Vanessa Ferlito, Jay Hernandez Interview

MoviesOnline caught up with Vanessa Ferlito and Jay Hernandez to talk about their new movie, “Nothing Like the Holidays,” shot on location in Chicago by award-winning director Alfredo De Villa. 

Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, and Debra Messing headline an all-star cast in the humorous and heartwarming story of one unforgettable family holiday. It’s Christmastime and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family converge at their parents’ home in Chicago to celebrate the season and rejoice in their youngest brother’s safe return from combat overseas. Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Pena, and Luis Guzman also star.

Vanessa Ferlito, who has appeared on “CSI: New York” and “24,” plays Roxanna, the Rodriguez family’s middle child and only daughter. A struggling actress living in California, she’s been chasing her Hollywood dreams for years with little to show for it. She finds herself drawn to Ozzy, the young man she left behind who works in her father’s store.

Ferlito co-starred recently as Kirsten Dunst’s best friend in Sam Raimi’s hit sequel, “Spider-Man 2,” and co-starred in Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed film “Death Proof,” part of the ambitious double feature “Grindhouse.” Her television credits are equally impressive, with guest-starring roles on three of the medium’s most popular series: “Law & Order,” “Third Watch,” and HBO’s Emmy-winning “The Sopranos.”

Ozzy is played by Jay Hernandez, familiar to audiences from roles in films including “World Trade Center” and “Friday Night Lights.” Earlier this year, Hernandez was seen in Neil LaBute’s police Drama “Lakeview Terrace,” opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Patrick Wilson, and the horror-thriller “Quarantine.” Hernandez also recently reunited with “Nothing Like the Holidays” co-star, Melonie Diaz, for Neil Abramson’s war film “American Son.”
 
Vanessa and Jay are fabulous people and we really appreciated their time. Here’s what they had to tell us:

MoviesOnline: Luis (Guzman) is hilarious in this. There is a lot of energy on set. What was he like?

Jay: The thing about Luis is he's so random. Anything that comes out of his mouth is funny. He could say “Hi” and you're like “Ha, that was good!”

Vanessa:  He's very professional though too. When he means business, he starts yelling. You're like “Are you crazy?” He's like that. You don't know if he's joking or not. He's crazy.

MoviesOnline: Do you two know each other from working on Grindhouse?

Jay: No. We shot totally separately. I was in one of the trailers.

Vanessa: Oh right. You were in that sick... I forgot. I forgot about that sick trailer that you were in (laughs). You know I almost did that trailer, right?

Jay: Yeah, yeah he (Tarantino?) told me you might do it.

Vanessa: If I would have known, then I would have made it my business (to be in it).  I had just had a baby. I would have been having a heart attack doing that other scene.

MoviesOnline: Did you two meet early and talk about your roles in this film since you were destined to be boyfriend/girlfriend?

Jay: We met in Chicago at rehearsal. We had time with the group and individual time with the director and tried to work things out. My process is not to put it all out there and act and do it all in the room in a rehearsal and it's the same thing with her.

Vanessa: Yeah. We were really not up for rehearsals.

Jay: I'm like “We can run lines if you want, but I don't do that.”

Vanessa: We're meeting in like the lounge of the condominium. We saved that for the day.

Jay: When it's rolling you know.

Vanessa: But I was in Jay's face. I was always in his face. Like after when we were hanging out. I pushed myself. I wanted to be his friend.

Jay: What are you talking about?

Vanessa: But I did.

Jay:  Did you? That's very sweet, very sweet.

Vanessa: I think he's awesome and I wanted to be his friend. (Jay is laughing throughout this).

MoviesOnline: What about the salsa dancing?

Vanessa: I know like the two step. That's it. And Luis was like “Come on. Why you keep doing that?” I'm like “Who do you think I am? Do you think I take classes?”

MoviesOnline: Can you talk about relating to your character?  Do you remember those days of waiting for the phone to ring?

Vanessa: It was a different process for me. I was a club kid. I was on the cover of New York magazine and discovered like that. It was one of those stories that you're like “Oh, I know this story. Here she goes. Sleeping in the car.” But, it really was. This is unbelievable that this is even my life. I come from not even close. I can't even believe it so, no.

MoviesOnline: What do you mean a “club kid”?

Vanessa:  I was a famous club kid in New York.

MoviesOnline: Like you were a D.J.?

Vanessa: No. We used to throw parties together; this club called "Life" and they did an eight-page story on us as if it was brain surgery (laughter). You would think what we did....why are we on the cover of this... anyway, thank God for that.  From there, it was that time. It was '98. Clubs were in. It was like that time and they were psyched for us and they always wanted the club kids to do cameos in movies. So, that's how it happened. I was like “Oh yeah, an agent. Sure, I'll go out,” and the first thing I went out for was "The Sopranos" and I got it. So that's how it happened. I hate to say it like that because I wait for calls now and don't get it. I'm still waiting for calls but my path was a little different.

MoviesOnline: Jay, you kind of lucked into your career?

Jay: I didn't pursue the business. I kind of fell into it too. The way it happened for me is I met somebody who was a manager and who was looking for clients and he saw me and said “You've got a great look. Let's try and do this” and it was a long process obviously. I started going to acting classes and all that. I couldn't get a job to save my life. He had a lot of money and was wasting his money, I thought and I wanted to quit. And I had like a four-hour conversation. I was trying to get out of it and he was like “No. Stick with it. Stick with it.” And about a month later is when I got “Crazy/Beautiful.”

Vanessa:  Is he still your manager?

Jay: No. He passed away. He would have been my manager. He became family.  He had an interesting story. He was a drug addict for his whole life. He lived a crazy life. He was making amends and doing the right thing and I was like his project.

Vanessa:  He was your angel.

Jay: Yeah. I did a lot for him and he did a lot for me.

Vanessa: This is a good story. I'm hearing it for the first time.

Jay: It's great. I loved the guy. I was in New York doing press for “Crazy/Beautiful” and I got a call at like three in the morning that he had passed away. It was terrible because it was at a time for me when things were happening and the other part of it is I didn't know the business so it was hard to navigate my career after that. I was kind of lost and didn't know what to do, really.

MoviesOnline: To prepare for your role in this film, did you talk to any gang kids or research that life?

Jay: I grew up in L.A. and I've seen a lot of that and been around it and had family on both ends like cops and criminals, I really do. So, I didn't have to imagine. The only thing different is it's Chicago and it's kind of different out there.  To me, it's more of an East Coast feel with the tattoos and everything but L.A. gangs are very specific.

MoviesOnline: I guess Luis ad-libbed half of his part. Did you two improv at all?

Jay: I think, for the comedic stuff, ad-libbing works more but when you're trying to do a relationship thing, I don't know. (to Vanessa) Did we go off-script?

Vanessa: We stuck to the script pretty much.

MoviesOnline: Is it true that you don't speak Spanish?

Jay: My Spanish is okay... un poquito. It's okay. My parents are like the same thing. They learned when they were twenty.

MoviesOnline: But you could swear in it I bet.

Jay: I can swear in like ten languages. Anytime somebody speaks a language, they teach you the bad stuff. I could swear in Russian like a drunken sailor (laughs).

MoviesOnline: A lot of adult children are bringing their problems home for the holidays like in the film. Have either of you been in that situation?

Jay: I don't bring my problems home. I'm so personal with my stuff. If there's an issue, I'll go off in a corner. It's like with cats. You know, when cats get sick, you never see them. You never see a sick cat. That's me. If it works itself out, then I'll come back and whip my tail around.

Vanessa: I stay away from the holidays for stuff like that. I don't bring my stuff home. My aunts are all crazy so there's always a drama involved there. I torture my mother with all my problems, that poor woman.

MoviesOnline: Now that you have made it, when you go home, do you have family that really over-hypes your stuff or talks up stuff that wasn't a big deal to you?

Vanessa: For a while, it was like that and I just felt really uncomfortable only because I don't think of myself like that. I don't want to be put on the spot around my people. That makes me feel a little weird sometimes.

MoviesOnline: So what is their favorite thing to talk about?

Vanessa: They ask me about other actors. What bothers me is when they say, “I read US Weekly. Is that true? Do you believe she did that?” and I'm like “I don't know. I'm not that actor.” You'll never see me in that. They don't want to know what I'm doing. I live a quiet life. I'm not dating anybody famous. I have no idea if that stuff is true. Don't ask me. They shouldn't even be reading that. I get asked stuff like that. They'll ask about actors, they want to know about stuff like that. And, some people, even older, they want to get in the business now and I'm all for a dream but they'll say, “My father never let me. Do you think I can now?” I just lead them in the right direction. I have no idea what's going to happen.  Hollywood can be not nice at times.

MoviesOnline: Do people have scripts they want you to read?

Vanessa: People have scripts. I still live in my neighborhood in Brooklyn so I don't get star treatment like that. I'm still Vanessa from the neighborhood. My parents own the shop that I worked in as a teenager. I have a child from my childhood sweetheart. I left but I never really left.

MoviesOnline: What about your own families during the holidays is like this film and what is different?

Jay: My family is together all the time and it's kind of the same thing with Vanessa. There's no like coming together after five years. I'm too tight with my family. I go through withdrawal (if I don't see them). I kind of go crazy. But the food thing, that's all the same and how crazy it is during the holidays.

Vanessa:  They're all loud. My mother's here with me. She's down the hall! (laughs) I can't get rid of the lady.

MoviesOnline: Can you talk about how you got involved in this project and what it was like to work with such a phenomenal cast?

Jay: It was pretty standard. I read the script, sat down with the director and auditioned, got the part and went to Chicago. The cast was amazing. The cast was one of the reasons why I wanted this. It solidified the choice. You see a good script and you see how the cast is coming together. It just made sense to me. I just wanted to meet and know and work with all these people. It's a great cast, really pulled together, an awesome cast.

Vanessa: Yeah it was almost meant to be.

MoviesOnline: Was there anyone you were in awe of?

Jay: I've been watching a lot of these people for so long. Everybody, Alfred Molina, they've made their marks in the industry. It's just nice to get to know them and have that experience.

Vanessa: I'd just had my baby and it was the first script I'd read since “Deathproof” and I was like “Wow, this is so different from my last movie.” I was getting a lot of thrillers and scary movies after that, a ton of them, and I always get scared. I can't read scripts of scary movies. I get scared so this was the perfect family movie; a nice ensemble, not too much pressure with a newborn. I was really excited and I went on tape. They were all in L.A. And, I got it from the tape.

MoviesOnline: What Christmas gift are you planning to give this year to significant others or kids in your family?

Vanessa: I'm not giving gifts this year. I told my whole family; “Don't buy me anything. Buy for my son. There's too many of them and it becomes complicated.  I told them not to spend money on me. Just get for my boy if you want to get something. I'm gonna get my son a truck, though. He loves cars. I'm gonna get him this Cadillac Hybrid truck. He's gonna be psyched. He's fourteen months old.

MoviesOnline: So he's just starting to walk around?

Vanessa: He wants nothing to do with walking. He wants to crawl. He's a little crocodile. It's just faster. He'll take a couple of steps and fall then he wants to crawl. He talks a lot though. This boy copies everything. At fourteen months, he says everything.

Jay: You have to watch what he says.

Vanessa: True. He's a climber. He goes up the steps real fast but he doesn't want to walk. I don't want to rush him. I'm like “When you're ready.” My boy. I never want to let him go.

Jay: I've yet to decide that. I'm not gonna go shopping. I think I'm gonna do everything online. I did some of that last year. There's no way I'm gonna try to brave the crowds. It's madness.

MoviesOnline: Have either of you had any problems with ethnic type casting; getting called in because you are Latino or not being called in because you are?

Jay: For me, that was like the first five years of my career; always the same sorts of things; the same kind of roles, same kind of characters. A lot of them were gang members and in that line and I avoided that for so long. With this project, I felt like it was time to go and take that route and do something a little different but it is hard. No matter what you are, it's hard. For women it's hard. For me it's the ethnic thing. The business is very hard in general.

Vanessa: Yeah, the funny thing is, I'm not even Latin. I even was nominated for an award and I was like “Let them know at the NAACP, the first white woman.” Let them know I'm totally grateful but I can't do that. I play Latin. It was “The Undefeated” and then "24." I'm Italian but I've played Texan in “Man of the House” and in “Shadowboxer,” I was... but there was a point where I had to say “No.”  I had to switch it up a little bit. In the business, if you have dark hair and features, you're considered ethnic. Jamie Sigler is not even Italian and she was in "The Sopranos" so good work is few and far between. If it's good, no matter what the nationality is, I'll play Chinese if you want. (laughter).

MoviesOnline: Do you prefer working in TV over film or do you care?

Vanessa: Well, TV like "24," that was really fun but "CSI (Miami)," I quit the show, the procedural thing for me... I couldn't. My head was not there. I love doing film.  I love traveling for a two month or three month thing but I'm open now to TV. I'm at a different place in my life. I've got a child, mouths to feed. I get anxiety these days. I'm like “Oh, my kid.” I want to make sure he has a great life and private school is so expensive. Money was never an issue for me. I was just happy to be able to be creative and release some of this madness in my brain. I finally found a place for myself. I never knew what I wanted to do in my life. Maybe I'll work in the shop. I didn't know. It's a hair salon. I even went to hair school. I have a license. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I went to college for a year. That didn't work. I went to hair school. I bartended. So now, with a child, I feel like I need to give him a great life and I'm always worried about being broke again.

MoviesOnline: Now “Death Proof” exists as its own movie, with your scenes restored. How do you like that version?

Vanessa:  I was really upset when the lap(dance) scene was cut. I was like “What?” You really can't question Quentin. I had no idea until the premiere. I was so upset. How do you take that out?

MoviesOnline: Did you know they were planning to restore it?

Vanessa: For DVD sales or Cannes which I missed because I was pregnant. I worked really hard on that. I really loved that dance. I had such a good time and then when it got cut....

MoviesOnline: Well that was part of the joke, that it was cut.

Vanessa: I know but you think they would have cut it in the middle (laughs). It's just like out, you know? But he's a genius. You don't question. That's just how it is and that was his vision but, honestly, I was a little disappointed that it was out.

MoviesOnline: Jay, you've done action films, love stories, other genres. Is there a genre you still want to tackle?

Jay: Yeah, I'd like to do comedy. It's a genre that works and pulls in the audience. There's a side of me that people haven't really seen so I think eventually it's gonna happen. I'm looking for it.

MoviesOnline: What are you working on now?

Vanessa. I'm not working now. I'm doing this and after this I did two films:  “Medea Goes to Jail,” a Tyler Perry film and I did a cameo in Norah Ephron's “Julie & Julia” with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. 

MoviesOnline: What kind of role in Medea?

Vanessa: I play a prostitute and I go to jail. I play Medea. It's really good though.

MoviesOnline: An Hispanic prostitute?

Vanessa: (laughing) No. I play white trash. It's actually really good. That guy (Tyler Perry) is a machine. He's kind of a genius and he makes a ton of money.  He just bangs them out. He'll come into work at eight o'clock. You'll think you're gonna be there from eight to eight. At three o'clock, he'll be like “Oh, I got a phone call. I gotta go. Shut it down.” Three o'clock the whole thing would be shut down. Who does that?

Jay: I've got another action film. It's called “Bone Deep.” I play a detective, me and Matt Dillon. We're trying to take down this crew of guys pulling off heists around the city. It's shot here. A lot of great locations in downtown L.A.

MoviesOnline: An Hispanic detective?

Jay: Actually, no. His name is Hatcher.

“Nothing Like the Holidays” opens in theaters on December 12th.