An Interview With Frankie G

Hollywood and New York are overflowing with actors so anonymous they'd have a hard time getting arrested, let alone hired to perform in three motion pictures in six months. OK, it's a tired cliche, but you'd have a tough time convincing the unemployed thespians it wasn't true.

Up until about a year ago, Franky G was just such an actor.

Puerto Rican by birth, and New Yorker by area code, Franky had starred in a low-budget indie drama that left judges at several major festivals swooning, but would itself have trouble getting arrested in wide release. Eric Eason's Manito details two days in the life of a bright Washington Heights teenager, who is about to learn if the road to adulthood will lead through Syracuse University or Attica. Franky plays Manito's older brother, Junior, who took the fall for their old man in a drug bust and now runs a semi-legit home-repair business.

Manito received excellent reviews, and won awards at the Tribeca, Avignon, Sundance, Urbanworld, SXSW, Gotham, Atlanta and Miami festivals. The Village Voice called Franky's performance a "revelation," while Variety preferred to say it was "fierce." Even so, it's taken more than a year for the Dogme 95-influenced Manito to find its way into limited release (June 30).

The onetime college football player and bouncer has since landed jobs in Wonderland, The Italian Job and Confidence, which will be released Friday. Directed by James Foley, and written by Doug Jung, Confidence is a high-voltage thriller from the David Mamet school of serpentine screenwriting. Although Franky's name is writ small in the newspaper ads and posters, he more than holds his own against Dustin Hoffman, Edward Burns, Andy Garcia, Paul Giamatti and Robert Forster.

Our interview took place at the Chateau Marmont on the day before the premiere of Confidence. The buff, thirtysomething actor wasn't staying at the fabled hotel, but he thought it would be a cool place to meet. Accompanying Franky was his girlfriend, New York-based writer-actor Frances Lozada.

MOVIE CITY NEWS: Fourteen months ago, you and I met at the Miami Film Festival. You were promoting Manito and I was a judge. At the time, I probably thought you had a brighter future in the movies than you did.

FRANKY G: After doing Manito, and going to Sundance and Miami, I actually thought about giving up acting, because nothing else was really happening and I already was in my mid-30s. I even discussed it with Eric (Eason) and my girlfriend.

A month later, though, I signed with an agency and things started happening. Ever since I got the job in Confidence, it's really been interesting.

MCN: It's nice to hear that good work in small films sometimes is rewarded.

FG: It wasn't until people saw Manito that they started asking about me. So, yes. Sherry Lansing saw it and wanted me for The Italian Job.

There really wasn't any part in the movie for me, but she had them write one.

MCN: So, when did it start to sink in that you could look forward to a career as an actor?

FG: You know when it hit me? We were shooting The Italian Job not far from here -- at Hollywood and La Brea -- and the police had blocked off the surrounding area because of all the explosives.

I'm sitting in my trailer, thinking, "Damn, this is for me?" Then, later, (director F. Gary Gray) called me over to block some scenes, and it was like, "My God, I've arrived."

MCN: So, you went out the next day and bought a Ferrari?

FG: Uhhh ... no. It really felt great, but I knew that I had to work at keeping things real.

MCN: Keeping things "real" is hardly a priority in Hollywood. It must have been a shock to hear your first assignment in a feature film would be playing alongside Dustin Hoffman.

FG: When James Foley told me I'd be working with Dustin Hoffman, I said, "Whoa," because I really love his movies, especially The Graduate. I knew it was going to be a challenge for me, but I didn't know it would be so enjoyable. And, working with James Foley was a joy ... he's hilarious.

MCN: Did anyone mention beforehand that working with Dustin could be ... well, interesting?

FG: (Laughs) I figured that out for myself when we were about to do a scene together and Dustin asked Jim if it would be OK to change it slightly. Jim told me that Dustin was going to spin me around, and tell me that I shouldn't do something or other.

Instead, he turned me around and, "Bam ...," he bops me with his head. I froze in my tracks. He goes, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry ... get him some ice!"

MCN: He obviously didn't know that you'd been a bouncer.

FG: Well, for a second there, I instinctively thought about picking him up and spinning him around. It was funny, though, and I told Jim I'd get even with him in his trailer.

But, that's the way Dustin is, because he gets so far into his characters. He even laughed when he told my girlfriend about it.

MCN: Did he have any idea who you were?

FG: Dustin had seen Manito, but he didn't realize until later that I was Junior. He was very complimentary.

MCN: I loved the scene in the bar, where you turned the tables on the gang of scam artists whose activities you were supposed to be monitoring for Dustin Hoffman's character.

FG: That was my favorite. Here's this tough guy that everyone thinks is a dunce ... a mook. But he surprised them by knowing more about these computers, which were part of the scam, than they did. It's very funny.

MCN: I'm guessing that you're seeing a lot of scripts that already have Vin Diesel's fingerprints or them ... that, or drug dealers and cops.

FC: My agent knows that I don't want to play stereotypical roles for Latino actors. So, I'm seeing some pretty good scripts ... some action, some drama.

I read everything they send me. My girlfriend will read them with me, and we'll swap parts.

MCN: You can practically walk to the house on Wonderland from here. Did you have to do much research for the part of a rookie police detective?

FG: I didn't know anything about what happened up there, on Wonderland, except for one article in the Daily News. I read the script when I was working on The Italian Job, and found it so interesting ... I had to do it.

They sent me tapes about the investigation, so I could familiarize myself with the case. I also read the autopsy reports.

MCN: The case is still pretty fresh in people's minds here.

FG: Actually, a lot of eerie things did happen on the set. We were at the house where the murders occurred, and I met John Holmes' girlfriend.

The movie's going to be really good.

MCN: It's been a long road for you. Did playing football in college help you maintain some kind of disciplined approach to staying focused on acting?

FG: I think it came from my parents. Football kept me grounded. So did being a bouncer. None of my friends from the neighborhood thought I'd make it, so that probably motivated me, too.

MCN: You weren't part of the publicity junket for Confidence. I'd be surprised, though, if the media - especially the Spanish-language press - didn't glom onto to you before too long.

FG: I don't have a publicist, and I haven't done much press, yet. But I will for The Italian Job.

I'm not fluent in Spanish, but I understand a lot of it.

MCN: So, you really don't know what's about to hit you?

FG: I've never really spoken with anyone about it, but I think I know what to expect. It's up to me to keep it real.

I still live in New York - in Flushing -- so I know my friends and my girl will keep me straight. I just want to do good work. I don't want people to say, "I told you so … Puerto Ricans can't make it as actors."

MCN: You're not related to Kenny G or the director, McG, are you?

FG: (laughs) I don't think so.

MCN: How did you settle on a stage name?

FG: My friends called me Franky G, or Gonzo Gonzales. When I did a small thing in New York Undercover, I had to sign up with SAG.

I wrote Frank Gonzales, but they said there already were too many Frank Gonzaleses. I said, "Good ... make it Franky G ... but Franky with a Y," because I had already had a friend named DJ Frankie G.