For Fil-Am actor Anthony Ruivivar, acting is all about breaking down barriers and stereotypes.
As one of the few ethnic minorities (and maybe the only Fil-Am) with a leading role in a prime time network show, Ruivivar said it’s time for people to accept the changing world around them and that would eventually force Hollywood decision makers to hire more minority actors.
“It’s up to the people. They are the ones who have to support it. That’ll be the driving motivator,” said Ruivivar to the Asian Journal. “We’re always the best friends or written as the bad guys or villains. There are great roles out there for minorities but ultimately; it’s the studios and the powers that be and public perception. You have to follow the money. The question you have to ask is what’s the perception of Middle America? The moment they are willing to walk up and watch movies where we are the leads, then the studios will follow.”
Minorities—Asians and Latinos especially—remain significantly under-represented in film and TV roles, according to studies from the Screen Actors Guild. Several major networks and movie production companies have strived to include more diversity in their cast. Most have set up diversity initiatives to hire more minority actors, writers, and directors but it hasn’t reached an acceptable point. In this past year’s Emmy Awards, only four minorities were nominated, according to the NY Daily News.
The 39-year-old Ruivivar is doing his part in changing the perception of minority actors.
He’s one of the lucky few Asians to have had steady lead acting gigs and not just play a villain or stereotypical roles.
Ruivivar is currently one of the lead actors in ABC’s new legal drama series The Whole Truth. He plays Alejo Salazar, a gay high-powered attorney.
“He’s an openly gay lawyer, something you don’t see on TV,” he said. “It’s just part of who he is and I like that they don’t make a big deal of it.”
Prior to that, Ruivivar played almost himself—a Hawaiian Filipino—in NBC’s Third Watch for six seasons.
He said Asians and other minorities just have to keep knocking on the doors of Hollywood casting directors and companies and hope the public perceptions change.
“Sometimes we’re put in boxes but I think it’s important that we keep pushing the envelope,” he said.
Born to act
For Ruivivar, growing up in a show business family has its perks.
On the road with his father, Tony Ruivivar, a known musician in the Filipino community and member of the Society of Seven and watching his uncle Francis Ruivivar, an actor whose Broadway credits include Miss Saigon and Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, allowed him to experience the life of a performer early on.
“I knew right away I wanted to be an actor,” said Anthony Ruivivar. “I was lucky enough to have dad in the entertainment business. I would be on the road with him when he toured in Canada, Las Vegas, and Chicago. I grew up in that mix so when I decided to go into acting my family was very supportive.”
He said that one of his good family friends is Martin Nievera.
“He’s like an uncle to me,” he said. “I remember he helped build my first cardboard fort.”
Born and raised in Hawaii, he left the island to study acting at Boston University.
“I felt it was very important to focus on acting and attend an acting conservatory,” he said of his decision to attend BU. “I did nothing but theatre and study Shakespeare.”
When asked why he didn’t have a fall back career, he said actors that tend to have a back up plan end up doing them.
Ruivivar said he was one of the fortunate few not having to struggle like many actors after graduating in the early 1990’s.
One of his first movies was White Fang 2. Then he starred in Race the Sun and Star Ship Troopers. He had two appearances on All My Children in 1997 and bit roles in Simply Irresistible and other B-level movies.
His big break came in 1999 when he was cast as Carlos Nieto for NBC’s show Third Watch.
“That’s when people began to recognize me and my abilities,” he said.
He said he’s been fortunate to have had a steady career and hope things continue to look up.
Advice
There aren’t a lot of Fil-Am actors playing a leading role in a primetime show or a movie but Ruivivar hopes that’ll change.
Aside from acting, he also directs and writes. He recently wrote a play titled, SAFE, which was picked up by theatre publishing firm Samuel French.
He said it’s time for minorities especially Filipinos, who are interested in the entertainment industry, to step up.
“My advice to them is work on your craft,” he said. “Work on the skills that you need to do the job…there’s a lot of people who want their 15 minutes of fame but if you don’t have a background and skills you won’t have longevity. Don’t this for celebrity. Just learn their craft and train and keep at it and keep working on their work.”
One other thing that he does want to do, something that he’s expressed to Nievera, is to go back home to the Philippines and possibly act in a movie there.
Ruivivar has never been to the Philippines but said, “I would love to reconnect with my father’s motherland. That’s where we’re from.”
“I need to make it back there and bring the family,” he said.
(www.asianjournal.com)
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