Our interview with actor Steve Villegas revealed himself as both personable and articulate, fully at ease speaking about himself and about his thriving career. He is both an award-winning actor and a producer. His film, “In Broad Daylight” recently won Best Drama and the 2021 Official Latino Audience Award, while Villegas himself took home Best Actor in a Drama, at the 2021 Official Latino Film and Arts Festival in New York.
As a producer, Villegas is a co-owner in his production company, 4 Ways Entertainment, and produced a short film titled “Slipping Into Darkness” which was named a winner of the HBO Latinx Short Film Competition in 2020.
His team is currently in development to make his award-winning short, “In Broad Daylight” into a feature film. He is also working on a new project named “Splash City.”
Villegas first became well known for his recurring role as Marcos on the CBS series "S.W.A.T.” and Netflix’s hit series “On My Block” as Sad Eyes. Having played these two roles on two different series at the same time, is a testament to his skill as an actor and also to his personal energy! Since the characters he played existed in a landscape similar to the one in which he grew up, they were also akin to the individuals inhabiting this programming world.
As an actor, he has developed a skill for bringing the audience into the world of the character that he is portraying.
Villegas pulls from his real-life personal experiences in order to take on these complicated roles. "There is a special collaboration with the writers you’re working iwith n this creative endeavor.”
He didn’t imagine being an actor as a child, in fact he dreamed of being a police officer. Villegas childhood observations of the movies he was seeing as a youth, lent him to develop an understanding about the behind the camera action.
As an adult, he wanted to get into the business. A friend introduced him to an agent and that’s how his career began.
We wondered how the life he’s created for his children is different than the life he grew up with and the impacts of having an actor for a parent. At first his children didn’t understand what being famous was about, but they are getting accustomed to it.
We asked him what’s going on, now that he has his own production company. He described his film “In Broad Daylight” as being about corruption. In this film, he plays a totally different character than what he’s previously played on television.
“Our plan is to grow. I try not to get distracted.”
Villegas’ career documents that very clear intention. We look forward to finding out about all the places that intention is going to take him. And so does he!
Creative credits
- Written by
- Elaine Madsen
- Senior Editor
- Jessica Catignani
- Lighting direction
- Rielle Oase
- Retouching
- Brianna Kish
- Styling
- Julia Perry
- Hair & Makeup
- Jean Ramos
- Grooming
- Jean Ramos
- Fashion direction
- Katie Schuppler
