Interview by Rafy Mediavilla with boricua actress Jaina Lee Ortiz about her new movie “Righteous Thieves”, where we spoke about getting physical, playing a tech gal, & seeing Hollywood in a more driven diverse, & inclusive direction.
In this ultimate heist thrill-ride, Annabel (Lisa Vidal), a leader of a secret organization engaged in the recovery of priceless artwork, assembles a ragtag crew of art thieves to recover a Monet, Picasso, Degas, and Van Gogh stolen by Nazis during WWII and now in the possession of neo-Nazi billionaire oligarch Otto Huizen (Brian Cousins). As the planned heist approaches, loyalties are tested when the crew learns the real reason behind Annabel’s search for the long-lost paintings.
Criticólogos:
Let’s talk about Lucille because I have two words to describe her. She’s a badass, but she’s also a techie. And I also really enjoy the combination of those things. And I wanted to ask you, it seems that it’s you gravitate to roles that are physically demanding. Does this happen organically or are you actively looking for physically demanding roles?
Jaina Lee Ortiz:
No, actually am not. I love that though. I mean, guess naturally,I have that craving for it because of my experience dancing salsa for so many years. But um, I don’t know. I think that it’s something that finds me. Don’t go out looking for it. It’s something that finds me. But for this one in particular to work with Jolene Rodriguez, I said, Well, I don’t care what the story is about. I don’t care what my character is. I want the fact that you are out here creating opportunities for Latinos, for our community, that is so important.
You know what I mean? The fact that we can come together and continue to showcase our talents on screen, whether it’s on, you know, film or a series, Thank you. Like this is this is what it’s about. So, yes, the fact that I get that I got to do my own stunts was a huge plus because I’ve never done that, you know, especially on Station 19, where they’re like, okay, you got to do your own. You know, you have a stunt double. You can’t do this because it’s too dangerous. And I’m like, What? I’m just climbing up a ladder. How dangerous could that be? But this one was intense. And I and I and I, I’m so grateful for it. I had a blast. A blast doing it.
Criticólogos:
The other part of the question is the other thing. The other word that describes Lucille and she’s techie. I wonder how much of a techie are you personally?
Jaina Lee Ortiz:
I feel like I’m getting worse and worse with age. Like I don’t know, everything is just so much more complicated now, I guess because you know, technology advances and everything is just like super easy with the click of a button, everything just works. But to me, I feel like I don’t. I know how to turn the Wi-Fi on and restart my phone, and sometimes I’ll do the, you know, when we used to bang the TV on the side back in the day when that’s the kind of technology, you know, technological, see, I can’t even say it. That’s the kind of tech person I am.
Criticólogos:
I’m an advocate of women being lead roles in strong roles, but I’m also an advocate of diversity and inclusion or, or, or everyone that deserves to have their own space. What does that mean that we see Hollywood going forward in this direction?
Jaina Lee Ortiz:
That’s such a good question. I think about that all the time. It’s a huge responsibility for us. I understand completely that we want to. We want to stay away from stereotypes. We want to be a part of a story that doesn’t put us in a box and that doesn’t limit us. But also at the same time, we want to take those little opportunities because if we don’t take them, someone else is going to, someone else is going to take them. Like we’ve got to grab on to that and hold on to that. What as small as it is. So, it’s one of those things where it’s like.
How do we move forward? How do we collectively, you know, make a mark, and stand out? You know, because our umbrella is so big, we want to tell the story of we to want to tell Puerto Rican story, but Mexicans can relate to that. But there are differences in that. Like, there are so many intricacies between the Caribbean and South America. Like it’s it can’t just be one, right? It can just be one story. But the fact of the matter is, as long as we continue to exist in these stories and as long as we continue to represent wherever we’re from, then then we’re doing it like we’re showing up.
And we are really because we ten, ten, 20, 15, 20 years ago we didn’t I didn’t really see anyone that I could say, oh my gosh, I that person, that’s my story right there. I didn’t see that. So, the fact that we’re even doing it now in existing, we’re making huge strides, we’re making a huge change. And that to me, I’m all for that.
Criticólogos:
I felt everyone on the set had way too much fun filming this film. I think the chemistry with the other characters and directors, and everything translated so well to what we saw on screen.
Jaina Lee Ortiz:
And yeah, you could only imagine that off, you know, behind the scenes, behind the like when the cameras weren’t rolling, we were having a blast. We were having an even better, you know, like more exciting time. Obviously, when Latinos get together, you know, there’s two Puerto Ricans. Sasha’s Dominican. Carlos is from Nicaragua. Anthony Nada. Little is half Italian, half Puerto Rican, Joline. Rodriguez Mexican like it’s a party whereby and so, like, WEPA! ESO! We know how to celebrate and have a good time and make each other feel included and I just it was a blast. It was like a big family.
Criticólogos:
I wanted to know what well, maybe walk us through a specific scene that comes to mind that stands out, that you felt that in this specific scene that we were filming, we just were having way too much fun. Which one stands out for you in your head?
Jaina Lee Ortiz:
Um, I think for me, when I when Bruno tests Lucille and he’s like, well, I can, um, I’ll do it. I’ve got the muscles. And Lucille is like, no, I think I got it. I know a thing or two. Um, I studied jujitsu, and she puts him in his place and does, like, a little move on him. Lisa and Sasha were cheering me on to the point, and Carlos was like, Yeah, it’s the. I felt like I was like, okay, this is what it feels like to have people root for you and people in your community go, Yeah when you win, we win. And that was beautiful. I felt like we had a great time.
Criticólogos:
This to me is Robin Hood assembling his own Ocean’s eight crew to you know, to steal from the Nazis. Hey, tell people what to expect from the movie.
Jaina Lee Ortiz:
First of all, you need to watch it because the Latinos are in it. Um, and we have to show up and support one another, no matter, you know, no matter the style, the genre. I think that’s important. But also, you know, Latina Lisa Vidal, who’s this badass, fearless, intelligent Latina, you know, she’s our protagonist and she leads a group of people to right a wrong.
And we’re taking back artwork that was stolen by the Nazis and we’re doing a good deed. And, you know, she gathers a bunch of people that like like, like Carlos, Miranda, Sasha, Mercy, um, Kim, myself. And we show up and we are badasses. And that alone is, is entertaining enough.
See the interview below:
Trailer:
