Robin de Jesús

Queue: What was your first role, and how did you feel booking the gig?
Robin de Jesús: My first role was in my freshman year of high school. We did a community theater production of Oliver!, and I played Mr. Bumble. I got to just like butch up and be that big baritone voice. And I was a freshman, so I thought I was so cool. But that was the show that truly made me fall in love with theater. It was the affirmation that this was something I should keep doing.

What film or TV show made you fall in love with acting?
RDJ: I feel like growing up, the movie that had a large influence on me, a large impact — and I think Lin says this too — was The Little Mermaid. And even though it’s an animated film, there was something about it that just made me music-curious. I remember singing “Part of Your World” all around the house and then trying to put in the emotion and act it out. I should have known I was going to be gay after that. Alas, here we are.

What do you remember about the first time that you saw yourself on camera?
RDJ: I believe the first time I saw myself on camera — like in an actual movie, as opposed to like a camcorder — was in the movie Camp. And what I remember most was — and it was on the monitor — looking at it and just thinking like, Yo, that is really cool. And also, This could be your life. Pretty badass.

What was it like working with the cast of tick, tick . . . BOOM!?
RDJ: Working with my cast in tick, tick . . . BOOM! was just fun. You know what it’s like when you’re a kid in high school and you’re doing the musical — the cast parties, and the fun, and the love, and the joy that you feel in the room because you’re all just like nerding out over the work that you’re doing? That was still true in this. Being an actor for 20 years now, I’ve sometimes worked in rooms that are a little jaded, but this room was just joy. I remember sitting next to Vanessa Hudgens one day — we were in our music stands; it was a music rehearsal — and she just says, “I love doing musicals. I’m so excited we get to do this. It’s my favorite.” And there was like something about that that just gave everyone permission to nerd out and be geeky. And that’s who we are.

How did you prepare for your role ahead of time?
RDJ: When it came to playing Michael, I think most of my preparation was emotional. A lot of it was thinking about my straight guy friends and the nature of our relationships because you rarely get to see a gay man and a straight man having true, intimate friendship. There was also a lot of learning more about the 90s and what was happening with the crack and AIDS epidemic. And in our movie, we don’t talk much about my ethnicity, but there are a couple moments where it does come up. And so I wanted to make sure that I was always aware that there’s what we saw on Broadway, and then there’s what Michael, my character, probably saw when he went home to see his family, and the different ways that different communities were experiencing H.I.V. and AIDS. I think that was the biggest thing that I tried to really center.

Were there any specific inspirations that you turned to when preparing for your character?
RDJ: I feel like the bulk of the inspiration for me with this role was focusing on my ancestors and the untold H.I.V. stories because there’s been such an erasure in H.I.V. stories. And it’s been sort of overshadowed by white gay culture, but we forget that there were women, there were women of color that also suffered with H.I.V., or even the women who stood by and helped give people on their last breath moments of dignity, as they were dying of H.I.V. and AIDS. And so, as a Latino man, I wanted to think about all the mentors that I never got to meet, all the leaders. I look at my life and I think, Who do I look up to when it comes to gay Latinos that are older, that will show me the way? And the truth of the matter is most of them are gone. With this movie, I wanted to focus on the fact that I get to be that for someone else. My spirit was really, really centered on that.

Was there a scene that was challenging or memorable in the filming process?
RDJ: I will never forget the day that we shot the scene on the street between me and Jonathan, after he attends the focus group, because that particular day felt very anointed. I felt like that day was spiritual. That was the scene that we were supposed to shoot the night of the shutdown. And we didn’t touch it from March till November. And when we finally got there, it was like a two liter soda bottle that someone shook and wouldn’t open. It was like all that pressure was built up. 

And the moment we had the rehearsal for it, Lin felt it. It was vibrational. And Lin said, “Okay, let’s hurry up. Let’s get this. Let’s shoot this already.” Because he just knew we were in a zone. And there’s something about preparation, and surrendering to preparation, when you’re acting that allows you to have these glorious, divine moments where this other thing steps in: It’s like it’s spirits. And what went from just pretending, becomes this goose pimply, beautiful, anointed moment. I think there’s no other way to describe it.

What do you have in common with your character?
RDJ: Perhaps the thing that I have most in common with Michael is that I’m often my friends’ therapist. I feel like Michael’s the one that keeps Jonathan very tethered when he’s floating, or spiraling, or whatever. And I’m like, Hey, come back down to Earth. And I have friends where that’s what I do for them, and they do that for me. That’s the number one thing. And also, there’s the nerdiness of being that guy that wants to sit on the couch and just watch Sunday in the Park With George.

What do you think is the biggest difference between you and your character?
RDJ: I think that the biggest difference between me and Michael is that even though Michael’s the one who tethers Jonathan, there are moments where he just lets him spiral. And I think Robin is the friend that’s like, I got to tell them. And I need to learn from Michael how to pump the brakes and just let people go through their own experiences.

What is one word that you would use to describe your character from tick, tick . . . BOOM!? 
RDJ: Mature.

What is your favorite comfort watch on Netflix?
RDJ: Gentefied.

Last thing that you binged on Netflix?
RDJ: Probably Gentefied for the second time.

What is one thing that you always bring on set?
RDJ: Sage.

Did you take a keepsake with you from set?
RDJ: I did not. I should have.

What is your dream role or project?
RDJ: Lately, what keeps coming up for me is, if anyone ever does a movie version of Urinetown, I want to play Bobby Strong.

What Netflix star from another show or movie do you think could be your best friend?
RDJ: All of the kids from On My Block. And Lena Waithe. I love her. She’s doing all the work for the ancestors. I want to be in there with her.