Interview with Castle’s Jon Huertas

Jon Huertas is currently starring on ABC’s hit TV show “Castle”, playing the character of Esposito. “Castle” is currently into its third season already and is as hot as ever. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Jon about his role in the show and about his plans for the future.

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Mike Gencarelli: Did you think that “Castle” would be the hit show that it is still going strong through season three now?
Jon Huertas: When we did the pilot, I had a clue this show was going to be something that people would be hungry for and get into. There were so many “CSI” shows and they were really heavy. I felt that our show had this light quality to it. We have being able to have a lot more fun with our show then the other shows out there. I thought it was an opportunity for us to have a little bit of a run. For me as an audience, I do watch TV and I would watch this show. So, I think we are doing ok.

MG: Tell us about what drew you to the character Esposito?
JH: They were really open to collaborating with me. They were like, Esposito is blank canvas for the most part and they asked “What would you want to do with him?, “Where what you want him to come from? “Who is he?”. They were really open to discussing that with me, which was great. When you go into a TV show, you have so many people involved. You have got the actual creator of the show. You got the director, the staff of writers, then the studio and network executives. So many people have their hands usually in how the show would be. But for this show, they were so open to collaborating. They allowed me to paint the picture of Esposito. It is great to have input on the creative aspects of a character that you are going to be playing for who knows how many years.

MG: How does it feel to get some of the great one liners in the show? Are you behind them?
JH: I think it is a 60/40 split. 60% of them are probably written and 40% we improv. They allow us sometimes to try and put a tag some lines. When we are rehearsing the night before, I will come in a pitch the writers or director on a line. A lot of the scripts come a little empty of the fun light stuff. The network and studio are so married to procedures. They will allow us to sprinkle that stuff in that as actors. Sometimes it may be already there, some of the writers have a great handle on those lines.

MG: You and Seamus Dever must be good friends, you guys have really good chemistry on the show?
JH: Yeah we get a long. Basically the dynamics between Ryan and Esposito are pretty much the same as Seamus and I have. A lot of the time, the writers just listen to us on set. Basically, they record it some how, transcribe it, put our character names above it and put it in the script. The funny thing about Seamus and I, at the beginning, he didn’t do the originally pilot. He was added after it got picked up. They wanted to do a chemistry test between my character and my new partner, but I wasn’t available. But I think it works between with us on the show better then if I would have one of my good friends come on the show.

MG: Any news you can give us coming up in season 3?
JH: We are revisiting Becket’s mothers murder. There is an awesome episode that will reveal some big stuff. One of my favorite writers on the show is Andy Marlowe. He writes some awesome episodes, they are usually pretty action packed. I think the episode we shot with him is the most action-packed episode we have ever shot. There is some hostage taking of some of the main characters of the show, it is pretty awesome. The episode will be coming probably in the mid-end of January. There is also a great episode that reveals who my love interest is. Seamus’ character has a really cool love life change. I do not want to give away too many spoilers. Hands down from the beginning of the series, we have some of the best episodes we have ever shot coming up.

MG: It is rare that we have a show now it is third season that is getting better with each episode.
JH: I think the way that Andrew has developed the characters. He has not rushed into anything. A lot of show rush in and put a lot in in the beginning. Andrew is very patient with the storyline. I think that is what holds the audience and makes the show interesting. So when something new does drop you do not expect it. Andrew is a very calculated type of producer/writer. I actually see the show getting better. The latest scripts are so good. I have been very impressed with our writers this season.

MG: How did you get involved with playing Alberto in “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2”?
JH: I am one of the voices and I play a cop. I play a copy who happens to be a German shepherd [laughs]. So, I am somewhat type-cast as a cop. I get to play Andy Garcia’s characters police dog. It was a lot of fun. I have never played a dog before. I have never done a voice for a live action film. I would love to do more.

MG: For having a military background, did that make it easier for you when you co-starred as United States Marine Corps in “Generation Kill”
JH: It was much easier. Two of the guys that ran the boot camp, they would lean on me for help when they needed it. They turned these actors, in two weeks, into legit soldiers. I would have actually gone into combat with some of those actors. They really dedicated themselves to their roles. We were in Africa shooting. It was like we were deployed anyway. It was great that I had that military background. It was generally one of the greatest experiences of my life. Sometimes it is a close toss-up between “Castle” and “Generation Kill”.

MG: Tell us about your show feature “Lone”, which you not only direct but produce and sings the music?
JH: I kind of did that short because I am working with directors on some projects and they weren’t that good. I have always wanted to direct but I thought that I wasn’t ready or good enough. But working with some of these people, I was thinking that I could do it. I wanted to take chance and see if I was any good at it and it ended up being ok. So I think I am going to continue to pursue that. I am actually finishing it up and do the final mix and hopefully will screen it for everyone at “Castle”. Maybe if I could lock down directing a few episodes of the show next season would be cool.

MG: Any plans for more directing, or any other projects in the works?
JH: Yeah I would like to continue directing. I am also working on solo project album. I have a couple of artists working with me. I might release the album in singles around January and February. Then I might release the album in March or April. Yeah, I might also be doing some music for “Castle” also. I am trying to intertwine everything together.

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