Edgar Ramirez finds a way to stay busy. The Venezuelan born actor has spent the last three years earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his performance as Gianni Versace in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” reuniting with his breakout “Carlos” director Oliver Assayas in “Wasp Network,” filming the upcoming Disney blockbuster “Jungle Cruise,” teaming up with good friend Jessica Chastain in the action flick “The 355” and appearing alongside Jennifer Garner the indie family flick “Yes Day.” And somehow he managed to fit in a key role in David E. Kelley and Susanne Bier’s “The Undoing,” which debuts on HBO this Sunday, along the way.
READ MORE: Susanne Bier didn’t compromise her vision for “The Undoing” [Interview]
Set in the world of very wealthy white people from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the limited series finds Ramirez portraying police detective Joe Mendoza, a veteran officer who is tasked with looking into the murder of a mother whose oldest child attends an expensive and prestigious private school on a mysterious scholarship. The case finds him continuing to question therapist Grace Fraiser (Nicole Kidman), another mother whose only son (Noah Jupe) is enrolled at the institution. As the series unfolds, Mendoza’s investigation skills are called into question.
Ramirez jumped on a zoom call earlier this month to discuss “The Undoing” and his excitement over the recently announced project, “Losing Clementine” which begins shooting in January and will reunite him for a third time with Ms. Chastain.
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The Playlist: What made you want to jump on board this project?
Edgar Ramirez: I mean, everything was there. Everything was there for me to jump right on it, starting with the invitation and the people that invited me to be on it, Nicole Kidman and Susanne Bier. One of my favorite actresses in the world and one of my favorite filmmakers in the world, so it was fantastic to just receive the invitation and to come and play. And, of course, based on a script by David Kelley, who’s such a brilliant writer and so sharp and so sensitive and so acute in his knowledge of the human condition. It’s one of those projects where all the elements align for a great journey. I’ve always wanted to work with Nicole. She’s basically one of the finest actresses in the history of cinema, and it’s a dream come true for me to work with her and it was an amazing experience.
You mentioned that both she and Susanne had reached out. How involved was Nicole as a producer to try to get you onboard?
Yeah. Susanne called me. Nicole reached out to me, and then I had a call with Susanne. Actually, I was very happy. And very flattered, very grateful to Nicole and Susanne and the rest of the producers for really working it out because when I got the call from Susanne, I was in Cuba starting “Wasp Network” and that was going to be a long shoot. It was going to be like three-and-a-half months. I basically finished [filming] “Wasp Network” in Spain, flew to New York, was picked up at JFK, drove to Long Island, and started shooting right away. It was back-to-back. It was one of the longest days in my life. Yeah. I’m very flattered and very grateful to them that they make it work so that I could be in the show because it was an amazing experience. I’m very happy that it all worked out.
In terms of your character, do you feel that Joe and his partner think they are good at their jobs? Or do you think they’re just looking for the easy way out?
No. They’re good at their job. But I’m actually wondering why would you ask that question. Maybe you’ve seen something that, as an audience, that I haven’t picked up on
Obviously, I’ve only seen up to the fifth episode. Anyone talking to you hasn’t seen the sixth and finale one yet. Without giving anything away, you have to wonder if they have other motivations during their “investigation.”
What do you think?
Well, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you. [Laughs.]
After watching the scenes between Nicole’s character and my character, what do you think?
I know what happens in the book, so I don’t know if the series follows the source material or if it has another twist. I talked to Susanne earlier. She really wouldn’t say either way. I’m sure they don’t want people to not watch the show and know it right away at the end. But you played him over all these hours. You tell me.
It’s interesting what you’re saying because you’re asking me if maybe there was another motive that may have affected the investigation, right?
Right.
And I’m wondering if, in the long hours of interrogations and the interaction between our characters, if there was something else that you could feel in their interaction. What would you say about their interaction?
Clearly, there is a spark between them. That’s what you’re going for. Then again, you don’t read her Miranda rights to her and that’s a big deal. Definitely a surprise for anyone whose legal knowledge is just based on “Law & Order.” Was that the goal? Did you want to just have that underlying tension between your characters?
Yeah. That’s what I find so interesting about the story in general. It’s like the characters are full of contradictions. It’s not about the bad guys and the good guys. It’s just that you know the cop is a cop and the therapist is a therapist. These are adults, dealing with complicated matters and with complicated feelings and with complicated energies. And that, I think, makes for a great drama. Of course, my character is seeking for the truth, but the truth is a very tricky thing because it’s not a picture saying, “This is the truth.” It’s more of a sphere that moves, and we deal with one face while it’s hiding the other one in the shadows. And when you look at it from another point of view, then you see that another face is revealing and the other one stays in the shadow. It’s that oscillation that I found so interesting, that interaction among the characters. And, definitely, there’s maybe an unconscious, unrealized sexual tension between these two characters, and II can’t tell you for sure, but I wonder if maybe that might have affected his judgment. That might affect the investigation just because he was also, aside from being a cop, he was also being a human being, you know?
Absolutely.
And that’s what I think is interesting about that. The show reminds me of the great adult dramas, thrillers from the ’80, and the ’90s, where complicated things happen to complicated people, and where the sexual energy – not necessarily the sex – but the sexual energies complicated things even more.
Well, I’ve got time for one last question I’d like to ask you about. I know that your new project with Jessica, “Losing Clementine,” was announced recently in the trades.
Yeah.
You seem really excited about it on social media. Can you just say why exactly?
First of all, Jessica is an amazing artist and one of my best friends. We just did “The 355” and we go all the way back from “Zero Dark Thirty” when we met, and we became very good friends. I feel so much respect for her, and I think that she’s such a fine actress and so generous and determined. And I love the story, and I love Lucia Puenzo’s work. She’s one of the best filmmakers in the world and definitely one of the best filmmakers from Latin America. I love the story, and I just love the elements. I think it’s all about going out and play with people that you enjoy and whose work you respect. And if, on top of that, they’re so close to your heart as Jessica and I are, as Jessica is to my heart, and it’s just the biggest luck. So I’m very happy about that because this will be our third collaboration, and it’s delightful to work with her.
“The Undoing” arrives on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, Oct. 24