Osvaldo Rios Life is a game

Osvaldo Rios Juega a la vida

How does the child within you express itself?
In the same way as children get into games, I cannot help myself playing with this beautiful game called life. Being naughty but having fun. What would you answer if a child asked you, “What do you do?”
A lot of Children ask me that question because I have a son and he has lots of friends.
So, when I am asked that question, I say to them my job is to play because I am an actor. And sometimes they ask, “Can　you get money for that?” and I say, “Yes, that’s right.” And they all laugh and become curious about acting.


Q:Do you miss the life you had before you became actor?
I would love to spend more time with my family. It is a lucky thing that my acting is able to be seen in a lot of countries, but I have to leave my home for several years. My family means the family in this island. I have not seen my son, Giuliano for more than two weeks. If I was working in Spain, I would still be able to see my son twice a month. I would definitely spend summer with him and would never miss Christmas and Santa Claus. It is very sacred for me.


Q：How do you feel about being welcomed by people of different cultures who only know you through the parts you play?
Sometimes I feel mixed up. My dramas are interpreted into different languages. Some people expect my voice to be dubbed so they look surprised when I speak. I usually ask for an interpreter.


Q：What effect has it had on your career that you are not from a rich family? What effect has it had on your work that you are from an ordinary family?
It has affected a lot of things with me. Me at present, things I have done in the past, the things I have achieved are all built on the foundations of the fact I was from a poor family.
Love, good education, there was nothing missing in my life. There was a mother who taught me honor of work and the value of being strong and passionate. And there was a father who brought me up and taught me to live a happy and honest life. And a real father who taught me that to work hard is the road to achieving your dreams.


Q：Is it true that your step father encouraged you to briefly take part in boxing?
My stepfather, Kenny Sanchez, was hoping that I would become a boxer. Every Sunday he made a ring at Rio Vuedoras. I fought a few matches and it was not too bad and I liked boxing until my mother found out I was boxing and she told me off. I have no regrets about what I have done in my life so I appreciate it.


Q：When you were studying psychology, did you think you wanted to do something else, like become an artist?
When I was growing up, I always thought it was my fate to become an artist. I played in all of the Nativity plays when I was in primary school. I always played all three of the three wise kings. I liked singing and belonged to a musical group. At that time, Rafael and Sandro were idols, so I copied them at school all the time. When I first played on the stage, I experienced the feeling of being applauded by the audience after I sang like Sandro and that feeling made my mind up that I would become an artist even though I was only seven years old at that time. I liked all types of being creative concerning music and art, apart from drawing. I could not even draw a straight line even though I was born on the same day as Pablo Picasso, October 25th.


Q：Do you want to work as a psychiatrist again?
I think I am working like a psychiatrist every day. When I read scripts and my lines, I tｒy to create a psychological profile of the person that I will be playing. The analyzing method is the same as when I had patients. However, I don’t think I am going to work as a psychiatrist again. First of all, my license has expired and secondly I think it is not possible to go back to your previous work once you have lived as an artist. If I have to do something else in the far future, I would like to be in public work.


Q：What do you think about the mental condition of Puerto Ricans?
It is not just a coincidence that Puerto Ricans have serious mental problems. Puerto Ricans have a high tendency towards mental illness. We are in the top ten in the world. Most of this problem is down to the fact that Puerto Ricans are not able to have an identity.
Albert Memi wrote a book entitled 「Portrait of a colony」 and classified what kind of personality colony people have and I really agreed with what he wrote in that book. In fact, at the department of psychology where I studied for my MA, I mainly researched about the symptoms of cultural identity.
I went to a lot of international psychology meetings in Cuba, Mexico, America and compared our research with other countries such as about the border areas between North Mexico and America. I found that the problem of the process for not having a national identity that many Puerto Ricans have is pretty similar. In fact, we don’t know who we are.


Q：Which of the characters that you have played required the most preparation in terms of mentality and psychology?
Probably, there are two. In 『ラ・ビウダ・デ・ブランコ （ブランコの未亡人）』 のディエゴ・ブランコ, I played a farmer who lived in the Colombian Plains （Ryano） spoke with a funny accent, and did strange things. He had a very peculiar character. I had to stay in Ryano in Colombia to learn how to behave like them. I had to work quite hard at mastering the accent and so on. The funny thing is after I had stayed in Colombia for almost two years, when I came back to Puerto Rico, my mum said I was speaking strange. The other one was when I acted a young criminal “Smitty” in 『ラ・フォルトゥーナ・イ・ロス・オホス・デル・オンブレ（幸運と男の瞳）』. He was put in prison for a light crime. In jail he turned into a monster. The reformatory system failed to help him to be able to rehabilitate back into society.


Q：Have you ever used your knowledge of psychology to control someone?
No. If you want to get something, it is best to get it by yourself no matter what it is and stay pure. If you are pure there is no way you will be trapped by people’s actions. The laws of the universe determine what it is that you will get. There were a lot of people who came close to me to control the information through my career. They do strange things and say things which are not true.　I always denied these things because everyone would realize the truth when it reveals itself.


Q：What part would you never like to play?
I would not like to play a part which looks down on the Latin American image. I was given a great chance to take part in the Cross Over, but I don’t understand why people feel threatened. We Latin people have our own culture which is lot older than Anglo Saxon’s. I like making movies in my own language. For example, there was an offer to play in, “West Side Story” but I wanted to say we are deeper than that. So I have decided to make a real musical about why we moved to NY in the 50’s. I made my mind up on that day.


Q：Would you change anything about yourself for work? Like become a skinhead or put on weight?
Yes, that’s what I have been doing. In 『サルベモス・ロス・デルフィネス（イルカたちを救え）』 I played a monk and I had to shave all my hair off and put make up on. And in 『パシオン・エン・エル・エスベホ（鏡の中の情熱）』 I played a cocaine addict. I put 20 pounds on (approx. 10kg) and grew a beard to look unhealthy. Sometimes I had to loose 20 to 30 pounds for some parts I played. I do not have any capacity to be a different character so I have to shine the way I can. My moral is for the personality to come from the inside not from the outside.


Q：When do you feel beauty?
Beauty means the same as pure to me. Not dirty. I do not think I can feel beauty for any man made things.


Q：What do you want to do in film?
I like independent film. Wherever it comes from. In fact when I was living in Spain in 1995, I had a chance to make a film. But I would like to research more about fine art films. I have no interest in Hollywood or commercial films apart from if I can have a chance to work with actors who make me grow up. Indy films interest me. They give more priority to art than anything. I think I will be working in this field next year.


Q：Which director do you want to work with?
In Spain, I marveled at the work of director Almondobal, and the director of “Abre lose Ohos (Open one’s eyes)” Alejandro Amenabal; enchanting.
In Italy, I like Veltrich. Amongst American films I like all the Tarantino films and some Oliver Stone films. However my favorite director is Martin Scorsese.


Q：Is there any part of your career you regret?
I worked really hard like a workaholic. But I sometimes still regret that I did not work hard enough. I had time to stick to my private life and I went to many places where people did not know about me and spent my time like a tramp and sometimes I was over the top and did not accept nice projects. I prioritized a peaceful life and mental stability. However, I have no regrets and I am satisfied with what I have done with my work.


Q：What do you believe about in women in the 21st Century?
Women, not only in the 21st Century, have the strongest power amongst all of creation in the cosmogony and are wonderful things. Nature is a woman. I think God is probably a woman because women are stronger than men. It is very difficult for one　person to have two different sides, to be sensitive and to be easily hurt.


Q：What do you think about the new century?
I think time is fantasy. Many people are happy about the new century, but I am skeptical. If everything continues in the same way as now, what’s special about the millennium? It is nice to have hope but revolution is something you have to start yourself no matter whether a new century arrives or not.


Q：Would you like to get married again to an actress?
I would like to get married again to anyone whether they are an actor, nurse, oceanographer. I will marry again to somebody I love. Falling in love, to be together with someone you really love is such a great feeling that anyone can experience.


Q：Was there any affect on your career after you were indicted for domestic violence?
Probably humans, especially Puerto Ricans are smart and as Machard mentions in his poem “The Traveler; There is no Road. When you walk you make a road”. The progress of going forward, as you can find wheat in straw must be found麦わらの中の小麦をみつけられるように, to find out the person who tells the truth, find the lie in the truth so that you can find the montage of your life. In this way, I am feeling peaceful now.


Q：Can you think of any reason why most of your romances had unhappy endings?
I don’t think I am the only that this has happened to. 70% of marriages end in divorce, I was also unable to escape from this fact. I would not say they had unhappy endings. Almost eight years of a happy married life, four years as a couple, I was proud and satisfied with our long relationship. When love is ending, it ends and we cannot do anything about it. Divorce is not the same as a mistake. I think it is a mistake to continue in a non-existing function after love has ceased to exist.


Q：Do you want to have more children?
Yes. It would be great if people who work hard and fought can have more than one child. And see the way they grow up, learn to be a good person. I would like to have three more children at least. I have to find the right partner first.


Q：Is there anything you have given to your son which you could not get from your parents?
I give everything to my son which my parents gave me. There was nothing my parents did not give me. Probably physical absence. My father was a fisherman and I do not have any memory of spending any time with him. But the time he did spend with me was meaningful. He went everywhere and when he was going to the Mediterranean he asked me if I wanted him to bring anything back for me. I said a bow and arrow. I was four or five at the time. Father came back after six months. I had not forgotten about my bow and arrow like a typical child never forgets what they want. So I shouted at him when he was coming down from the gangway of the ship. “Did you get my bow and arrow?” He showed me the bag and said, “It’s here.” I will never forget something like that and I am doing the same thing for my son as well. I have been giving love and a warm heart to my son and am spending time with him.


Q：What happened to the dramas you were in?
The dramas I was in have been shown in several countries around the world at certain times. There are some that have been sold in international markets. These dramas have been introduced to Brazil, Eastern Europe, North Africa and my Latin America.


Q：Apart from Suzy Dias, do you have any plans to help someone’s career in Latin America where you have most of your contacts?
I would like to make it clear. I control my work by myself and get confused sometimes. In Suzy’s case I supported her in Puerto Rico. I personally brought her here from Los Angeles to do some work. However, her management was controlled by Riverside Entertainment Group and they do my management as well. I just give her advice and all my big love for spending a long time with me in my life. But she has a manager in LA the same as Maria Conchiata Alonso and other actresses.


Q:What were the big turning points in your life?
The first one was when I graduated from university. I could not see and speak to my parents for a long time but after my graduation I was able to see them. Also, my father was a fisherman so I was able to get an International Shipman’s Union Scholarship. I worked really hard for this scholarship which has been in existence for 60 years. I was the first Puerto Rican to be awarded this scholarship. Because of this, I was able to see my parents again after 20 years. Another time was when I finished studying after a long period and when my son Giuliano was born.


＜Q. Likes＞

Q：What is most important for you?
That no injustices are carried out anywhere in the world.

QWhat is your favorite word?
Freedom

Q:What would you like to be if you were not an actor?
chef

Q:Where do you want to live?
Puerto Rico or among foreign countries, Spain.

Q:Who is your favorite person in history and fiction?
In history, Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi
In fiction, Don Quixote in la Mancha

Q:What is your favorite food?
I like food. I like any kind of food but if I had to choose, I would say pasta and seafood.

Q:What is the thing you think about most frequently?
My island has its freedom, initiative, its own flag, its national anthem, that we Puerto Ricans are able to decide our fate in our land without asking for permission from anybody.

Q:What are you scared of?
Hornets

Q:What painting would you want to hang in your house?
Gustav Klimt’s “The kiss”

Q:What is your favorite sound?
My son Giuliano’s laughter


＜Q: Dislikes＞

Q：What do you dislike?
Jokes

Q:What word do you dislike?
Otorrinolaringologo (Ear, nose and throat doctor)

Q:Where would you not want to live?
The North Pole. I hate the cold.

Q：Who do you dislike in history and in fiction?
In history, General Miles. I do not understand why he had to invade Guanica in 1898.
In fiction, The Coyote in “Road Runner”

Q:What kind of food you dislike?
Nothing. I like anything.

Q:What is your nightmare?
Right now it is Vieques’ Navy.

Q:What do you find not scary?
God is not scary. On the contrary, I love God.

Q:What art would you not want to have in your house?
I hate all Renoir.

Q:What sound you dislike?
The sound of a car’s horn

Q:What is your good point?
Being justified in feeling angry about any kind of injustice which happens in the world

Q:Which generation would you most liked to have lived in?
In the time of the Greek philosophers when Socrates gave birth to discussion at the Acropolis. Or at the time of Indio’s Catheke soldiers who fought against the Spanish to