Warning: some SPOILERS ahead for Laid!Tommy Martinez is a man who discovers he is falling in love with a woman who is going through a deadly change in her life. Willing. Having made his acting debut on Showtime's ShamelessMartinez has been steadily finding bigger roles for the better part of the last decade, since The CW's Riverdale for Prime Video Hunters. His biggest role before the Peacock comedy was the Freeform drama Good problemplaying Gael in all five seasons of the show.
Martinez star Willing as Isaac, a man who wants to celebrate his parents' 40th anniversary and asks party planner Ruby for help. Although he has a relationship at the beginning of the show with marine biologist Merci, Isaac finds himself increasingly attracted to Ruby as she learns more about his parents and customizes the party for them. Little does he know, however, that Ruby is realizing that everyone she's ever had sex with is dying in bizarre ways, adding yet another obstacle to their potential romance.
Alongside Martinez, the group Willing cast includes Oscar nominee Everything everywhere at the same time veterinarian Stephanie Hsu as Ruby, The DecameronZosia Mamet, Good problemTommy Martinez, Andre Hyland, Elizabeth Bowen, Olivia Holt as Merci, Ryan Pinkston, David Denman and Susan Berger. Developed by Emmy-nominated duo Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, the show feels similar to shows like Groundhog Daymaking use of its wild premise for a mix of dark comedy, sweet romance, and emotional character development.
Before the program's premiere, TelaRant interviewed Tommy Martinez to discuss Willinghow did you feel about debuting in the comedy genre, the preparation needed to film the Greatest Showman dance sequences in episode 4, how he felt about collaborating with Hsu, and a tease of how episode 7's cliffhanger will impact Isaac and Ruby's potential relationship going forward.
Martinez found him"I learned a lot"About the work comedy in the program
"...everyone is so absurdly funny."
ScreenRant: I'm very happy to talk to you about Willing. I've seen seven of the eight episodes, so I still need to finish the ending, but I loved it. And the series – was it your character, was it the concept – that really made you want to be a part of it?
Tommy Martinez: It's so different, I've never read a script like this that was so consistently funny, touching on all of these points, but also doing a good job of being heartfelt and making you think about your past relationships and how all of these things could potentially tag yourself and others around you. I was simply fascinated, and as the episodes progressed, I was struck by how funny everyone was.
I've never done a comedy. That's not my strong point, I always do drama and other things. So being around Stephanie and Zosia, Michael and Andre, everyone is insanely funny. It was a blast, it was a really, really good moment.
I'd love to explain this a little, actually, because everyone approaches a comedic scene very differently. Most actors approach this very directly, but some comedians approach it with a sense of trying to land the jokes as hard as possible. How did you approach this, given that you came from a background that was primarily dramatic?
Tommy Martinez: For me, I kind of tried to open my arms and let it come to me. Isaac isn't necessarily played or written as this really, really funny character. He is the most grounded person in the series. I would say everyone is a little unbalanced. But yeah, I think Isaac is more like the audience's window into Ruby's chaotic little world that's going on there, he's definitely a lot more on the lighter side of things, whereas everything else was in the stories and the darker parts. .
So it was, I think, for me, a good introduction to what the comedy world is like, because it didn't take me off the deep end. I just tried to open up, be a little quirky, and just try to do the writing justice. I learned a lot from everyone else on set too. I can't say it enough, they are the funniest people I've ever met.
Building a relationship with Hsu was easy when they found the time to do it
"...she had a lot going on on set."
Stephanie is by far one of the funniest people I've ever watched in modern comedy. And you talk about Isaac being kind of an anchor for the audience in Ruby's world. What was it like building that relationship with Stephanie, as you were almost made to be the epitome of the romantic comedy lead, while also having your own storyline going on?
Tommy Martinez: I mean, building that relationship with Stephanie – I've mentioned this before – she had a lot going on on set. She's also an executive producer, so it was, at first, kind of difficult to find a connection with her, just because I wasn't working as hard on the first two episodes as everyone else was. They started, I think, two weeks before I started.
So I was just twiddling my thumbs in my apartment, exploring Vancouver and just hanging out. But I had a chance to talk one on one with Stephanie, and we went for a walk in Vancouver, and we just talked about relationships, all the good and bad, our careers and how we feel whenever we are. I reserved something, or did some justice and everything. So we got to actually talk to each other and be surrounded by this beautiful nature and jump into rivers and stuff.
Howie, my dog here, he was there with us. Yes, it was a good time. From then on, again, it's not like we didn't have a connection before. Given our history, I just didn't want it to feel like there was a wall between us. And I was really grateful that she took the time to do this, because she was working every day and super busy. Getting to the point where we could build that relationship and feel comfortable on set and do our thing, it was a wonderful moment.
Martinez took his Greatest Showman Very fast choreography
"I'm definitely not a trained dancer or anything..."
Now, you mentioned your character's quirk and obviously I need to ask about The greatest showman a little, because what a fun inclusion in this show that I didn't expect. I'd love to know how long it took you to prepare to do that dance sequence.
Tommy Martinez: I wouldn't necessarily call myself a dancer. [Laughs] I'm definitely not a trained dancer or anything, but I'm Latin, I feel like I could choose [things] up, I have rhythm, so I feel like it's easy for me to pick things up. And we were working with a choreographer in Vancouver who was super patient and just amazing at what she did. So at first we would do it one by one and just learn different segments of the choreography. And then we would incorporate Stephanie's role into the dance later.
How long did it take us? Honestly, I feel like I learned it in two days, so an hour and a half or two hours each session. But honestly, the worst part was actually doing it and performing it on camera because it was so stressful. You have so many people, and then I'm like, 'God--- yeah, everyone's going to judge me here with this dance.' [Chuckles] But learning to just let go and have fun with it was a good time. So yeah, honestly, it didn't take long. It was a nice little cathartic experience.
So I want to ask, because this is something that I'm curious about, rehearsing versus doing it on camera are two very different things. Did it take you a lot of tries to do this or did you nail it quickly?
Tommy Martinez: Yes, there was a point where I had to do a double spin with one foot, which I just can't do. I know they did some takes anyway because of different angles and stuff, but yeah, it was drastically different on set than it was in rehearsal. Because in rehearsal you have a big mirror in front of you where you kind of have a way to balance yourself and where you are in the position of your feet and everything.
You didn't have that there. And on set I don't like to wear contact lenses, because in the middle of scenes my eyes can get a little dry, so I just take them off. I usually just wear my glasses, but I'm half-blind on set, which helps with nervousness and stuff. But it didn't help at all to try to find my center of balance. But, yes, we filmed it a few times.
WillingEpisode 7, Cliffhanger is a "Super crucial moment"To Ruby
"I think we've all had these moments in real life with our real relationships."
I see I have time for one question, so I'm going to save this one for later in the program, because it's a bit of a spoiler. That cliffhanger from episode 7 was basically Stephanie Sofia's Choice between you and Michael is a great ending for me to stop. What can you tell me about not necessarily who she chooses, but what this confrontation means for Isaac and Ruby at the end of the season?
Tommy Martinez: Yeah, I think that moment is super crucial in the story where Ruby has the choice to take that leap with someone new and who's obviously good, or you can go towards something that's familiar and with chemistry that already is. they were built over the last experiences they had or parts of their relationship.
I think we've all had these moments in real life, with our real relationships. But yeah, I think everyone will have to tune in and see how it goes. It's just weighing those two options, something new and good, but it can be kind of scary to open up and be vulnerable and go with this new, strange person, or go with something that's familiar and is starting to make you feel good.
On Willing
A woman discovers her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back in her sexual timeline to confront her past and move forward - “Laid” is a fucked-up romantic comedy where the answer to “why can’t I find the right one?” Baby, is there something wrong with me? is a resounding “Yes. There is. The problem is definitely you.
Stay tuned for our others Willing interviews:
Source: ScreenRant Plus