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Interviews with Latinos shaping entertainment

Aubrey Plaza on couch during virtual interview, dark floral top
Aubrey Plaza in a virtual interview, wearing a dark floral top and sitting on a pink couch.
Jack Rico
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2025/12/17 at 2:07pm

Latinos In HollywoodMovie InterviewsMovies

Aubrey Plaza Ethnicity: Half Puerto Rican, Half Irish, Fully Latina

12.17.2025 | By |

Short Answer: Aubrey Plaza’s ethnicity is half Puerto Rican, half Irish. Her father, David Plaza, is Puerto Rican — both his parents came from the island. Her mother is Irish-American. Plaza has said she “leads with her Puerto Rican side.”

Aubrey Plaza is Latina. Her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is of Irish and English ancestry, which is why questions about Plaza’s ethnicity often miss the full picture: she is both Puerto Rican and Irish, and her public identity sits inside that mix.

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Jess Val Ortiz smiling in black and white headshot portrait
Jess Val Ortiz in a black and white photo, smiling at the camera
Jack Rico
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2025/11/09 at 8:00am

BroadwayInterviews

For Jess Val Ortiz, Fame Came Online. The Dream Is Still Broadway.

11.9.2025 | By |

Jess Val Ortiz has 10.8 million followers on TikTok, with millions more on Instagram and YouTube. She is Penn State-trained in musical theater, makes a living creating viral comedy sketches about many things including dating, family chaos, and the theater. She has built an independent career generations of performers before her could only dream of. She does not answer to gatekeepers nor need their approval. And yet, the thing she dreams of most? To be on Broadway, the oldest dream in show business. Read More

Director Carlos López Estrada speaking in video interview about Raya and the Last Dragon
Carlos López Estrada discusses directing Disney’s ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ in a virtual interview.
Jack Rico
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2021/03/04 at 11:17pm

InterviewsLatinos In HollywoodMovie Interviews

Director Carlos Lopéz Estrada On ‘Raya And The Last Dragon,’ Working With Disney, And His Thoughts On DC’s Latino ‘Blue Beetle’

03.4.2021 | By |

Disney’s ‘Raya and the Last Dragon‘ will be the first major motion-picture to be released after New York City theaters finally re-open at only 25% capacity this weekend. Though it won’t be an accurate assessment of the potential of all NYC and LA theaters fully re-opening, it will give Hollywood executives a sense for the public’s appetite to see new releases on the big screen, rather than streaming.  If ‘Raya’ overdelivers, then we can assume we’re going to have a great summer. But if it underperforms… then we can surmise that people still aren’t comfortable being closed in a room with strangers for two straight hours. At the center of all this attention is Carlos Lopéz Estrada, co-director of the film, who sat with us to discuss a wide array of topics including what he learned as a director and storyteller at Disney, his thoughts on being Latino and directing an Asian film, and why he believes we’re entering a new era of Latino superheroes. Read More

Spike Lee in orange hat and glasses smiling during interview
Spike Lee on his career and ‘Da 5 Bloods’ impact
Jack Rico
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2021/02/28 at 1:01pm

Interviews

Spike Lee On ‘Black Superman,’ ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ And NYC Coming Back

02.28.2021 | By |

Our podcast Brown & Black had a chance to talk to icon Spike Lee about his latest film Da 5 Bloods as he makes the rounds with press and film organizations before the award shows – the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, and the Academy Awards. We also asked him his opinion on a few other topics as well including his thoughts of writing a Black Superman reboot for Warner Bros. Full video interview coming soon. Read on. Read More

Genesis Rodriguez wrapped in blanket inside car looking at man
Genesis Rodriguez in a tense scene from ‘Centigrade,’ inside a vehicle.
SBC Staff
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2020/07/24 at 6:11pm

Movie InterviewsMovies

Genesis Rodriguez’s ‘Centigrade’ Releases First Trailer

07.24.2020 | By |

Since movie theaters are closed until mid to late August, many moviegoers will continue to consume movies at home or drive-in theaters. One of the several films opening in August is the claustrophobic film Centigrade, starring Venezuelan-American actress Genesis Rodriguez and Vincent Piazza who played Tommy DeVito in the film adaptation of Clint Eastwood’s ‘Jersey Boys’ and is directed by Brendan Walsh, no relation to Brandon Walsh. Read More

Cast of Den of Thieves including 50 Cent, Gerard Butler, and O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Cast of ‘Den of Thieves’ including 50 Cent, Gerard Butler, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. at event.
Andrea Huswan
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2018/01/22 at 2:42pm

InterviewsMovie InterviewsMovies

Q&A With Cast Of Den Of Thieves (Gerard Butler, 50 Cent, O’Shea Jackson Jr.)

01.22.2018 | By |

Den of Thieves, the action-packed heist thriller, is one of the most anticipated releases of the year. We had the exclusive opportunity to join a small group of journalists in a roundtable discussion with the film’s stars: Gerard Butler, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Shea Jackson Jr., and Pablo Schreiber. What followed was a candid and entertaining dive into the making of the film, complete with behind-the-scenes stories and unexpected twists. Read More

Miguel Arteta smiling with glasses and headphones on a film set
Director Miguel Arteta on set of Beatriz At Dinner, 2017
Jack Rico
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2017/07/01 at 2:18pm

InterviewsLatinos In HollywoodMovie Interviews

Miguel Arteta Explains Ambiguous Ending Of ‘Beatriz At Dinner’

07.1.2017 | By |

The ending of Beatriz at Dinner leaves viewers with a deliberately ambiguous final image. Director Miguel Arteta explained to ShowBizCafe how he reads that ending and why Salma Hayek’s Beatriz remains the emotional center of the film.

This is our exclusive Q&A with Puerto Rican director Miguel Arteta discussing the ending of Beatriz at Dinner. Our conversation spanned some memorable answers about his Puerto Rican heritage and the Latino experience in America; how he believes without a doubt The Matrix is the first multicultural blockbuster film created in Hollywood, and, yes, that controversial movie ending. Read More

Full cast of Gotham TV show posed in dark city rooftop setting
Cast of Fox’s Gotham stand together on a foggy rooftop at night.
Andrea Huswan
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2017/03/31 at 7:46am

InterviewsTVTV Interviews

Gotham’s Ben McKenzie Shares Thoughts On DC’s Upcoming ‘Justice League’ Movie

03.31.2017 | By |

Superhero television shows are all the craze right now. Take for example all four Netflix/Marvel shows, ABC’s Agents of SHIELD, The CW’s Supergirl and The Flash, NBC’s Powerless, FX’s Legion, and Fox’s upcoming X-Men series. But so far, Fox’s other superhero show, Gotham, set in the Batman universe and halfway through season 3, is the show that fans are truly going crazy for. ShowBizCafe was invited to a special private screening of the spring season premiere with the cast at the Whitby Hotel in New York City. It was followed by a Q&A with members of the ensemble and a pre and post-cocktail reception. We were lucky enough to sit down not just with star Ben McKenzie who plays the young Commissioner, but with other well-known actors in the series as well. Our Q&A is below. Read More

Brian Tyree Henry in black suit with red pocket square against dark background
Jack Rico
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2016/10/31 at 9:52am

InterviewsPodcast

Brian Tyree Henry On The ‘N’ Word, Black/Latino Culture And ‘Paper Boi’

10.31.2016 | By |

On the tenth episode of my Highly Relevant podcast, I had a chance to chat with Brian Tyree Henry, a.k.a. Paper Boi on FX’s Atlanta. We spoke mainly about diversity in the arts, but we did get to the nitty gritty on the prolific usage as of late of the word ‘nigga” in television and film (music has been like that from the beginning). Aren’t we trying to eliminate the word from our vocabulary? We also conversed on his pal Donald Glover’s casting in the new Star Wars movie, his first encounter with him, his character Paper Boi, the show’s appeal, his view on Latino culture, Broadway’s lack of minority storytelling, and why Gina Rodriguez is so hot to him. Read on or listen to the interview! Read More

Jack Rico
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2016/07/14 at 2:23pm

InterviewsLatinos In Hollywood

Only 2 Latinos Were Nominated For A 2016 Emmy… Anthony Mendez Was 1 Of Them

07.14.2016 | By |

He’s 2 for 2 now. Dominican voiceover talent Anthony Mendez has held the fort down once again for the Jane the Virgin camp (even powerhouse Gina Rodriguez hasn’t been able to get an Emmy nod) garnering a second Emmy nomination and only one of two Latinos nominated this year. How cool and large is that? (btw, how is it Gael Garcia Bernal, Oscar Isaac weren’t nominated?) Last year I had the pleasure of meeting up with Mendez for an NBCLatino story I was doing, at his home in New Jersey. We sat down to discuss the reaction of his first Emmy, the struggle and appreciation behind it and a look at his home-studio and how much his family is a part of his success. Mendez drops it from the heart, dude almost made me cry. Have a #TBT look below…

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