We caught up with the stars of The Ministers for a preview of the movie and an inside scoop on the folks who made it happen. From writer, director, producer, and all around talented Latino, Franc Reyes comes a new story of violence, corruption, romance, and brotherly love. The man behind Empire and Illegal Tender is bringing us on an all new ride, with leading man John Leguizamo, and a cast of some of Hollywood's finest.
Este tiene que ser one of the actor's most challenging roles to date, as he takes on two characters, playing identical twin brothers Dante and Perfecto. The twins find themselves sin familia, when they lose both their parents in a fire, and later on, their older brother as well. Raised in a family of devoted ministers, Perfecto seeks to avenge the deaths of his family members and the scars on his own face by killing those responsible. Dante, the devoted brother who was not disfigured in the fire, is his partner in crime, though he tries to lead a more "normal" life... when they're in between murders, that is. Leguizamo does an amazing job in playing both these characters, como ya lo esperabamos!
Florencia Lozano is compelling as the female lead, a detective searching for her father's killers who handed her a religious pamphlet at the scene of the crime. Luis Antonio Ramos is charming, intelligent, and cold as the neighborhood gangster; he'll easily be a fan favorite. Y no podemos olvidar one of the members of what Leguizamo and Reyes call "the holy trinity of New York actors," el señor Harvey Keitel (the other two would be Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro). Keitel plays a detective who was partners with Lozano's father, and is now partner and protective father figure to her. There's something sketchy about his character, but we couldn't put our finger on it until the plot was fully developed... you'll be surprised! Other notable players are Wanda de Jesus, Manny Ramirez, and Diane Venora.
We have to give props to Reyes for always filling up his cast with great Latino actors, even though The Ministers is not a Latino story. The characters could have been played by anyone, but it's great to see nuestra gente helping each other succeed. The Ministers hits theaters tomorrow, so get yourselves to the box office and show some love for Latino filmmaking!
We asked John Leguizamo about his plans para el futuro, and here's what he had to say:
"After this, I'm working on my Twitter. I'm working on that hard. I'm gonna start adding pictures. That's my project for the fall. Then I start this movie, The Vanishing with Hayden Christiansen."
About going back to theater, he had this to say:
"I'm working on my one man show. Fugly, coming to a city near you,
across America on college campuses."
He's easily one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood, no créen? So all you college students, watch out for John! We can tell you from experience, John on stage is something you just have to see for yourselves.
Photo via Getty Images
