Michael Mando Ignacio, star of “Better Call Saul”, on dangerous path

[The following interview contains spoilers for Better Call Saul’s two-episode premiere.]

The walls close with Michael Mando Ignacio “Nacho” Varga.

Premiere of the long-awaited final season you better call saulIgnacio, a reluctant lieutenant in a drug operation in Salamanca, narrowly escaped a confrontation with Salamanca’s cousins ​​(Daniel and Luis Moncada) when Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) determined he was to blame for the Lala Salamanca massacre. (Tony Dalton) Composite. diligent fans breaking Bad The world has been speculating about this story since it was first heard nearly 13 years ago under the direction of Saul Goodman. breaking Bad Introduction, “It is better to call Saul.”

When Salamanca is still hot, Mando reveals that Ignacio’s attempt to protect himself and his father becomes even more horrible.

“As the story unfolds, we’ll see what he’s really made of and how far he’s willing to go to protect his father,” Mando said. hollywood reporter.

At the end of Vince Gilligan’s second episode, Ignacio made one last plea for help to Mike Ermantraut (Jonathan Banks), a Fringer repairman. Their relationship started after Mike helped Ignacio Salamanca with the problem. you better call saul The second season of “Gloves Off”.

“Among them is this unspoken virtue and honor among thieves. They respect innocent life which the Salamis do not. They respect your word, which salamanders do not. And not Gass,” Mando said.

in the last conversation THRMando also remembers a moment on set with Gilligan, where they both took turns hitting a wall-mounted air conditioner.

April 26, 2009 breaking Bad Viewers first heard Ignacio’s name when Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) blamed him for what he allegedly did to Lalo (Tony Dalton). And now, nearly 13 years later, we are finally seeing this fabulous story unfold. How pleasant was this important moment for you?

It was amazing. I don’t know what I did to be so lucky. You can work very hard and be very talented, but the stars behaving as they have in my career fills me with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, humility and responsibility.

There are many parallels between Ignacio and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and Vince Gilligan’s second episode Carrot and Stick helps create these early episodes. you better call saul Feel the Ignacio version of Jesse’s story El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. So what do you think of Ignacio’s attempt to finally do the right thing and hopefully break free?

Playing a character who loses a good character when the entire course of the script is bad, puts a lot of pressure on you, but it’s very profitable despite the character’s pain, frustration, and suffering. Because deep down, deep down, you know you’re doing the right thing. You stand for virtue and morality on the show, you are one of the only characters, if not the only character, to actually go from darkness to light. So this is such a heroic and rewarding place and I’m so grateful to have been given this responsibility.

Ignacio fights for his life in these early episodes and it feels especially painful because he wears boots in the process. Did you get the most out of this job?

(laughs.) I did all the stunts in all but one of the episodes: jumping off the building and crashing into a truck. Also, I was doing everything myself. And it was an amazing order that I was asked to deliver this season. First of all, it’s incredibly physical. It’s incredibly emotionally and psychologically, you just play every note on the piano. It was just an incredible attraction.

His shoulders were actually leaning against the air conditioner.

absolutely! At one point, Vince yelled, “Cut!” So he went out and started doing it himself. That was amazing.

What do you remember about the shootout and confrontation between Don Eladio (Stephen Bauer) Sikarios and the Salamanca cousins?

I remember learning a lot from Vince. Think of cinematic moments. He does the task diligently, but he also manages to improvise very quickly. At a crucial point in this epic skate, he pushed me to play them in two completely opposite ways, changing the story elements slightly as we went along. So it was wonderful to learn from the master. The entire motel series was filmed in two locations. We filmed in the motel parking lot, but all the interior scenes were filmed in the studio.

Ignacio was quite teased in the motel room. He felt something wasn’t right until he finally found out. What comments did you make during this sequence?

Vince said two things about Nacho that made it difficult for me. He said, “This is a samurai without a master.” like Ronin. He also said that he is a tiger in a cage or a lion in a cage. I don’t remember which one it was. (laughs.) But I think it was a really good step to get into the thinking of this character. I knew Vince wanted to get involved. [motel room] He shot and asked why. And his answer is why Vince is a genius. He said frankly, “They’ve built a great team and I want to show that.” And for me it’s magic breaking Bad s you better call saul. Each department gets what it deserves. We all worked together on this and it was a wonderful experience to listen and learn.

Ignacio is unaware that Mike is hanging him and his father by the neck. He’s also unaware that Mike is doing this in part so the other father-son doesn’t end up like him and his murdered son Matt. Does Ignacio feel that Mike was the father? Is that why you first issued this help request?

There is a deep connection between Mike and Nacho that is not talked about. In many ways, they are made from the same fabric, and Nacho sees Mike as the mirror image of his own father in the cartel world. It is this ineffable virtue among them and honor among thieves. They respect innocent life which the Salamis do not. They respect your word, which salamanders do not. And not gas. So there’s really a deep subtextual connection between these two and maybe in the subconscious of it all there’s a sense that there’s a situation between Mike and Nacho. When Mike sent Tuko [Raymond Cruz] In prison, Nacho had a great melancholy to see Mike beaten like this. He really cared about her and asked, “Why punish yourself for people who killed and killed innocent people without even thinking about it?”

When he is alone with his thoughts, does he regret if Tuko ever knew he went to Tuko? After Hector (Marc Margolis), Gass (Giancarlo Esposito) and Lalo (Tony Dalton) entered its orbit, everything fell apart.

He had no choice with Tuko. He started doing a lot of metabolism again and that’s when he kills people for no logical reason. So Nacho immediately got into trouble because these guys wouldn’t let him go. So she had no choice because she knew if he was going to kill her one way or another. In season two, Nacho made it very clear to Mike when he explained the situation with the dog Paulson. Tuko shot himself in the head and nearly killed Ignacio doing so. A piece of this child’s skull is still in Ignacio’s chest. So this is a tragic story about a man who at an early age is tricked by the wrong crowd and won’t let him in because of his abilities. It becomes very valuable.

What do you think of the dangerous path ahead as Ignacio fights for his life and that of his father (Juan Carlos Cantú)?

These characters are cult and each character represents something. I believe that Ignacio is the eldest son and represents redemption, sacrifice and love. As the story progresses, we’ll see what he’s made of and how far he’s willing to go to protect his father.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

you better call saul works on mondays At AMC.