This week El Rey announced the casting of a major role on their second original series, “Matador.” It was good timing for us, since the new cast member, Alfred Molina, was doing interviews for the upcoming “Robot Chicken” DC Comics Special II. We’ll bring you the full interview with Molina when “Robot Chicken” airs, but of course we asked about his upcoming role in “Matador.”
From Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, “Matador” is an action series about a soccer player who is actually a secret agent. Molina’s role was reported as Andrew Galan, but Molina said it with a distinctly Latin twist.
“I play a character called Andras Galan who is the owner of the soccer team that the hero plays with,” said Molina. “He’s kind of a villain, but he starts off as a kind of rather cynical, unfeeling, rather cruel but then he evolves into something else. He’s part of this group of shadowy, very rich and powerful men around the world who are using their money and their influence to manipulate and influence governments all over the world for their own interest. I play an interesting character. He starts off very kind of suave, very sophisticated guy but he’s got all the problems that most guys have.”
Galan is currently in the dark about the espionage going on with his players, at least when the pilot begins. “That’s the whole point,” noted Molina. “This is all happening under his very nose, but unbeknownst to him.”
The pilot for “Matador” is currently in production, but Molina will join in the first week of April. “I think they started this week,” he explained. “I actually don’t shoot my stuff for another eight days. I actually haven’t started shooting yet. April 6 or 7 I start.”
The El Rey Network is the latest endeavor of Robert Rodriguez. Working for a fellow filmmaker, Molina expects “Matador” to be a more pure creative experience than perhaps some other network shows.
“I think the beauty of this, certainly for Robert Rodriguez and his partners, is that they are not under the hammer or the thumb of a network sending a million and one notes every day. ‘Oh, maybe he should be this. Maybe he should be that. Shouldn’t he be wearing a red tie?’ They’ve got a kind of artistic and creative freedom that they certainly wouldn’t be able to have for themselves in any other context. I think Robert’s very keen to bring to the network some of the energy and the flavor of his movies. I think this show is definitely going to have that kind of a tack and verve that his films have.”
“Matador” is coming to El Rey in July. “Robot Chicken” DC Comics Special II airs Sunday, April 6 at 11:30pm. Come back to Crave for the full interview with Molina and more of the creators of “Robot Chicken.”
