Esai Morales, known for tough and driven characters on shows like NYPD Blue, Vanished, and Resurrection Blvd. -- not to mention Jericho -- is the perfect choice to drop into the society of eroding morality depicted in Caprica, Syfy's prequel series to Battlestar Galactica. In a conversation just after the airing of the first new episode after the pilot, "Rebirth," Morales exuded the enthusiasm he feels for the opportunities posed by Joseph Adama. He clearly relishes tackling the dilemmas Adama faces as a Tauron trying to find his footing on a world where's he's a member of a sometimes-mistrusted minority. Morales discussed the show's approach to ethnicity, the multiple appeals of the show's concept and structure, what's missing from how his character has been depicted so far, and how this new role coincides with transformations in his own life.
The headline on a recent interview you did is "Give Caprica a Chance," which almost sounds like a plea. Is Caprica in trouble yet?
No, that's just me predicting that some folks won't get into it right away. Like some of my family members going, "Wait, what's the virtual thing?" There's some segments of our society that are not as technologically proficient, and if you stick with the show it will stick with you. That's been my mantra.
We have emotional storylines that are not just technical, and we have technical for those that are savvy. How should I say, I was being cynical in the sense that I prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
You've been in a few projects that weren't given a chance.
Right, well, that's partly the reason. Not only shows I've been involved with, but so many great shows out there come and go, and executives without knowledge of the history take away some of the best shows on TV without knowledge of where they're going.
I'm just trying to say that, before you think this show is one thing, stick with it and you may find it's a whole other thing.
What made you most want to play Joseph Adama?
I think Joe Adama is the ultimate everyman. He's a great character for me, he's well-rounded, and he's trying to be a good man in a corrupt world, which is where I think a lot of us find ourselves. You got to admit, we're the benefactors of a system that impoverishes people around the world. So even though I'm grateful to be in the greatest nation on earth, we all have to look at the part we're playing.
Caprica is pressing the "ethnicity" button a lot harder than we're used to seeing in a sci-fi series. How did you react to that?
Thank god! Or, thank the gods. The reality is, television always avoids this, and here's a show that actually confronts it and is rather frank about it. It's not specific, so it's not about Latinos or Asians or Blacks or Jews, it's about, "What planet are you from?" [laughs] You know what I mean? Which we could say in this world, because we do. What culture are you from? What kind of values are endemic to you?
Perhaps in sci-fi we're used to a Roddenberry future where human ethnicity isn't supposed to be important.
Right. And the fact is, there were no Latinos in Star Trek. Which doesn't mean that -- I don't know what it means. I remember seeing Dune and seeing no one who looked like me there. And I thought, "Okay, we don't exist in the past or the future. That's great. That doesn't bode well for us." So, if you saw a world, made by Spike Lee, where the future was a black world with very little white, you'd speak out, wouldn't you?
Meanwhile Syfy happens to also have your La Bamba co-star, Lou Diamond Phillips [who's Filipino-American].
I'm glad they had the sense not to put us in the same show as brothers. At least Syfy can boast of having, well you know actually, I think I'm the only Latino. At least give them credit for trying. [laughs] I don't know if that's a coincidence, but the point of the matter is I'm glad Lou is working, and is winning his contests [with other characters on Stargate Universe]. He's the voice of reason, I understand [laughs], on the show and that's great.
But you're okay with Caprica emphasizing ethnicity and bigotry that plainly.
Oh yeah, I think it's great. I think there could be more exploration of that. Actors end up being their own character's show-runners, in a way. We have to have our own bibles.
The way you do in real life, as a consciously Latino actor.
Right. Well, I've always felt that role, and I've never shied away from it. I've always felt a need to "represent."
Did the direct association between the darker-skinned Taurons and organized crime give you pause?
It did at first. I thought, "Uh oh, what are they trying to say?" But the same could be said of Italians, of Greeks, of Russians, of Asians. It's about organized crime and the immigrant in general. The fact is, I am viewed as an immigrant even though I am just as American as anyone else. My family may be from Puerto Rico but their origins are Amerindian and European. I feel funny that because I have this certain look, that look can lend itself to Latino, or Mediterranean, or "swarthy."
But here's the deal: not all Taurons are Latin-looking. We have white Taurons, we have Asian Taurons, we have Black Taurons. The fact of the matter is, Tauron is multiethnic. It represents those people that there were a little too many of to make a whole colony of.
Which points the finger back at the Capricans, in a way.
Not just the Capricans. Although -- the Capricans have fire. The Caprican fire really shows up in Amanda Graystone. I call Paula [Malcolmson] "White Fire." [laughs] Eric Stoltz is classically Caprican, in that he is ethereal and cerebral to the point of taking it to another level, which is where the fire is.
How defined were Joe Adama and his story arc when you were brought on?
Broad strokes. And they're still making them. The fact of the matter is, they have generally generalized our stories, and now they have to be more specific.
