Amaury Nolasco, best known to TV viewers as the kind-hearted Sucre on Prison Break, took a brief moment to chat with Hollywood.com about his upcoming feature comedy The Benchwarmers, starring David Spade, Rob Schneider and Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder. Nolasco had a blast learning the finer points of comedy from some of the best in the business.
Hollywood.com: Going from Prison Break to Benchwarmers, it looks like you are still hanging with the guys.
Amaury Nolasco: Yeah. [Laughs] I wanted to do something lighter. After I booked the pilot, Prison Break, and I knew it was going to be an intense drama show about prison, I wanted to do a comedy. Of course, I also wanted to work with Adam Sandler, who produced the movie. I mean, he’s got a Midas touch. Anything he touches turns to gold. And a cast of all Saturday Night Live members! Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows–what better way to learn. This was school for me. I’m not a comedian and I’m not planning on being a comedian, but comedy is just falling into my lap. I’ve done two movies back to back comedy wise [Benchwarmers, Mr. 3000] and I’m having a great time. Benchwarmers is hilarious. Of course, it’s not an Oscar contender but it’s fun to take the family. It’s about baseball, America’s pastime.
HW: Do you play baseball?
AN: I grew up playing it, it’s a passion of mine. I’m a Yankee freak! One of my dream roles is to play Roberto Clemente, an amazing baseball player from Puerto Rico, who died in a very tragic plane crash in 1972. I’m Puerto Rican: you have to dance salsa and play baseball. Those two requirements. Otherwise, they’ll kick you off the island.
HW: So I take you weren’t a benchwarmer then?
AN: No, not really. I’m an athlete and I wanted to play every sport. But there was a sport I wasn’t too good at and was a benchwarmer: volleyball. But overall, I really do love sports. And I wasn’t a bully either.
HW: I hear there is a funny story on how you got the part of Carlos in the movie.
AN: [Laughs] There is a scene in which [Carlos] is suppose to be 12 years old. So, I wrote a birth certificate with my left hand, me being right handed. And I wrote, “I am 12.” I stamped my picture on it and that’s how I went into the audition. I said, “I am 12” and the loved it. They put it into the movie. He is suppose to be 12 years old and goes in to help the group of kids out, but of course he’s really a 30 year old man with a goatee and drinks like a fish.
HW: Were there antics on the set? Between the three leads–Spade, Schneider and Heder–they all seem like very different comic personalities.
AN: Absolutely! You see Jon and you see Napoleon Dynamite and you’re like whoa! It’s so funny cause David kept bugging him, going around saying, [doing Napoleon accent] “Gee, uh, GOSH! Stupid!” It was so hard to keep a straight face with these guys. I could see how fun it must have been to do comedy with them on a daily basis. Like working on SNL. Because you’re laughing and who doesn’t love to laugh? It’s the best thing. Rob Schneider is phenomenal, gave me some great pointers. Totally took me by the hand. I mean, I’ve been basically thrown in with major league comedy guys. And of course, Adam, who came on the set and gave me even more hints. Amazing.
HW: Is your family excited about your chosen profession?
AN: Well, my mom, my dad, my brother are all doctors. I was suppose to be one too. At the beginning, it was hard for them. OK, we lost him, black sheep. Who told him he could act? And now they’re my No. 1 fans. It’s funny, my first premiere was 2 Fast 2 Furious and I had to put a leash on my mom. Otherwise, she was all over the place. “Oh, there’s Vince Vaughn! There’s Matthew McConaughey!” I was like “Mom, calm down!”
HW: I read you also trained in Shakespearean theater. Any role you’re dying to play?
AN: Mercutio [from Romeo and Juliet]. I took these classes to help with my English. They needed me to lose the accent as much as I could. It was a great experience.
HW: And lastly, more on Prison Break, it’s so good to have it back after that lengthy hiatus. What’s the atmosphere like on the set with those guys? AN: Intense, of course, but we do crack jokes all the time. Imagine all of us, nine guys, no women, in a prison, shooting in freezing Chicago. Maybe that’s a girl’s heaven, but not for us.
HW: I admit it, it has got to be one of the hunkier shows on TV. That and Lost.
AN: [Laughs] Thank you so much! We are having a blast. I mean, we just finished the first season in Chicago, hopefully there will be a second. Looks like it. But I’m glad to finally have a break. Be here in Miami, then L.A. and then to Puerto Rico. I am NOT a cold weather guy. Anything below 70 degrees is cold to me.
HW: Any juicy tidbits to look forward to?
AN: There’s a great episode coming up that goes into flashbacks on how we all got into prison. It’s beautiful.
The Benchwarmers opens in theaters April 7.
