Iconic Selena Character Cholo: Erick Carillo Opens Up
In the Hollywood premiere of the movie Selena, Erick Carillo, an actor in the film had skipped the red carpet event. The movie was about the life of the deceased Tejano star Selena Quintanilla.
Also read: The Untold Truth About Selena Quintanilla: The Mexican Madonna
Carrillo was not one of the stars of the film who was being asked for photos unlike his co-star Jennifer Lopez and the film's director Gregory Nava, says an article.
Forgetting a Significant Artist in the Film
Carillo is 100% part of the film. He would have liked to attend the prestigious evening event. However, he was not invited.
Carrillo shared how he believed everyone thinks his role was not significant enough in the film to earn him an invitation to the event. He did not expect to be invited in the event, he added. However, if everyone knew back then how his role in the film had helped uplift the legacy of the movie, he would've been invited to the red carpet event.
Carillo's Role in Selena
In the movie about the life of Selena Quintanilla, Carillo's character was written in the script as 'Cholo #1.' He played one of the two 'cholos' in the film. His character's role in the film was trying to pull the tour bus of Selena while it got stuck in the mud. He helped the bus with his 1969 Chevrolet Impala.
In the scene, his character delivered one of the most iconic dialogues of the scene. According to Carillo, the fans were able to relate to the film through those roles. He said that the fans saw el tío, el primo y el cuñado in those roles. Carillo had also spotted the role's relevance to the film.
Auditioning for the Iconic Role
During his audition for the role, he shared how he delivered his character's line with the typical gangster style. He had seen this type of role being portrayed multiple times in Hollywood films during that time.
During the making of the film, he was 23 years old. He tried imitating unnatural cholos. His inspiration for his character was the many films and TV shows he had seen.
He also shared how he had a private conversation with the director of the film. The director gave him advice about the portrayal of his role.
Carillo remembers Nava asking him to shortly to pause for a while. Nava asked him to portray his character the ways he would do it. He viewed the advice of the director as a go signal to be himself. He believed his character was a unique cholo.
Landing the Role
After finishing his audition, he went back to El Paso, his hometown. He went home to bond with his family. During that time, he did not know that he will make it to the iconic Selena Quintanilla film.
After a few days, his agent contacted him. He was informed that the makers of the film requested to meet with him in San Antonio. He thought he was invited for a second audition. However, after arriving in San Antonio, he received that good news of being cast in the Selena Quintanilla film. And the rest was history.