In Conversation with Actor Erniel Baez

Erniel Baez is a rising actor from Cardenas, Cuba, now based in Montreal, Canada. His journey into the world of entertainment began when he spent countless evenings watching movies with his beloved grandfather, igniting his passion for acting. He was captivated by the performances of icons like Al Pacino and Denzel Washington. We caught up to discuss his career and his latest project “Hotel Cocaine”.

The main inspiration behind my pursuit of acting were all the films I watched growing up. I decided to pursue acting because I wanted to be in a position to tell stories that moved people and connected with people, in the same way that films had always moved me.

I grew up there, yes. I lived with my mother and grandparents back in Cuba, but it was my grandfather who instilled in me the love for film. The best part of his day was when the evening came around and he could finally sit down and relax, watching films that he had rented that day. I would sit with my grandfather all night and watch films from all different genres, especially action! He was the biggest action film fan I have ever met. I eventually ended up moving to Canada, but that tradition stayed with me. I would go to sleep with the television and DVD on all night because it soothed me to have the sounds and lights of films playing in the background.

I did, when I was younger I initially wanted to be a professional athlete. I was a big football fan, or soccer, as you would say. When I arrived in Canada I was exposed to a new sport, hockey, and I grew to love it! My goal at that time was to become the first Cuban goaltender to make it to the NHL. I pursued that dream until the age of 15, at which point I realized that this was not likely to happen. I decided to find something new to focus my mind on, something that had always been present in my life and that I just hadn’t given a chance — Acting!

My experience was very good, as it gave me the opportunity to break the ice so to speak. It allowed me to engage with other people from the acting community in my city.

At the time, I honestly did not know what kind of impact it would have. I just remember being incredibly excited at the opportunity of being able to play my first lead in a feature film. The whole experience was very educational because of the nature of the project and how experimental it felt. We had a great group of young, talented and driven individuals who were very committed to making the most out of the experience. As a result, this project will forever be one that I hold dear in my heart.

While it’s not strictly an acting collaboration, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the opportunity to work alongside one of the directors on Hotel Cocaine, Academy Award winner, Mr. Guillermo Navarro. It was an experience that I am particularly proud of because it allowed me to work alongside someone with such a high level of excellence and a great attention to detail. I was not sure what to expect at first, but I was wonderfully surprised at the result. I felt we understood each other from the beginning, without having to say much on set. There was a mutual respect and understanding which enabled me to deliver to the best of my ability.

I would say: Conscientious, Ambitious and Creative.

Hotel Cocaine tells the story of Roman Compte, a Cuban exile who is the manager of the Mutiny Hotel and Club during the 1970s and early 80s, when the hotel became the epicentre of Miami’s cocaine scene. My character, Ray Dorado, is a prominent bank owner in the city of Miami, with dubious ties, and he happens to be a regular at the Mutiny Club..

Simply put, it was one of the great experiences of my career thus far! It was an incredible honor to be able to share the screen with such talented and experienced professionals as Mr. Chiklis and my big brother Danny Pino. I learned a lot from just being on set with them and witnessing the way they carried themselves and led the whole production by example. The same goes for the amazing Yul Vasquez, who along with Danny and Michael, made sure that we all had the best possible working experience, so that we could deliver our best work.

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.My favourite film of all time, is without a doubt, The Godfather! I think it’s a masterpiece that will never feel dated despite the fact that it’s been over 50 years since it was released. Also, the movie stars two of my favourite actors of all time, Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, who both give one of their best career performances.

Premiering very soon on Prime Video is the series Cross, which is based on the Best Selling novel series thriller, by James Patterson. I recur during the season as Alejandro “Jando” Galvan. He’s the coroner who helps detective Alex Cross with his cases.

You can find me on Instagram @Erniel.Baez