and Big, among many others.

She’s also been seen on series like New Amsterdam, Bull and Power, to name just a few.

Currently starring on MGM+’s Hotel Cocaine, Vazquez will next be seen in the Paul Greengrass film The Lost Bus for Apple TV+.

His other recent credits include Parish, White House Plumbers, Godfather of Harlem, Promised Land and Severance.

Elvis Nolasco to Appear on HBO‘s Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Elvis Nolasco last landed his next role…

The Dominican American actor will appear on HBO‘s Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project.

Nolasco, who starred in Godfather of Harlem, is among a roster of new recurring actors for the series that includes Raphael Sbarge, Mickey Sumner, Brian Goodman and Colin Bates.

Nolasco plays Freddy Frias, the savvy and ruthless captain of Philadelphia’s largest drug trafficking organization.

Others previously cast include Tom Pelphrey as Robbie; Emilia Jones as Maeve; Thuso Mbedu as Aleah; Raúl Castillo as Cliff; Jamie McShane as Perry; Sam Keeley as Jayson; Fabien Frankel as Anthony; Alison Oliver as Lizzie; Owen Teague as Peaches; Dominic Colón as Deric “Breaker,” and Levieva as Eryn.

A crime drama based on an original idea from Ingelsby, creator of hit HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown, the show is set in the working class suburbs outside of Philadelphia, where Ruffalo’s Tom heads a Task Force to put an end to a string of drug-house robberies led by an unsuspecting family man.

Ingelsby is writing the show and executive producing alongside Jeremiah Zagar and Salli Richardson-Whitfield (who also direct), R

Currently starring on MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem, Nolasco has also starred on ABC’s American Crime, recurring on All American, David Makes Man, She’s Gotta Have It, Claws and more.

In addition to Sundance drama Roxanne Roxanne, he’s been seen in such Spike Lee films as Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, Oldboy and Clockers.

Yul Vazquez to Star in MGM+’s Crime Thriller “Hotel Cocaine”

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Yul Vazquez is checking into his next project…

The 58-year-old Cuban-American actor and musician is set as a lead opposite Danny Pino and Michael Chiklis in Hotel Cocaine, MGM+’s upcoming crime thriller from creator Chris Brancato.

Hotel Cocaine is the story of Roman Compte (Pino), a Cuban expatriate who fought against Fidel Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion and re-made his life in Miami. He is general manager of the Mutiny Hotel, the glamorous epicenter of the Miami cocaine scene of late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The Mutiny Hotel was Casablanca on cocaine, a glitzy nightclub, restaurant and hotel frequented by Florida businessmen and politicians, international narcos, CIA and FBI agents, models, sports stars and musicians.

Vazquez will play Nestor Cabal, Roman Compte’s (Pino) brother and one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to a coke-hungry Miami population. He’s dangerous, funny, wily, and seeking reunion with his long-lost brother.

Chiklis plays Agent Zulio who will stop at nothing to shut down the drug trade, even if it means using innocent civilians to accomplish his ends.

Brancato serves as executive producer and showrunner. Guillermo Navarro will direct the pilot episode and executive produce the series, with Michael Panes and Alfredo Barrios Jr. also serving as executive producers.

The eight-episode series from MGM+ Studios, in partnership with MGM Television, will begin production in May in the Dominican Republic, and is slated to premiere in early 2024.

Vazquez will next be seen in the HBO Max limited series White House Plumbers, opposite Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. He was most recently seen on season 3 of the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem opposite Forest Whitaker and in the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series, Severance, directed by Ben Stiller.

His other credits include Jason Bateman’s HBO series The Outsider, ABC’s Promised Land, Netflix’s Russian Doll, TNT miniseries I Am The Night and HBO’s Succession, among others.

His film work includes Books of Blood, Last Flag Flying, Gringo, Traffic and The Infiltrator.

Yul Vazquez to Star on Season 3 of MGM+’s “Godfather of Harlem”

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Yul Vázquez has landed a (god)father of a role…

The 57-year-old Cuban-American actor and musician is teaming up with Forest Whitaker in the upcoming third season of Godfather of Harlem in a major recurring role.

Godfather of Harlem tells a story inspired by infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned from eleven years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles.

Season Three will find Bumpy Johnson continuing to battle for control of Harlem, with other aspirants to the throne, namely the Cuban Mafia from neighboring Spanish Harlem.

Taking on the Cuban mob will put Bumpy, his loved ones, and his community in the crosshairs of not only the rival Italians, but ruthless Latin assassins and, ultimately, the CIA. Godfather of Harlem is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.

Vázquez portrays Jose Miguel Battle, a former Cuban policeman who reestablishes himself as head of the Cuban Mafia in New York City. Forced into a marriage of convenience with Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), Battle and Bumpy will engage in a bloody war with the Italians for control of Harlem.

Vázquez is featured in the Season 3 trailer.

The season 3 cast also includes Vincent D’Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jason Alan Carvell, Lucy Fry and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy.

The series is produced by ABC Signature, with Swizz Beatz serving as executive music producer.

Godfather of Harlem Season 3 premieres on Sunday, January 15 on MGM+. Godfather of Harlem aired on Epix, which is being rebranded as MGM+ in 2023.

Vázquez was most recently seen in the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ series, Severance, directed by Ben Stiller.

His upcoming roles include the HBO Max limited series The White House Plumbers opposite Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. Additional credits include ABC’s Promised Land, HBO’s The Outsider, Netflix’s Russian Doll and the TNT miniseries I Am The Night.

Luis Guzmán to Star in Rian Johnson’s Peacock Series “Poker Face”

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Guzmán is playin’ poker…

The 66-year-old Puerto Rican actor will star in Peacock’s Poker Face, a mystery drama series starring Natasha Lyonne, hailing from Rian Johnson, his T-Street banner and MRC Television.

Guzman is among a roster of new cast additions that includes Cherry Jones, Hong Chau and Reed Birney.

Details of their roles, as well as plot details of the 10-episode anthology-like series are being kept under wraps.

In addition to Lyonne, the four join previously announced cast members Adrien Brody, Angel Desai, Audrey Corsa, Benjamin Bratt, Charles Melton, Chloe Sevigny, Clea DuVall, Danielle MacDonald, Dascha Polanco, Ellen Barkin, Jasmine Aiyana Garvin, Jameela Jamil, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Judith Light, Leslie Silva, Lil Rel Howery, Niall Cunningham, Nicholas Cirillo, Nick Nolte, Ron Perlman, S. Epatha Merkerson, Shane Paul McGhie, Simon Helberg, Stephanie Hsu, Tim Blake Nelson and Tim Meadows.

Johnson is the creator, writer and director of Poker Face and will also executive produce alongside T-Street partner Ram Bergman and the company’s television president Nena Rodrigue. Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman (Prodigal Son, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D) serve as showrunners and executive producers. Lyonne also will serve as an executive producer via her Animal Pictures. The company’s Maya Rudolph and Danielle Renfrew Behrens will co-executive produce.

Guzmán is best known for his roles in Steven Soderbergh’s films such as Out of Sight, The Limey, and Traffic, and in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love.

On television, he has had key roles on Showtime’s Shameless, Epix’s Godfather of Harlem and Perpetual Grace, LTD.

Epix Renews Catalina Sandino Moreno’s Contemporary Sci-Fi Series “From” for Second Season

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

There’s more from Catalina Sandino Moreno on the way…

Epix has renewed the contemporary sci-fi horror series From, starring the 41-year-old Colombian Oscar-nominated actress, for a 10-episode second season.

Created/executive produced by John Griffin and executive-produced by Jack Bender and Jeff Pinkner, the series unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter.

Production will begin this summer in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an expected air date in 2023.

The series premiere of From is Epix’s most viewed original series premiere in the history of the Amazon-owned network following the acquisition of MGM and current performance analytics track that the entire series is on pace to be Epix’s second most-watched original behind Emmy winning series Godfather of Harlem.

“The first season of From mystified, enthralled, and terrified fans and critics alike with its haunting world, vivid characters and thrilling scares,” said Michael Wright, president of Epix. “We have been delighted by the social conversation generated by the From community and can’t wait to unravel more of this mysterious story with our passionate fans in season two.”

In season two, hidden truths about the nature and terrifying origins of the town begin to emerge, even as life for its residents is plunged into chaos by the arrival of mysterious newcomers.

In addition Sandino Moreno, the series also stars Harold Perrineau, Eion Bailey, Hannah Cheramy, Simon Webster, Ricky He, Chloe Van Landschoot, Corteon Moore, Pegah Ghafoori, David Alpay, Elizabeth Saunders, Elizabeth Moy and Avery Konrad.

“On behalf of the producers, writers, and our insanely talented cast and crew, we are thrilled and grateful to both EPIX and our audience for the opportunity to continue exploring the world of From,” said Pinkner.

From is a co-production between Epix Studios and MGM International Television Productions.

Luis Guzmán to Star in Jacquelyn Quinones Feature Directorial Debut “Miles Away”

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Guzmán is miles away…

The 65-year-old Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of Miles Away, an upcoming indie from writer, director and producer Jacquelyn Quinones.

Produced by Quinones, Miles Away is a dramedy that explores a day in the life of a rideshare driver, with short vignettes of passengers all feeding into the story of the driver learning to deal with no money, a thankless job and a sister with mental illness.

Andre Royo, Noel Gugliemi, Alberto Frezza, Norma Maldonado, Henri Esteve, Jennifer Bartels, Eddie Martinez, Jessica Sarah Flaum, Marilyn Camacho and Charo Toledo round out the cast of the Puerto Rican filmmaker’s feature directorial debut, in which she also appears.

“Excited to be part of this project. Jackie Quinones is a new voice for a new generation. Her work personifies the social and cultural diversity reminiscent of the now and necessary for the future,” said Guzmán. “She is an insightful creative, her work transcends stereotypes. Miles Away finds a unique harmony toeing the line of conventional storytelling and inventive hybrid genre narratives focusing on social change.”

Guzmán is an Independent Spirit Award nominee who has garnered nearly 160 screen credits over the course of his five-decades and change in entertainment.

He can currently be seen in the Starz drama Hightown and will next appear in Tim Burton’s Netflix series Wednesday, among other projects.

The actor is also known for turns films like Top Five, We’re the Millers, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, He’s Just Not That Into You, Yes Man, School for Scoundrels, Fast Food Nation, Waiting…, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, Anger Management, Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights and Traffic, among many others.

Additional television credits include Ultra City Smiths, Shameless, Godfather of Harlem, Code Black, Roadies, Narcos and Oz.

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