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On the outside, America looks like this great melting pot, but on the inside, there's this segregation in American cinema. Why does a Latino film have to be for Latinos? Why is a black film just for black people? Why?

There just aren't enough positive portrayals of Latino life in film.

Hollywood has definitely grown, in embracing the inclusion of Latinos in the world, because, for some time, we didn't exist. We were not part of any stories.

Latinos are the fastest growing minority, and we're obviously not going anywhere. We're extremely loyal as a people, and I think Hollywood is starting to recognize that. It's very rare for a major studio to nationally distribute a film with Latino talent, not only in front of the camera, but also behind the camera.

You go to Los Angeles or New York or Miami or Chicago, and you see Latinos everywhere; they are involved in every part of American society. That's why they have to start being represented in Hollywood, because an 'Americano' can't walk down the street and not see a Latino.

I don't want the Latino community to think I think the reason Latino films are not doing well is because of us. It is not fully our responsibility.

There isn't really a theatre culture in L.A., which is odd when there are so many brilliant actors there.

We can now have action movies with two stars where one might be African American and one might be Asian American. One of them doesn't have to be white, and the other one doesn't have to be the ethnic sidekick. We're way over that. And I think it's happening in society, too.

Making a movie with people of all different ethnicity, all different skin color and different backgrounds, meant that the movie can literally play all around the world. It's not just a blanket whitewash film like most Hollywood films tend to be.

I like to consider myself an actor who just happens to be Hispanic.