Laz Alonso: "…Vin [Diesel's] character, Dom, is playing a character in order to infiltrate our cartel. Jon Ortiz and I kind of lead this cartel."
You're the muscle?
Laz Alonso: "No doubt. And Jon and I are playing characters to Vin and everybody else that's a part of it, not to disclose who we really are. We're pretending that we're just workers, just like them. We just happen to know the boss. So we're all kind of playing this cat and mouse game and this [scene we just filmed] is where the truth comes to light. Everybody kind of sheds their mask and shows who they really are. So right now, we're trying to find the different colors and trying to find the best way to do it so that it's as real and as confrontational as possible because this leads to our fight, our final battle when Vin and I face off and fight to the end."
How difficult was it to find the right tone for your face off with Vin Diesel?
Laz Alonso: "The funnest thing I've had in working with Vin is that he's a man's man. Coming from the streets and having worked in New York City nightclubs where he's had to face off with people on a day to day basis, you know when a face off is real and when a face off is artificial. How many times do we see it in a film where something just feels contrived and you expected that to happen? He's very meticulous when it comes to finding those real moments and we're just working together as a team to make that moment as real as possible, so there's a lot of trial and error. We're just playing with it and coming up with different ideas and different approaches to getting it to be perfect."
How are you distinguishing your character from the default thug?
Laz Alonso: "Be sincere. You know, I think a lot of times what happens when we as actors know we're playing a bad guy is we get into bad guy mode. You know what, man? In real life, bad people do good things too and good people do bad things. So you don't necessarily have to be the stereotypical bad guy to still do bad things. When you really are someone who believes in what you're doing, the whole 'bad' goes away because you don't see it as bad. You're just seeing it as, 'This is what I do. I do A, B and C, period. There's nothing bad or good about it. It's just what I do.'"
It's a different perspective.
Laz Alonso: "It's a completely different perspective. You change your paradigm and in your own way you justify it and you make it okay. So what I have found to be a fun part about playing this character is that I'm [not] playing him bad. I'm playing him sincere."
How do you like the look with the Mohawk and what was it like when you first shaved your head that way?
Laz Alonso: "You know what, man? It was crazy because we played around with different Mohawks too. We started off with the faux hawk and that thing was too stylish, man. It's too Hollywood. Hollywood teetering on West Hollywood so we were like, 'Nah, man, that ain't gonna look like I can take on Vin Diesel.' So we just said, 'F it, man. We're just going to go Chuck Liddell with it,' and just went the UFC route."
"The day that I just said, 'Let's take it all off the sides,' I go to a party down in Orange County with some friends of mine and the whole night all these people are coming up to me and taking pictures with me and asking me to come over here and come over there to take pictures. I'm like, 'Wow. They recognize me? Okay, I'll take it.' I come to find out the whole time they're thinking I'm some UFC guy. So it worked, it worked. But the hair's gotten, I think the hair just kind of jars people. It just changes things a little bit."
Does it help put you into character?
Laz Alonso: "It does. It does. Like I said, I didn't want it to be the kind of Mohawk that was manicured. You know, and it just feels like it's the kind of thing where I probably get up in the morning with my razor and just go over it, just keep it low myself. There's just something like carefree about it that helps me just be completely different. And, you know, I give a lot of credit to the makeup department too because we've done a lot more than just the Mohawk. I mean, they've darkened up my eyes so that on camera it just looks sunken in, like I need some serious amounts of sleep."
"You really respect the other elements of this business that help you sell what your objectives are. I'm not doing it alone. I got the help of some really talented people. Jerry's one of the best in the business, along with these scars and he accentuated a few of my own natural scars that I earned throughout life. It helps just kind of give you a sense that this guy's been in some sh-t. Even with my workout routine, I didn't go with the conventional just weight train workout. I went with a real prison style jailhouse workout, a lot of calisthenics, a lot of chin ups and pull ups. So my goal was to beat the number of pull ups Will Smith did in I Am Legend, even in the gym. All due respect to Will, but I beat him."
And how was your experience on Avatar?
Laz Alonso: "Oh man, it was amazing to work with Jim [Cameron]. He's one of those guys that knows every single job better than the person that does it, so you have to bring your A game whenever you set foot on his set. It's a great feeling because he challenges you to be better. And for me, it was really cool to work with somebody who I felt like at any point in time could jump in with us and do anything that he's asking us to do, which he showed us many times he would do, he's willing to do. And it's just a really testosterone-driven set. I like that environment a lot."
Were you able to bring this level of preparation and backstory to that?
Laz Alonso: "Yeah. You know, one thing he does do is he likes you to be entrepreneurial and he supports that. Granted in the project that we did together, he created this world. He created every single plant, every single rock, every single granule of sand. I've witnessed people bring him samples of stuff and he'll sit there and say why this works and why this doesn't work because the molecular structure of the air wouldn't create this color. He knows it that well. And that showed me how much more I can prepare for characters, how much more backstory I can create. It's just like going from the amateurs to the pros, like that."
