Ignacio Diaz-Silverio and Christina Vidal (‘Primo’): ‘They treated me like I deserved to be there’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
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Ignacio Diaz-Silverio wasn’t necessarily expecting that his first significant job as actor would find him starring in a comedy series, a daunting task for an unknown who is barely old enough to drink. But that’s the prospect that the Tampa, Florida-born Diaz-Silverio found himself in after landing the job to front “Primo,” an eight-episode sitcom on Amazon Freevee that casts him as Rafa Gonzales, a 16-year-old high school junior who carries the hopes and dreams of his extended Latinx family in San Antonio, Texas – and the son of his tough-but-tender mother Drea (played by Christina Vidal). “I didn’t feel as much pressure as I’d expected,” Diaz-Silverio admits. “The producers did an incredible job of creating a warm, welcoming and joyful environment, so any pressure I felt was sort of self-generated. They never made me feel like I had to prove myself or like I was green and inexperienced. They treated me like I deserved to be there.” See the exclusive video interview above.
“Primo” – equal parts boisterous and heartwarming – tells the semi-autobiographical story of Shea Serrano, a New York Times bestselling author whose childhood stories from growing up in San Antonio are the foundation for the comedy that features a predominantly Latino cast. Rafa is essentially Serrano, who serves as writer-showrunner for the series. Mike Schur (“The Good Place,” “The Office,” “Parks & Recreation”) is also among the executive producers of the comedy. It focuses primarily on Rafa’s college aspirations and societal expectations whole being cheered on by his mom and five quirky, well-meaning uncles who share their unsolicited advice and spend so much time at the family home that it’s surprising to find out they don’t live there fulltime.
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Diaz-Silverio was thankful that Serrano didn’t inundate him with advice but instead offered persistent positive reinforcement “that wasn’t in any way even remotely controlling. Morgan Sackett, one of our executive producers, gave me some good advice early on. He said, ‘It’s hard to make a comedy when you’re stressed.’ I think he was preemptively trying to reduce the tension I was feeling. He sort of let me know, ‘You’re supposed to have fun. If you’re having a good time, then you’re doing your job. The show will be better served if you just dive into the joy of it.’ So that’s what I did, and it worked out.”
For her part, Vidal plays her role of mother bear so convincingly that it’s surprising to learn that she wasn’t the primary source of estrogen in her household growing up. “Not at all,” she says. “I’m the baby of four (siblings) and I have two sisters, so (in terms of men) it was really just my dad and my brothers in our house. The experience I have with women in my family is their being strong and resourceful, and a little scary, so I was able to embody that part of our storyline kind of comfortably because I know it…I can also relate to the way Drea feels about Rafa and about being a mom. I have two girls, and the love (you have) for your children is unmatched.”
While “Primo” tells the story of an extended Latinx family, it’s unique in that the family’s ethnicity isn’t at the center of the storytelling. It’s far more incidental than central. As Diaz-Silverio agrees, “What’s great about our show is, it’s not a show about being Hispanic. It’s just a show about an American family in Texas.” He acknowledges that he grew up in a world that’s much more inclusive of Latin performers (his parents were born in Spain) than previous generations, noting that “people like John Leguizamo have (fought) in those trenches for decades.”
Vidal, whose parents are Puerto Rican, confirms that she suffered few struggles in the business due to her ethnicity. “I can’t say I didn’t get roles or opportunities because I’m Latinx,” she says. “I will say that it’s really encouraging to see so many Latinx performers doing all kinds of things and playing so many characters. I love that my kids get to see that coming up. My daughter will frequently say to me, ‘Hey Mom, look, that girls has hair like mine.’ I really love hearing that.”
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