SYNOPSIS
Imagine getting the chance to have a candid conversation with your favorite performer who has made a career for themselves that allows them to do good work, pay the bills and still keep that fire in their belly. It’s happening: join us on Wednesday, May 3rd for “Colorful Work,” where actor/writer/director/producer Adrian Martinez leads a cohort of artists of color as they share proven insights, expert advice, and words to work by on how to create a career and keep shining in show business. This program is made possible through the generous support of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation along with SAG-AFTRA’s Ethnic Employment Opportunities and NextGen Committees.
PANELISTS
Amir Arison | The Blacklist, Girls
Raul Castillo| Looking, Special Correspondents
Priscilla Lopez | A Chorus Line, Maid in Manhattan
Dascha Polanco | Orange is the New Black, Joy
Yul Vázquez | Divorce, Captain Phillips
Moderated by Adrian Martinez
PANELIST BIOS
Amir Arison - Actor
Widely known for his extensive film and television work, Amir is currently a SERIES REGULAR as fan favorite 'Aram Mojtabai' on the Sony/NBC hit series THE BLACKLIST, opposite James Spader, heading into its 5th season. Notable RECURRING ROLES in television include HBO’s hit show GIRLS, the Emmy Award-winning HOMELAND, ZERO HOUR, LAW & ORDER: SVU, DALLAS, and STATE OF GEORGIA. Notable GUEST STAR appearances include
FX's AMERICAN HORROR STORY, ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND, MAJOR CRIMES, THE MENTALIST, NCIS, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and FRINGE amongst others, as well as Rodrigo Garcia's hit web series BLUE with Julia Stiles. Amir was also a SERIES REGULAR on Bryan Singer's digital series H+ For Warner Brothers.
Recent film credits include JANE WANTS A BOYFRIEND, BEFORE THE SUN EXPLODES, BIG WORDS, MERRY FRIGGIN’ CHRISTMAS with Robin Williams, TODAY’S SPECIAL, Nia Vardalos' I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY, Tom McCarthy's THE VISITOR, and Amy Heckerling's VAMPS.
Upcoming, Amir will be starring in the indie feature, 20 WEEKS, which will have its World Premier at the LA Film Festival in June, as well as the Waterwell production of Hamlet alongside Arian Moayed and Sherie Rene Scott.
NY Theater highlights, Off-Broadway: THE MUSCLES IN OUR TOES (Labyrinth), AFTERMATH (NYTW, Drama League Nominee), Christopher Durang's WHY TORTURE IS WRONG (The Public Theatre), Charles Mee's QUEENS BOULEVARD (Signature), A VERY COMMON PROCEDURE (MCC), MODERN ORTHODOX, OMNIUM GATHERUM (Pulitzer Finalist), CANDY & DOROTHY, A FIRST CLASS MAN, and countless workshops. International theatrical highlights: LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST (RSC's Complete Works Festival). Regional credits include The Shakespeare Theatre, The Huntington, Yale Repertory, Paper Mill, Long Wharf, The Lyric, Shakespeare Theatre of St. Louis, Olney Theatre Center, and The Dorset Theatre Festival.
Additionally, Amir has directed theater projects in New York and Los Angeles for IAMA Theater Company, Circle X and Mind the Gap, amongst others. Amir produced and directed the award winning short film, FORTRESS.
Raul Castillo - Actor
An actor at home in film, television, and theater, Raúl Castillo is most recognized for his portrayal of the charming Richie on the acclaimed HBO series Looking, which in 2016 concluded with the telefilm Looking: The Movie, co-written and directed by Andrew Haigh. Set in San Francisco, Looking highlighted the unfiltered experiences of close friends searching for happiness and intimacy in an age of unparalleled choice. For his work on the show, Castillo earned a Best Comedic Actor award from the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and received the Lupe Award from the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Raúl was recently included in Variety’s coveted “10 Latinos to Watch” list.
He has recently completed production on three independent films. These are, respectively, Sweets, directed by R.E Rodgers; Permission, with Rebecca Hall for director Brian Crano; and iCreep, with Dascha Polanco for director Adrian Martinez. In April 2016, he was seen starring opposite America Ferrera in the Netflix feature film Special Correspondents, a comedy written and directed by Ricky Gervais. Also for Netflix, Castillo has appeared in Joe Swanberg’s anthology drama series Easy and will star in Veena Sud’s series Seven Seconds and Robia Rashid’s dark comedy series Atypical with Jennifer Jason Leigh. Currently, he is in production on the feature adaptation of the Justin Torres novel We the Animals, directed by Jeremiah Zagar; and is filming a recurring role on The CW’s Riverdale, the Archie comics reimagining debuting on the network in January 2017.
Castillo made his feature film debut in Amexicano, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2007; Variety praised his performance in it as “pitch-perfect.” He earned an honorable mention at AFI Fest in 2012 for his work in the Student Academy Award-winning short film Narcocorrido. Additional film credits include the SXSW favorite Cold Weather, Don’t Let Me Drown, My Best Day, The Girl, and Bless Me, Ultima. His television guest appearances include Nurse Jackie, Blue Bloods, Law and Order, and Gotham as DC’s comic villain Eduardo Flamingo.
Also a playwright, Castillo is a proud member of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City. He authored the plays Between You, Me and the Lampshade, which premiered in April 2015 with Chicago's Teatro Vista; and Knives and Other Sharp Objects, which premiered in 2009 at the Public Theater. His theater acting credits include Death and the Maiden, alongside Sandra Oh (at the Victory Gardens Theater), Adoration of the Old Woman (Intar), Fish Men (Goodman Theater/Teatro Vista), A Lifetime Burning (Primary Stages), and School of the Americas (LAByrinth/Public Theater).
Born and raised in Texas, Castillo studied theater at Boston University's School of Fine Arts. He currently resides in New York City.
Dascha Polanco - Actor
Dascha Polanco is recognized for her role as “Dayanara Diaz” on the hit Netflix original series, “Orange is the New Black” (OITNB). The three-time SAG Award winning and Golden Globe nominated show is currently in production for its fifth season, scheduled to release in June of 2017.
Recently, the SAG Award winning actress co-starred in the 20th Century Fox film, “JOY”, directed by David O. Russell opposite Jennifer Lawrence as her best friend in the film. In the Golden Globe nominated film, Polanco played “Jackie,” Joy’s best friend and was one of the only Latinas to work alongside the award-winning director/actors of “Silver Linings Playbook.” In addition, Polanco starred in “The Perfect Match” (2016) for director Bille Woodru and producer Queen Latifah. Polanco also landed her first lead film role in Adrian Martinez’s indie dark comedy “iCreep,” scheduled to release in 2018. Polanco has also starred in Tom McCarthy’s “The Cobbler” with Adam Sandler (2015) and made her big screen debut opposite Vanessa Hudgens and Rosario Dawson in the dramatic independent flick, “GIMME SHELTER.”
In addition to numerous film and TV roles, Polanco has been featured as the face of Old Navy’s national Spanish commercial campaign. Last year, she became part of the NFL's 2015/2016 Women’s Apparel campaign, representing the New York Giants and the Latino community.
Her achievements have been recognized by numerous awards, including the ALMA Awards, HOLA Awards, and The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (Lupe Award). Huffington Post recognized her as one of the Latinas to be "Breaking The Mold,” and The Hollywood Reporter named her one of the 40 Young Latino Powerhouses in Hollywood. Recently, it was announced that Dascha Polanco is the film and television ambassador for her country of the Dominican Republic. A role that the President of the country assigned to her.
Yul Vazquez - Actor
Yul Vázquez can be seen in a number of upcoming projects, including “Last Flag Flying” directed by Richard Linklater opposite Bryan Cranston and Steve Carrell; “American Express” directed by Nash Edgerton and opposite Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, and Amanda Seyfried; and “The Super” opposite Val Kilmer. He also will star as ‘Rev. Emilio Sheehan’ in the recently picked-up NBC series MIDNIGHT, TEXAS, based on the book by TRUE BLOOD creator Charlaine Harris.
Vázquez won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for the Steven Soderbergh directed film TRAFFIC. Seamlessly moving between film, television, and stage, Vazquez received a 2011 Tony Award nomination, a Theatre World Award, and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for his portrayal of 'Cousin Julio' in the Broadway production of “The Motherf**cker With The Hat.”
Other recent feature films include: “Captain Philips” directed by Paul Greengrass opposite Tom Hanks; “The Infiltrator” directed by Brad Furman opposite Bryan Cranston and Diane Kruger, “Kill the Messenger” directed by Michael Cuesta opposite Jeremy Renner; and Netflix’s “The True Memoirs of an International Assassin,” directed by Jeff Wadlow opposite Kevin James.
Over the years, Vázquez has had memorable roles on some of television’s most popular shows, from his recurring character ‘Bob’ (the “angry gay Puerto Rican”) on “Seinfeld” to 'Rueben the Cuban' on HBO’s “The Sopranos.” Vázquez starred on the Starz drama “Magic City” opposite Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Other recent TV credits include Netflix’s hit show “Bloodline,” the HBO series “Divorce,” FX’s “Louie,” CBS’ “The Good Wife,” and HBO’s “Treme.”
Vázquez has an extensive film resume, working with directors such as Ridley Scott, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Greengrass, John Sayles, and Steven Spielberg. His credits include “The Phenom” opposite Paul Giamatti and Ethan Hawke, “The Cobbler” directed by Tom McCarthy opposite Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, and Steve Buscemi; “Glass Chin” directed by Noah Buschel opposite Billy Crudup; “Runner, Runner” directed by Brad Furman opposite Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake; “The A-Team” opposite Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson; John Sayles’ “Amigo” opposite Chris Cooper; “Salvation Boulevard” opposite Jennifer Connolly, Pierce Brosnan, Marisa Tomei and Greg Kinnear; “Little Fockers” with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller; Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster” alongside Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington (a 2008 SAG nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture); Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” opposite Tom Cruise; “Bad Boys II” opposite Martin Lawrence and Will Smith; “Runaway Bride” opposite Julia Roberts; “Nick of Time” opposite Johnny Depp, and “Che” directed by Steven Spielberg opposite Benicio Del Toro.
Vázquez is a founding member of the LAByrinth Theatre Company. Other theater credits include “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” (The Public Theater) opposite Sam Rockwell and directed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman; “The Stendhal Syndrome,” (Primary Stages) with Isabella Rossellini and Richard Thomas; and “The Floating Island Plays,” (Mark Taper Forum).
Adrian Martinez- Moderator
Adrian Martinez is an actor, writer/ director, and producer, with over one hundred film and TV credits, and is presently a series regular on NBC’s THE BLACKLIST: REDEMPTION.
Some in casting have called Adrian, "the sidekick to the stars," as evidenced by his recent work-- Will Smith's sidekick in Warner Bros'"Focus," Ben Stiller's sidekick in Stiller's Fox remake of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," Will Ferrell's sidekick in Lionsgate's "Casa de mi Padre," and Zach Galifianakis' sidekick in Focus features' "It's Kind of a Funny Story".Adrian’s critically acclaimed work led to straight offers to several films premiering in June, 2017 including, “Once upon a time in Venice,” opposite Bruce Willis and “White girl,” now streaming on Netflix.
Adrian has been seen in a wide range of character portrayals including "Mail Order Wife," a mockumentary, where his lead portrayal was so convincing, audiences thought the film was a documentary, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” as ‘the hugging man’, opposite Sandra Bullock,"The Interpreter," opposite Nicole Kidman, opposite Jimmy Fallon in "Taxi,"and "Mona," which he also co-produced. "Mona" aired on PBS' Indie night and won best picture at the Santa Barbara film fest.
Mr. Martinez's TV work includes over sixty guest spots, including recurring on “Inside Amy Schumer,” “Gotham,” “Louie,” recurring in CBS' "A Gifted Man," opposite Patrick Wilson, HBO's "Flight of the Conchords, "Three Strikes," produced by Jon Stewart, and "Deadbeat" produced by Brad Pitt. Theater audiences know Mr. Martinez from his daring off-Broadway performances in Jose Rivera's "Massacre," for Rattlestick theater, "Our Lady of 121st Street," at the Union Square theater, and "The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot," at the Public theater, both directed by Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, and written by Pulitzer Prize winner, Stephen Adly Guirgis for the LAByrinth theater company, of which Adrian is a member. Adrian has also done dozens of national/ regional commercials, most notably, NFL star quarterback Aaron Rodgers obsessed cheesehead fan for State farm.
Adrian is presently in post production for his full length feature film,“iCreep,” which he wrote, produced, directed, and stars in opposite Dascha
Polanco (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK)
