Mayans MC actor Antonio Jaramillo has revealed new details about his enigmatic character Michael “Riz” Ariza for the Sons of Anarchy spinoff that debuts Tuesday, Sept. 4 on FX.
Speaking with PopCulture.com, Jaramillo described Riz as “the secretary of the group.”
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“He looks at what comes in and what goes out, as far as money. As far as numbers goes,” Jaramillo added. “That’s his gig.”
Not much has been known about Riz, and while Jaramillo could not divulge more, possibly because his character has some ties to important plot points in Mayans MC.
Jaramillo did divulge that Mayans MC is “one of the coolest shows around.”
“I couldn’t ask for a better gig,” he said. “Go to work to ride a motorcycle, are you kidding me?”
Jaramillo has been acting for more than a decade, starting his acting career on the stage before eventually making the leap to TV and film. Some of his more high-profile projects include NBC’s Shades of Blue, the sitcom Meet the Browns, and the Oliver Stone film Savages.
While being in Mayans MC is a great experience, Jaramillo went on to clarify that “it doesn’t stop being a job.”
“We have a job to do,” he explained. “We have to tell a story and there’s a lot of responsibilities with that, but it is fun to go to work and put on a cut, a leather cut, some sick pair of jeans, a pair of cowboy boots, and then get on your bike and, ‘Let’s go.’ And a cigarette every now and then, and tell a story,” he went on to say. “A story that people are interested in and hearing.”
Even still, he admitted that the show is a lot of “fun,” and that the cast has “a lot of fun on set.”
“We really do. It’s really a dream gig. I’m super … I guess, excited for the show, and I’m looking forward to how the fans will receive it, and I’m grateful to be part of it.”
When it comes to the moment that he found out he had been cast in Mayans MC, Jaramillo said that landing the role of Riz left hi with a feeling that is hard “to put into words,” and that he “just had a big grin on my face.”
“I knew that it was going to be an important show because of what Sons of Anarchy is, or was. I knew what it meant,” he asserted, letting fans know that he’s fully aware of how much legacy there is now for Mayans MC to be able to build upon.
Fans can catch Jaramillo and all the Mayans MC cast members in action when the series debuts on FX on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
