Written By: Jayme Face
Randy Gonzalez is a talented writer, director, and actor who you recently saw in Peppermint; watch out for him alongside Shia Lebeouf in The Tax Collector and on OWN in David Makes Man!
Photo Credit: Sela Shiloni
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about “Peppermint” and your character, Curly?
Randy Gonzalez: Peppermint is a revenge thriller film starring Jennifer Garner as Riley North. She goes all out while she seeks revenge and justice for some loved ones that were wrongfully taken from her. I play a hitman for the cartel who carries out an atrocious act against Riley’s family.
upfrontNY: How did you like playing a bad guy?
Randy Gonzalez: It was fun! I got to be covered in tattoos including tattoos all over my face. I got to do a fight scene with Jennifer Garner and shoot a machine gun. Even though it’s a dark subject matter, it was a blast doing all those things on set for this project.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about “The Tax Collector”?
Randy Gonzalez: Tax Collector is a film directed by David Ayer and starring Shia Labeouf. It takes places in LA with a pair of “Tax Collectors” who collect taxes from neighborhood gangs in LA and help keep the peace. It’s a gritty crime thriller that totally captures the South Central LA vibe. David Ayer is great at doing that as a writer and director. I play a character who is taught a lesson by these two Tax Collectors.
upfrontNY: Shia LeBeouf is known to have interesting takes on art, what was it like working alongside him?
Randy Gonzalez: He is very intense and an actor that is dedicated to his craft. I’ve always respected his work. I think this will be a whole new side of Shia that people will really enjoy seeing.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about “David Makes Man” set to premiere on OWN in 2019?
Randy Gonzalez: David Makes Man is a coming of age story. It is created by Tarrell Alvin McCraney who won an Oscar for writing on the film Moonlight and it is executive produced by Michael B. Jordan. The writing on it is beautiful and I can’t wait for people to see it.
upfrontNY: You wrote, directed and starred in the short film “Amigos”, what was it like also working behind the scenes?
Randy Gonzalez: Yes! Our short film is an official selection of the Official Latino Film festival in Coachella, CA and Nightmares Film festival in Columbus, OH, which is one of the best-reviewed horror films festivals in the world. It was crazy! It took over my life for about a week and a half. Really gave me a lot of respect for directors. I’m looking to do more of it in the future for sure.
upfrontNY: You originally started out in music, do you still create music?
Randy Gonzalez: Yeah, I used to play guitar in a punk band that ended up touring all over the world. It was an amazing experience and I got to meet so many incredible people doing that. I just got a little home studio, so I have started recording some solo stuff. Maybe I’ll release an album at some point but right now I’m just having fun creating.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us more about your involvement with The Young Storytellers and 826LS?
Randy Gonzalez: Yeah, both are awesome organizations as they both deal with creative writing. Young Storytellers help mentor a group of fifth graders while they write a short screenplay over the course of a few weeks. Then at the end of the process, they bring in actors to act out the screenplays the kids wrote in front of the entire school. It’s really cool seeing how excited the kids get when their stories come to life. 826LA is also cool as it helps kids write their own choose your own adventure book and at the end of the session, they print and bind the book and the kids get to take home a book they helped write.
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