Interview by Rafy Mediavilla w/ Allen Maldonado (Big Mac) on Saban Film’s “American Carnage”. Where we spoke about the social commentary, & the comedic relief of his character. Out This Friday! #AmericanCarnageMovie
After a governor issues an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants, the newly detained youth are offered an opportunity to have their charges dropped by volunteering to provide care to the elderly. Once inside the eldercare facility, the volunteers discover the governor and the facility’s supervisor have cooked up a horrifyingly depraved conspiracy that endangers the young and the old in this twisted thriller-comedy.
Criticólogos:
When you read the script, were surprised that with the ending or how they ended for your character arc Big Mac?
Allen Maldonado:
Even though it’s sometimes fun to have those kind of death scenes in movies, but it definitely cool to kind of be a hero at the end of the day and survive and help us succeed in this particular space.
Criticólogos:
What from the script was something we saw you follow in the script or what was you just basically trying to put something of you in it?
Allen Maldonado:
The improv in there a lot. A lot of it is a script, but often it’s a combination of the two where when it comes to comedy, I may say something twice and I have to say something different the third time in order to keep that keep it fresh. It’s a combination of the two. When you see Big Mac on screen is some of the some of this dialogue, some of it’s improv, but all from the core of the script.
Criticólogos:
How important was to you, bring the comedic relief side of the story but also to maintain that seriousness behind the story?
Allen Maldonado:
Yeah, it’s it was a line that I had to definitely dance on. We didn’t want it to be too big and too over the top and take out the, you know, the realism of what are the severity of what we’re talking about as well. So it was definitely a balance finding those moments in not doing too much. So, you know, kudos to Diego, our director, for making sure that we stayed in that line.
Criticólogos:
What specific scenes comes to mind that none of you could keep a straight face because how much fun you guys where having?
Allen Maldonado:
It’s a bunch of it, but I guess I’ll say the one for me that I was at the I guess the losing end of the stick is usually I’m the one cracking the jokes. I fell asleep in the middle of a stunt. Now, I do have to mention that I was training for a marathon while filming. So we would film 14 hour days and I would go run five miles afterwards, no matter what time it was, whether it was 2:00 in the morning or 2:00, going to have to know what I was. I was running it so I would find I would in between takes. I took as many naps as I could. This particular stunt in the movie, I ended up on the floor and I woke up with the entire crew taking the picture around me sleep.
Criticólogos:
You have done so much with your career already, with “Heels” and other ventures. How do you balance everything? TV, movie and understanding. Obviously you said balancing realism with comedy, understanding your role. How do you tell yourself just grounded?
Allen Maldonado:
To know that acting is what I do and not who I am. Now, who I am is an artist. I’m an artist through and through. So I’m actually doing the the actions are the work is like asking a fish why it swims. Like, is this a part of my nature? I just was built for this.
To be able to do all the things. Now, what I’m doing is, is really just breathing to me. If I if I wasn’t doing all the things that I was I’m doing, I probably would suffocate. Like, I wouldn’t know how to even. Function. So it’s a part maybe it’s ADHD. I don’t know. I like to I like to be busy. I like to have a lot of things going at once. It makes me actually feel like.
Criticólogos:
Understanding the story and the way it goes and with the characters, you could switch roles with another cast mate. Which one would you choose and why?
Allen Maldonado:
I mean, that’s hard because like Big Mac is usually like I’m in love with my character and how he how he comes out on this one man. I don’t know if I want to be able to switch to be totally honest. I will stay true to Big Mac.
Criticólogos:
What can people expect from the movie as a whole?
Allen Maldonado:
Put a put a face, put a personality. He put a memorable moment in your head associated with the word immigrants. I’ve been saying it all day. I think that when you when you hear immigrant, you often speak of it. The tone is also often delivered that it’s a thing and not a human being, not a person with feelings and emotions. And this particular film, you get a group of immigrants that you can tie and have an emotional connection with, that you now have a face. The goal when you hear and you see all these issues with immigration, it is a little closer. So in doing in this entertaining way we it’s is trying to open up space in people’s hearts who don’t really see immigration as a problem or an issue or may not even know what it is.
But if now see if you associate a human being with it makes it a little tougher on individuals that don’t want to see. And I think that’s what stories like this we help the cause in a different way and hopefully spark the seed of the individuals and the people in the things that will ultimately result in a better way we handle immigration.
See the interview below:
Trailer:
