Q&A: Michael Pena
‘Dora’s Dad’ is a pretty cool role. How did you feel about taking it on?
“I’m proud of it, but I think Dora is going to be the shining star of this movie, because it’s the Dora The Explorer movie! It’s not called Dora’s Dad The Explorer! To be honest, I was just happy to help a lending hand because there’s not a lot of movies that have a Latin family as the star of the show. It’s great to have a little hand in helping. It was more about the overall idea of it, especially putting Latin people in a good light and exploring a bit of Latin America with a positive message of being true to yourself, especially if you’re well intended. I’m excited about it.”
Do you think things are finally getting better, in that regard?
“It’s good. It’s getting better. I mean, 15 years ago I couldn’t even audition for a lead, of anything. That was a hard pill to swallow. The best I could do at that time, when I first started acting, was, like, 15th place. Because it would all be Caucasian, the first 10. Imagine that as a kid… So now, this is why this is so good. Even though it didn’t happen to me when I was younger, it’s good that it’s happening to her [Isabela Merced (formerly Moner)]. I think that people like Salma Hayek and Javier Bardem and Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, Edward James Olmos, they all paved the way for this moment to come to fruition.”
And now, of course, kids can look up to Isabela…
“Yes, and it’s great that the fact she is Latin is secondary. It’s more about the person and who they are and what they do. That’s what’s important. And that’s what I really like about this movie. There were a lot of unseen roads and unseen paths that led to this movie.”
How would you describe your parenting skills in the movie?
“Just completely out of it. You know, you can never fully be in the know with these kids, just like our parents weren’t in the know with us. And there’s a reason for it. For instance, when you’re younger you have a different tenacity towards, let’s say, music. You own all the music, you want all the CDs and you listen to them all the time, and they are talking about certain issues and it becomes your world. It becomes a dialogue between you and your friends. That leaks into movies, but not so much. Music is really within the current times, like The Rolling Stones for one generation, Nirvana for another, The Strokes for another. And since we [as parents] are not listening to it, because we don’t have the energy to try to listen to it, we’re kind of not in the know. So, even though we’re well-intended, sometimes we don’t have the exact dialogue, the exact nomenclature that we need to communicate our ideas specifically to our kids. It’s almost like Peanuts, in a sense, when the adults talk in that blurry “wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh” thing where the kids only hear every other word. But I loved being a movie-parent with Eva [Longoria]. She is great, super-energy. I love her. Even though I probably drive her crazy.”
You’re essentially playing an Indiana Jones-style character here, right?
“I’m playing kind of like a goofy Indiana Jones. An Indiana Jones type who has a hard time running. They were like, ‘You’ll be running all the time…’ I was like, ‘Great, I’ve got to get in shape, baby.’”
How do you rate Isabela Merced (formerly Moner) as Dora?
“She nailed it. She’s very talented. The beautiful thing about her is that she was able to fully commit to the character and how she is, and not feel self-conscious and pull back her punches. She went all out! She was Dora. And she did it beautifully. When someone goes full-on that’s always beautiful to see. You know, you don’t see Daniel Day Lewis not fully commit. He’s always a great person to watch because he’s always all-in.”
Were you always all-in, even in the early days?
“Not at first, no. But then you watch people. You know, [Marlon] Brando, he was the first guy where I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is amazing…’ But then you go back and Humphrey Bogart, for instance. Woah, that guy was a genius! He was always super-witty, telling jokes and this and that and he always made movies pop, just because of his humour. And even though he was involved in telling some crazy drama, he always had those wisecracks. So, he really changed the game. Then there was Robert de Niro, when he was in Mean Streets. He had fun, man! He was full, in that, you know?”
That must be very liberating, to just let go?
“Yeah, but you have to do a lot of research and study a bunch. But then the ‘let go’ is one of the best feelings you can ever have.”
This movie is really great on the perils of High School. How was High School for you?
“High School was great. I went to a prep school, but I lived in a low-income area. There were real estate moguls, rich kids, parents who were politicians, that kind of thing, and I was the poor kid. My mum was a social worker, my dad was working in a factory and my brother was going to another school. But it was really cool. Definitely eye-opening. I went to an all boys school and I was really into the sports and stuff. That was a way in, in a way. I didn’t even know it at the time. I just went to school to get a good education. So, Dora didn’t remind me of my High School, but I do know some people who absolutely hated it. I can only imagine...”
What sports were you into?
“I started out with American football, even though I played soccer when I was a kid. The soccer I was involved in was really competitive. I mean, Mexicans love soccer! I lived across the street from Douglas Park. There were, like, 10 pitches. Every Saturday there would be Mexican music and all the soccer matches would start at the same time. There would be morning matches, afternoon matches and then tournaments and some people would even play at night.”
How did you find shooting in Australia, on this?
“I loved it! I’d never been. We were right by Brisbane, Byron Bay. We were all staying on the Gold Coast. It was really cool. It was a little cold so there weren’t many people on the beach, but my wife and kid loved it. He still went in the water. He’s 10. And what was interesting was that just an hour away from the Gold Coast, we’d be shooting in the jungle!”
Did you see any snakes or big spiders in the jungle?
“No, we had security for that. And that stuff doesn’t freak me out. Once you show up and there’s all the noise, with everyone around, it feels like everything just goes, disappears. I wouldn’t have minded seeing some stuff like that, but I know that not everyone feels the same!”
Talking of your son, what does he make of what you do?
“He loves a lot of it. I mean, the travel is an amazing privilege. That’s the privilege we have as actors. If you have a job where you get to travel, you get to see the entire world, and see that there are some really cool things happening in every part of the world. That’s really important and we are very lucky. In terms of the work, he’s excited about me being in Dora, and he’s also really excited about me as Luis [in Ant-Man And The Wasp]. He thinks the character is funny! Oddly enough, when I’m doing these kinds of movies, I’m thinking about the audience, the kids, not the studio executives. Because I have a lot of college kids who are like, ‘Yo, man! You’re so awesome!’ And I’m thinking about my kid. He’s probably my first audience when it comes to these kind of movies. Because as you know, when you have a kid you change, right? You do different things that get you out of your shell. You’re willing to do whatever just to make them laugh. Things that you would never normally do as an adult! But he loves it, man. That’s one of the big reasons I’m doing these movies. For him.”
One of the key pieces of iconography in Dora has always been her backpack. If you were to get stranded in the jungle, what three things would you insist were in yours?
“Definitely a map. Know what I mean? A detailed map, to hopefully navigate how to get back to civilisation. And I’m going to put food and water in there as one because that’s nutrition. And, you know, sometimes you have packets that can hydrate you and feed you at the same time. Packets like they do at NASA. Space ice-cream. I’ll take all of that that I can get. And then maybe a small tarp that I can sleep in. Like a waterproof sleeping bag, so I can build my own little shell because it gets really cold in the jungle at night. I can put little alarms around it, to keep things out. Then, I’ve got sleep, nourishment and a map. You know what, I actually think I’d be pretty good out there!”
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