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By Chrisdfw (Chrisdfw) (209.245.229.153 - 209.245.229.153) on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 09:03 pm:

Kirk Acevado who portrays Joe Toye

By Chrisdfw (Chrisdfw) (209.245.229.153 - 209.245.229.153) on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 09:27 pm:

Welcome to our special "Band of Brothers" issue where we talk with four of the stars of the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg mini-series. For the record, we should never forget those that fought and fell for our country during times of war and we hope that by watching "Band of Brothers" you too will be moved on some level by what went on. The stories, the men, the cause.


From Prison to the Battlefield: Kirk Acevedo

By: Jason M Burns
The Green Room


What can I say about Kirk Acevedo? Well, for starters I have been a huge fan of his work since first becoming a loyal OZ viewer. His character Miguel Alvarez is a fan favorite and he plays the violent inmate flawlessly. Ironically that tends to be his biggest quality, flawlessness.

Whatever form Kirk is performing in, be it on film, television or stage, you know he is a part of it because he makes you know. He doesn't do so through force but through his ability to act his way into your consciousness. He is one of the most crafty actors when it comes to his craft and in my opinion…one of the most underrated actors in the business.

In Band of Brothers he has managed to stand out once again. This time he does so while performing alongside an army of other actors and while playing real life hero, Joe Toye.

In person he is soft spoken and far from what you would imagine prisoner #92A413 to be. He tends to steer clear of the "Hollywood" answers to questions and answers things as honestly as one could hope. He will return to OZ once again for the upcoming 5th season and promises much more from his character from behind the prison walls.

JB: So what's going on?
KA: Oh, nothing much.
JB: Well thanks for sitting down with me. I really dig your work a lot.
KA: Oh cool. Thanks man.
JB: I was talking to your manager about how you tend to stand out in anything you do.
KA: Thanks a lot.
JB: And Oz in my opinion is the best show on television.
KA: I feel the same way. It's good writing.
JB: Which is important.
KA: Yeah. (Laughter)
JB: It seems to me that you're always playing a character stuck in a dangerous situation.
KA: Yeah.
JB: So I guess playing the guy on the straight and narrow isn't all that much fun?
KA: You know, it's actually not all that fun. Usually characters like those are typically two dimensional in a way.
You can go to a lot more places playing someone that is in need for whatever reason…emotionally, mentally, or physically. Also if certain things came up and worked out where a character was fleshed out than white collar or straight…that's fine.
JB: Would you say that Band of Brothers has been the biggest emotional commitment thus far?
KA: No, not at all. I would say doing theater…by far. I get asked all of the time, "What's harder…TV, film or theater?" TV's hard for the hours. Film is hard because you just wait around all day. With film if one take didn't come out the way you wanted it to you've got 50 other takes from different angles. In theater you have one chance every night to get it right.
JB: And you have immediate feedback.
KA: Immediate feedback! What's amazing is every show is different. And when you're performing you're giving something to the audience. Four or five or twenty people get to see only that one time. And there is something that is amazing about that.
JB: Would you say that as an actor you have more control over your acting in theater?
KA: Oh by far. The lights go out…you still have to act. A prop breaks or you forget a line…you still got to act. And what's amazing is that those are the best moments. Either that or the flaws or mistakes. You can't duplicate it and that's what I mean by those people who saw it that night. They get to see something that only they do. It's like when you try to describe a performance that you've seen and the same person that saw it a different night doesn't get the same impression. Different energy or a different crowd! You may have a younger crowd or an older crowd. It's amazing.
JB: Do you try to jump into theater as often as possible?
KA: I do but there are problems. You really can't earn a living off of theater, especially in New York City. You figure the rents are off the register so if you're doing Off-Broadway, I think the minimum is now $550 or $600 a week. But then you're also talking about your 10% here and your 10% there and then taxes. And then you have $300 to pay your rent that costs $1500. It's a problem doing theater. It's great to be able to do a gig in film where you make a decent living and you're able to go back and do theater.
JB: I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions about acting in that everybody thinks if you do it and get exposure then you are extremely wealthy.
KA: Yeah, it's amazing. Because I'm seen on Oz a lot of the urban cats in the city are like, "Yo, I thought you'd be rolling in a Mercedes?" And I'm just like, "Not at all!" This is cable money. There is a big difference between that and a network. (Laughter) But still I can't complain. It's better than doing a 9 to 5 any day.
We feel your pain Kirk. This is Internet Magazine money…not hard copy, which equals out to a big goose egg.
JB: How did you get involved with Band of Brothers? Was it something that you just went out to conquer?
KA: Well, I'll tell you, it's a funny story. I was in Toronto filming a movie called Bait and I had three days off between shooting so I went back home just to relax. I get a call from my agent saying there is Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks producing this big WWII epic and that I should fly down there the next day. It was impossible because I would have to fly to LA and then fly that night back to Toronto to shoot because they want you back a day before just in case. So I was like, "Naw, I'll just skip it." So then my main agent called and played bad cop and was like, "Get your ass on the plane." So I flew down, auditioned and I was told to come back again the next day. That's impossible because I have to be back in Toronto. So basically we haggled the people in Toronto to give me an extra day and it turned out well.
JB: Is there a certain level of stress that goes into portraying a character that lived these experiences?
KA: Do you know what the stress is I think? I think every actor on the set of Band of Brothers wanted to make their guy special, as they all are special. I think the difficulty is fighting to get we all read their bios and we all had stories on our individual characters but a lot of them weren't in the film and some were amazing. I tried to get certain stories in the series that I thought portrayed him in a more honorable light. It was portrayed honorably but I wanted that little extra. And I think that was the stress or the burden of playing someone like this because it's their legacy on film. Especially when the guy Joe Toye has passed away and his children and grandchildren are going to see this picture. I wanted to show everything that he accomplished and you can't and I think that is the pressure. Not really on me per say but it's "doing a good job" and it's difficult.
JB: When you first came on to the production…as an actor were you concerned with, because there was so many characters in the piece that you would be lost in the ocean of the rest?
KA: (Laughter) You've been speaking to certain people. (Laughter) Yeah, that was a big concern because they wouldn't release the scripts and we had to sign on before we saw a script. I was really hesitant about doing that. I have a problem with waiting around and doing nothing. I would rather work a 20-hour day straight.
So, I was really hesitant. I originally auditioned for a different role. It was for Guamere and Donnie was auditioning for Joe Toye. So, all the roles got kind of switched around so I never read the sides of Joe Toye when the offered Joe Toye. I was a little hesitant. "Well, is it a lead?" "What is it?" I kept on calling back just to make sure because we couldn't get a script. Finally when you get the script, they're still working on the scripts so it's a catch 22. I think that was a big problem for a lot of the guys. It goes back to what I was saying about getting certain stories of your character in the film.
JB: Especially when the scripts are incomplete and you don't know if it will be in there up front.
KA: Right. Even if it's filmed you don't know if it's going to be in there. But, at least it has a chance if it's filmed. I think it was a big hesitation on all of our parts. In a way I think for a large amount of the American guys…I think it was a difficult job, especially being away from home for so long.
JB: Well I've been asking some of the other guys this next question but nobody has given me a straight answer. I have been trying to find out if there was anybody who had lost his lunch through boot camp? There had to be at least one funny story that came out of boot camp?
KA: Oh I can't go there. I can't go there.
JB: (Laughter) But was it a tough thing to go through?
KA: I'll tell you the truth! I thought boot camp was pretty easy. It wasn't physically hard. It wasn't physically demanding at all. I'm sure a lot of the guys say it was physically demanding just because it's the thing to say. "It was really hard!" It wasn't hard. What was hard was just the fact that you're thrown in with 60 guys whom you've never met before and then you have your character ranking in boot camp. If your character originally started out at a private or corporal and eventually became a sergeant or lieutenant…so you had guys that were leading you, whom you've never met before.
JB: (Laughter)
KA: So you see where I'm going?
JB: Yeah.
KA: It's very difficult to listen to certain people if they didn't know what they were doing. That's what was difficult to a lot of people. It's like, "No, I'll just do it this way because it's the right way." But that's part of their learning process also. They need to go through that if they don't know how to give a command or which way to go or how to salute or how to fire a weapon. They need to go through that. So, it's frustrating for people who know how. I'm sure it's frustrating for some of the Brits who were military. It must have been extremely difficult for them because they had to listen to strangers who happened to be American telling them what to do. So that was difficult plus also the two meals a day were kind of difficult. I have a super fast metabolism.
I went to London and I was 162lbs and when I came back home I was a 148lbs. It was an unhealthy 148lbs because I was losing muscle. My body was pretty much eating itself.
JB: We mentioned OZ already but will you be returning for the full season this year?
KA: I did. We just finished. It should be a good season.
JB: I was kind of bummed last year because we had you pretty much just in voice over.
KA: That's because I was in London. It was a big thing about me escaping and then getting caught and getting out again. This season I was telling Tom Fontana, "Look, I just can't get out of solitary and be normal something has to be a little off." Especially being in solitary by yourself for a long, long time. And the last thing you see with me doing is wiping feces all over my face. So this year…this is a total different extreme this year.
JB: OZ could kind of be considered the worst steady acting job for an actor because you never know when you could be axed from the story?
KA: Best gig I ever had in my life for that reason. It's because you never know episode to episode if you're going to be axed. Also, and you probably heard this before but, everyone gets along. From Tom down to the delivery person…we all get along. We all hang out and see each other all of the time.

Let's hope they don't get along as much as their characters do in some of their more…intimate moments.

JB: And it must keep it fresh too with all of the new faces coming through?
KA: Oh, it's great. You can change the story lines a lot. It's like a serious soap opera. It's like a soap opera in prison.
JB: You've got three Alma Award nominations and a Cable Ace Award nomination. It's got to make you feel like you're doing something right?
KA: I'm just trying to climb my way up…that' s all. I'm just having a good time. I'm very, very fortunate to work because there are a lot of talented people out there who aren't.

By Michael Toye (Miketoye) (152.163.207.81 - 152.163.207.81) on Friday, October 26, 2001 - 05:04 pm:

Dear Mr. Acevado,

Hello, I am Sgt. Joe Toye's grandson. I am happy i got to see this interview. I wanted to tell you that your performance in playing my grandfather was superb, to say the least. You had him down to a science almost. Its amazing that you could do so well, since you never met the guy.

Anyways, I hope you get this message because me and my family really want to reach you, either by mail, e-mail, phone, etc. We would really like to get to know you since you played my grandfather. You really seem like a nice, down-to-earth kind of guy. I was at the Paris premier, hoping to meet you. Unfortunately, I heard that you were taping Oz, which is an awesome show by the way.

So, if you dont mind, can you maybe e-mail me at my address? Its MstrT17@aol.com. I would be much appreciated. All of the other actors said that you were a really nice guy, they held you with high regards. Well, I hope to hear from you soon.

sincerely,
Mike Toye

By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) (12.239.86.117) on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 01:27 pm:

Photographer: SYLVAIN GABOURY / DMI


GLAMOUR MAGAZINE AND BEBE SPRING PARTY TO BENEFIT SUSAN G KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION AT SPA, NEW YORK - 11 APR 2002


http://www.rexfeatures.com/cgi-bin/rppshimg0?i=379886L

By Chia-li Sung (Clavierfeline) (199.79.168.252) on Saturday, October 26, 2002 - 02:06 pm:

I'd like to see Mr.Acevado in theatre here in NY, anybody has information about the plays he's involved in?

Chia-Li

By Rach (Leikela) (62.254.0.6) on Friday, December 27, 2002 - 11:00 am:

I have started a yahoo group for Kirk Acevedo, go to...

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/KirkAcevedo

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