interview JANA LETONJA

Danny Ramirez will next star in Marvel’s ‘Captain America: Brave New World’, in which he will reprise his role as The Falcon. The film is set to release in theaters on 14th February. Later this year, he also will star in season 2 of the critically acclaimed show ‘The Last of Us’. Besides this, it was also recently announced that he will be directing and starring in the sports drama ‘Baton’, produced by David Beckham.

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You’re reprising your role as The Falcon in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’. What can fans expect from your character’s journey in this new film, and how does the dynamic between The Falcon and Captain America evolve?

What could be expected obviously, in the same magical tradition that Marvel always has, is edge of your seat entertainment. The bare minimum is always that we're going to try to make the most entertaining action packed film. But within that, I think what makes this special, and in talking with Julius and Anthony in what we wanted this to be is at its core, at the heart of the film, was a brotherhood and specifically this mentorship element that I think many of us face and many of us experience. Stepping into set and knowing that my character is looking up to Sam Wilson in the same way that I'm looking up to Anthony, I realized that that is really one of the most important pieces of this film that I get to explore, what true mentorship is as an individual and as a character. And then from that, a bunch of really high dynamic sequences and chaos that I think is going to bring a lot of excitement, attention to the audiences. Being able to throw down in some sequences that I would've never imagined, with some amazing artists, I think is what people should expect.

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jewelry DAVID YURMAN

Marvel has always been known for its compelling character relationships. How would you describe the emotional core of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’, particularly the brotherhood between Falcon and Captain America?

I think that the emotional core itself is the relationship between Sam, Isaiah and Joaquin. It's dealing with trust and shared values, and the willingness to challenge each other within that trio really is the driving force that helps us see Sam in the lens of a leader. Obviously, Sam Wilson is filling in some big shoes that I think is very obvious and everyone's talking about it. So much of our dynamic and what the execution of the film itself is, it's not just about fighting side by side against someone, but it's also this really internal beautiful journey that is filled with cognitive dissonance and self-doubt. And within that, it's just finding that in others. I think that helps you push you over the edge. I think we get to see a little bit of the personal sacrifices that come with being a hero, and that's at the emotional core for me.

Given the scale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, how do you prepare to step back into a role like The Falcon, especially with the weight of the franchise behind it?

It involved a mix of intense physical and mental preparation, just knowing what is at stake. Obviously, it's important to stay true to Falcon in the comics and the journey within that we're all on. The best way to put it, the Marvel family is like a theater troupe. From the person that's the gaffer, to art department, to props, it's people that are going from movie to movie and joining. I think that was really humbling because everyone knows everyone so personally. And so me being a newcomer, it was acknowledging that this is a moving train and it's in the evolution of what Marvel is becoming and going to become. It's understanding that we're all like in service of the story, and I think that was a part that was about the mental preparation of it. And obviously, the scale is massive and it's undeniable that this is a completely different type of story. There is a longevity and a length of this process that I acknowledge. I don't want to burn myself out really quickly, but I also want to be in shape, and bringing really exciting choices. It was about honoring the legacy, but also finding my own thing that makes it truly authentic to me, and why only Danny could be this Falcon.

We’ll also be seein you in the second season of ‘The Last of Us’, which has become a cultural phenomenon. While details are still under wraps, how does it feel to be a part of such a widely acclaimed show, and what can you tease about the second season and your role in it?

First of all, I feel a great honor joining. I always describe it as a team that's won the championship and you're a new player that's been added the following year to try to win that same championship. And I think that is actually something in my projects that resonate in the same way, from doing something like ‘Top Gun’ to ‘Black Mirror’, to joining the Marvel universe and to ‘The Last of Us’. There's a clear hierarchy and respect. We're young and we're doing things that are amazing, and people are excited about what skill we have and the potential, but there's also respect and honor and privilege to be able to play in these arenas with the likes of Craig Mazin, Pedro Pascal and Kaitlyn Dever.

The thing that's exciting about ‘The Last of Us’ to me is that on the surface it's a survival story of a brutal situation in which humanity's in, but it's also about humanity, it's about our human choices. And I'm really excited to play in that space because the stakes are cranked up to a million and it’s all about these nuanced decisions people make. Like, why don't you let somebody in the car. If you're driving and trying to survive, what makes you make that decision? Really dark things, but I think it's part of our psyche and part of decisions that have been made in the history of humanity.

As far as teasing anything, there's things in the video game that are in there, and there's also new things that are in there. And from this season to whatever may come in the future, there's going to be a little teasing and a little dropping who my character and our characters are. It'll be a little steady stream, I'd say.

The storytelling in ‘The Last of Us’ is known for its emotional depth. How do you approach your character in a series that blends survival, loss, and the complexities of human relationships?

I jump in with it because without giving too many tidbits of the situation on the show, I'm not sure what is established and what's not. There are people that are born into these situations. And although on the forefront, we might expect it to be about just survival, there's also people for whom this is a reality. To me, it distilled into what is driving someone outside of survival. And within that, outside of the obvious, like what have they lost. I think it's just really drive and the relationships that they have, leaning into it with openness. I'm very excited for the future of that series and my attachment to it. There's a lot of exciting pieces that we get to play with. And I think with super teams like this, there's always so much potential of who can play with who. And the more that they're adding amazing cast for the season and the years to come, there's just more potential to play with really exciting people.

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coat, jacket and pants GIORGIO ARMANI
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jewelry DAVID YURMAN

It’s also recently been announced you’ll not only be starring in, but also writing and directing ‘Baton’, a sports drama with David Beckham producing. What inspired you to take on such a multifaceted role in the creation of this film?

Well, it's been a personal project of mine from the moment I started acting. I wanted to make a film that reminded me of what's my philosophies on success and the sacrifices within that. There's a lot of beautiful comparisons that I aspire to connect with because it's a part of my soul, and so when I started acting, I realized nobody was writing these lead roles for me. Like, they didn't exist, they weren't being written, they weren't being financed. And so I was like “Okay, I can't complain about it, I got to write it. If I feel this way, there's a bunch of other people that surely feel this way”. It was always a passion project of mine that explores my identity being a first generation American and seeing what that American dream was like through that lens, and the ways that we've seen historically a Latino family in Hollywood be perceived. It's about perseverance and the sacrifices we make for our dreams, familial passings of batons.

The multiple roles just felt right. Early on, I was going to write it to be able to act in something that I wanted to do. I played college soccer and my identity was of an athlete. My mom and family sacrificed so much for me to do that, so I had to make sure that every word in the script is resonant of that. And then once I finished it and I was attached, I was like “Okay, I got to build my resume so this could be financed”. So then when I was auditioning, reminding myself of ‘Baton’ existing pushed me that much more to work hard to get those jobs. And then ‘Top Gun’ came and the Marvel world came, and all these jobs that allow me the freedom to express myself artistically on independent levels, which I love to do. So, by the time it came to directing, I went around trying to find someone and every studio exec was like “Who knows how to shoot action in this way that's authentic and real?” With ‘Baton’, we're trying to shoot soccer in the way that no one has authentically, like ‘Whiplash’ did for drumming or ‘Black Swan’ for ballet. Like war films, the genre shoots everything so objectively. ‘Top Gun’ only reinforced why it's important to shoot something for real, and that's where the directing part came in for me as organically, I'm the one that philosophically aligns with this because I wrote it and because I'm acting in it and because I'm training in the sport.

With someone like David Beckham producing ‘Baton’, how has his involvement influenced the film’s direction and your approach to storytelling?

This is the part that's incredibly special. David and Studio 99 are amazing partners that have from the moment that they jumped on board and read the project helped in ways that I couldn't imagine. The soccer world is craving something that tells the athlete's story through this perspective. They just resonated from beginning and were like “These are the types of jobs we want to do. This is what we want to jump into when it comes to the film industry”. It's all these little tidbits to fuel me to do more work. Just aligning with another person that is on the path is forging for others. It's inspiring. And as a director, I want to deal with someone like David, who has experienced it and lived it in the sports world. I think it's one of the last great frontiers to be able to do what Tom Cruise does in ‘Mission Impossible’, but in the sports world. As an athlete, he can see how people move, if it's real or not.

I want to make a film about and with all these people that have sacrificed and dedicated parts of their life to a sport. I want them to watch something and be proud of it, not have to jump in and be hooked by the story, but also be hooked by the action on the field. And I want to do that for every sport ever. I think we aligned with Studio 99 and David Beckham that way. And the other producer, Victoria Alonso, was one of the head honchos in the Marvel world. She's a brilliant producer, and the team that were gathering around me in order to delegate and make sure we do this in the best way possible is exciting. David is just the tip of the iceberg of a fantastic group of creatives. And there's a bunch of surprises in there, even to David's extent.

coat, jacket and pants GIORGIO ARMANI
sweater WAX LONDON
shoes AMIRI
jewelry DAVID YURMAN

suit BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
sweater PAIGE
shoes THURSDAY BOOTS
bracelet DAVID YURMAN

Directing, writing, and acting in one project must be a unique challenge. How do you juggle these responsibilities, and what have you learned from stepping behind the camera?

Balance is the tricky thing. To me, it's going to deal with trusting department heads. Funny way to put it, at the very least, the director and the lead actor are on the same page. And if they're not on the same page, then we have problems. I think so much of what this film is, is about sacrifice and that overdrive of this mentality that I think goes in line with what the experience is going to be on set. But then delegating to really talented artists and individuals allows for me to concentrate on making the main thing. I think a director is a dream role for me in every capacity. It kind of touches all the walks of life I've been through, from being on the soccer field to then different majors I had in college, to the businesses that I jumped in on and the way I did. I think it’s a perfect cocktail and balance is just tricky. I don't know if anyone's ever really figured it out. I generally don't. I've had to research so much about it, because there's themes in this film that are about that. There's always searching and yearning for balance, but I think it's really difficult to find it in a static way.

After the success of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, you’re continuing to build momentum in your career. How do you choose roles that challenge you creatively while also offering new opportunities for growth?

‘Top Gun’ is a chapter and a catapult that I think associated me with a lot of great people. But so much of my career has been things that haven't happened, these life-changing roles, that jobs that I've booked that haven't come to fruition. I think when the opportunity arises in the time that it arises, there is essentially one decision that I make, which is whether or not doing that film would be more fulfilling than me writing during that time. I've started writing a lot more and that's kind of taken the place of selecting amongst a bunch of different projects. No matter what the project is that I get to do, I try to find the challenging way about it. And I think it's more about people again. I'd rather be a role player in a brilliant team than be the top scorer in a team that's losing a bunch of games. Like, I'd rather do the really gritty, hard work that's not the shiny one, but is a part of something bigger collectively. What’s happened to me and opened my eyes, I was a supporting character in the film, but as a collective, it was a resounding impact. The audiences and people that went in there were inspired and moved. And I think that was the most important lesson.

suit BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
sweater PAIGE
shoes THURSDAY BOOTS
bracelet DAVID YURMAN

coat, jacket and pants GIORGIO ARMANI
sweater WAX LONDON
shoes AMIRI
jewelry DAVID YURMAN

How do you stay grounded in the midst of such high-profile projects and the pressure that comes with them?

Well, good question. I don't know if I've ever been grounded. People think about fame. I don't, that's the thing. I've always said that my ego's been the same since I was three years old. I'm living in the clouds and I think anything is possible. And I think I've maintained the same core values. I like to go out and touch grass, and push myself physically and run and play soccer and sports, and play video games. And the things that I do on my day-to-day change sometimes, but it's never felt like an issue. Even if there's friends that I haven't talked to in a while, they're surprised whenever I do talk to them because I’m the same person, nothing's changed. Maybe the way I talk has changed a little bit or thoughts that have grown within me have now become more solid. I don't know if these high profile projects affect me from that standpoint.

So if you had to pick one thing only that makes you the most excited for this year, what would it be?

There's so many answers, but I think it'll be the impact that a Latino superhero will have on kids. I recently had my cinematographer from ‘Baton’ call me and he was like “Hey, my nephew just bought your toy and it's his favorite toy, but he doesn't believe that I know you”. And so I FaceTimed him and I just saw his eyes light up, and that's exciting to me. When I was growing up, my heroes were the black and brown community that I felt like I could be like, or other athletes from the sport. I never saw an actor that looked like me or that I could be like, so I never saw myself in that. But these kids, I'm excited to see if they get inspired and they're like “Oh wow, that's someone that's more like me. He's got my culture, he's got my heritage, he speaks Spanish, he represents me”. That's a weird abstract thing that I'm just excited to see, kids smile when they see themselves on screen.

TEAM CREDITS:

talent DANNY RAMIREZ
photography and creative direction BENJO ARWAS
styling WAYMAN and MICAH at THE ONLY AGENCY
hair COCO ULLRICH at A-FRAME AGENCY
photography assistance JOSH HAMMERAN
location and production AGP WEST, ALEXEYG, SHENTALINSKIY FEKLENKO
post production MODE STUDIO SUK
editor TIMI LETONJA
editorial direction and interview JANA LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN

IN CONVERSATION WITH DANNY RAMIREZ

IN CONVERSATION WITH SEBASTIAN KONRAD