Rudy
YoungbloodPassionateabout his work,
his people, his culture, &
his role as Jaguar Paw
in Mel Gibson’sApocalypto
He’s gorgeous, speaks Spanish, looks Mexican but … he’s not
Latino? He’s Indio- as in Native American. He’s passionate about
his work, his people, his culture, and about his role as Jaguar Paw in Mel
Gibson’s Apocalypto. Did I mention – he’s gorgeous?!
Originally from a small town in Texas, Rudy Youngblood came to Los Angeles to start a Native American dance troupe. As fate would have it, he was in LA for only about 3 months before he got the role as Jaguar Paw. He went for the audition and he got a call from Mel Gibson himself. “He calls me and says, ‘This is Mel Gibson’. I thought it was a joke, so I hung up on him. Mel Gibson then called my manager and my manager called me.”
He called Mel Gibson back and Youngblood left to Mexico the next day, early in the morning, to start on the movie. He still did not understand that he was going to have the starring role. “Everything happened so fast. ‘Starring role’ in a movie? I wasn’t sure what that meant. I would ask my friends, what does that mean, ‘Starring role’? Is that the ‘main guy’? It’s crazy!”
I asked him, “Your life is going to change once this movie comes out. What do you think about that?” “I don’t even think about it.” He laughs. “I’m just a country boy from a small town in Texas. It is just …” His dark piercing eyes seems to search for words. “It’s surreal. …. I don’t want to stop to think about it. I want to just be me.”
“You are Native American. It must be great that the first big role you get is representing one of your own.” He points out that he is not Mayan. “I am Comanche.”
“I understand, but to represent and play an indigenous role, a Native American, must be really amazing.” He agrees, “I wanted to do the role right. I wanted to learn the language well. I decided that the whole year I was only going to do 3 things: study, stay focused, and work out." I wondered to myself whether it was in that order! :) He continued, “I’m representing a Mayan person. I wanted it to be natural- as natural as possible, so I studied a lot. Day and night. I love the Maya people. They are gentle, giving, very intellectual and a beautiful people.”
I asked him how similar is the culture to Comanche. He said it is very similar but that “to learn the script was not enough. To learn to speak Mayan was not enough. I wanted to learn about the culture.”
“What about the Mexican culture? I mean you were in Mexico for a whole year. I imagine people thought you were Mexican, no? Until you opened your mouth and they found you didn’t speak Spanish.”
“I also speak Spanish, gracias. And yes many people thought I was Mexican when I was there- not all but - true people thought I was Mexican. I learned a lot about the Mexican people too. I learned Spanish while I was there.”
I’m thinking- did he just tell La Diva that he speaks Spanish? Does he not know then that I need to test him? But hey, let me not put a Hollywood star on the spot.
“So, the movie, if I’m not mistaken, because I haven’t seen it yet, is about a young man who is somehow separated from his family and it’s about the journey back to his family.” He explains that he doesn’t want to give it away but how, "It’s about 2 different ways of life clashing and how man wants more and more without giving anything back. And yes I do run back and have to find my family.”
“OK, don’t give any of it away – because I want to see it.” He
laughs. “Of course! But you should know it is a fictional story. A fictional
story based on a historical era.” “Talking about history, as you know, being a Latina means being a part of a history of 3 cultures. One of those cultures being Native American -our indigenous roots. For Mexicans for example that is pretty simple. It’s very evident. But for Puerto Ricans- like myself – it is a little more obscure- shall we say? I interviewed the President of the United Confederation of Taino People and he mentioned it was time to ‘reaffirm our culture’. So Rudy, what would you say to someone that is trying to re-connect to their indigenous ancestry? What advice would you give to them?”
He sighed and said, “Wow. They have to breathe it…” Then he says in Spanish, “Mira, tu eres Latina y…” “Wait! You DO speak Spanish!” He smiles. “¡Seguro! I told you. We can do this interview in Spanish if you’d like.”
I’m thinking- a challenge for La Diva? No he didn’t! He goes on in Spanish. “Sí. Yo aprendí español en Méjico. Y yo puedo hablar español. Las mujeres mexicanas son muy bonitas y muy lindas. ¡Me encanta Méjico!”
I’m blown away! Gorgeous and speaks Spanish! “When did you learn Spanish?” “While I was there. I was there for a whole year and language to me – well, I find it easy to learn a new language – I mean it comes easier for me than most, I guess. I immerse myself in culture. And so to answer your question I think that you have to be passionate. Whoever is trying to learn about their indigenous roots, I would tell them that it has to come from the heart…. It’s spiritual…you know? It has to be a family thing – get everyone involved if you can."
He stops long enough to gather his thoughts. "What you are is very important. Who you are. If you don’t know who you are then you’re like a… like an empty vessel. So it has to come from your heart. You have to grow as a person, as a man, as a woman, from within and it … it really has to come from within to really understand. It’s like reading a poem. You can just read it but then you don’t understand its meaning. But if you read it from your heart and soul then you can really understand the message in the poem.”
Gorgeous, speaks Spanish, passionate and he has a way with words!!! What more can I say? “Listen, Rudy. All the Diva Latinas out there have asked me to ask you one more question… Who are you taking to the premiere???”
He laughs. “I don’t even know what I’m going to wear!” I said, “Oh, you don’t need to wear- I mean- worry- about anything! You are – I mean be- you’ll be- fine!”
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