![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.dailyactor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Ramon-Rodriguez-Will-Trent-Interview.jpg\")
There are some shows where you just want to hang out in that world, and for me, Will Trent<\/em> is one of them. From the first episode, I was hooked and to be honest, I kinda want to be Will\u2019s best friend.<\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez<\/strong>, who stars as Will, laughed when I told him that. \u201cYou want to be Will\u2019s best friend? That\u2019s amazing. I love that,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I want to be his best friend\u2026 but he\u2019s an interesting guy, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n In our conversation, he talked all about building the character, from the Southern cadence he created (inspired, in part, by Outkast<\/em>\u2019s Andre 3000), to Will\u2019s beat-up shoes and signature three-piece suits. He also got into how being involved in casting has changed his perspective on acting, and yes, we even talked The Wire<\/em>. Because how could we not?<\/p>\n You have this cadence for him that is just so addictive to my ear. <\/strong>H<\/strong>ow did you come up with that? Is it as fun to do as it is for me to listen to it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> You know, it is. It immediately dives me right into him.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never really created a Southern dialect and so when I read the script and knowing where he was from, I wanted to make sure he sounded like the environment he was raised in, which was Atlanta and the foster care system there. So, I found an incredible dialect coach and started that process.<\/p>\n And we had a couple of different ideas and we wanted to find some just voices and sounds for inspiration and one that really seemed to resonate was Andre 3000 from Outkast<\/em>. And it wasn\u2019t to sort of duplicate, but it\u2019s just there\u2019s a tonality, there\u2019s a rhythm. And that actually really helped me and eventually created the sound that I guess is now Will Trent.<\/p>\n It was a great entry and kind of a foundation, like a building block that I was like, it cracked him open in a way that was really helpful.<\/p>\n And another part of that, honestly, was his wardrobe. I don\u2019t I don\u2019t wear three pieces on a daily basis, so putting that on, I told myself it was him putting on his armor, because he is someone that sort of keeps his true self very close to the chest. He likes to make sure he presents himself a certain way, so that was a big part.<\/p>\n And then in his wardrobe, he has these terrible shoes that are so old and beat up, which I love so much, because you look at those shoes, and you know, this person\u2019s lived a life. That they have a story.<\/p>\n I think those are things that I loved early on when I read the script, like the handkerchief and the tape recorder. He\u2019s got a throwback old school vibe about him. When we were doing the pilot, we referenced a lot of noir films that just gives it some texture and some life.<\/p>\n Even when he\u2019s not on the job, his clothes feel like something from a couple years ago, like he hasn\u2019t shopped for ages.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> I think he\u2019s sort of stuck in time, in the way he operates. He\u2019s a very rigid person. You know, he compartmentalizes a lot of things and that\u2019s kind of how he\u2019s coped with everything that\u2019s happened in his life. I think he\u2019s still living in the past in certain ways.<\/p>\n I mean, it wasn\u2019t until this last season where we finally saw him with an actual smartphone. He had a flip phone that was taped up. But I love that, it was hard for me to give up that flip phone, I have to be honest, just because it\u2019s so unique, so awkward and telling. But I think for someone like him, it\u2019s actually functional.<\/p>\n We wanted to find ways that this character could be evolving and I thought it was a beautiful way to introduce\u2026 the purpose of the phone is not just have a cool smartphone, it\u2019s a way for him to really accept his dyslexia. And he\u2019s using it as a tool, which he learned from his uncle Antonio in season two, who is also dyslexic. And not only that, it\u2019s a connecting point to his mom, because Eduardo only speaks Spanish. So, he gets to continue this new language that he was learning that is rooted in his identity to his mom.<\/p>\n And so I love when we\u2019re able to have those creative conversations with the writers and really find things that anchor and aren\u2019t just, you know, for no particular reason.<\/p>\n Are you able to go in and out of the accent? Like you don\u2019t stay in it all day, do you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> No. But season one, I have to say I was definitely much more.. it was a new sound, a new placement in my mouth and so I stayed in it more than I definitely did after season one. Season two, it was so wonderful to be able to just pop in and I felt really just much more comfortable in it.<\/p>\n Your entrances in every scene, they always seem so purposeful, especially when you\u2019re on the job. Like, it\u2019s very prodding. Do you think about those beforehand?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> I mean, I don\u2019t think about all the entrances, but crime scenes for him is like his sandlot. There\u2019s a couple animals that I\u2019ll sort of reference sometimes when I think about it, but he\u2019s going in there with a very clear intention.<\/p>\n And I love that he\u2019s like a shark. He\u2019s sort of hunting and scanning and looking at things a different way. Maybe that\u2019s why you sort of sense that and feel that, but it\u2019s not something I\u2019m always thinking of like, \u201cOh, how am I going to enter the scene?\u201d But there\u2019s a motivation beneath that, that I find really interesting because the guy has a very unique point of view and perspective.<\/p>\n Sometimes there\u2019ll be fun things where he just will be looking at things that may seem nonsensical, but there\u2019s something behind it. And I love that about him. It\u2019s just, he\u2019s a little awkward. He\u2019s a strange cat, you know, he\u2019s a strange cat. He beats his own drum, walks his own rhythm and I think finding that and being able to play in that, at least for me, kind of pulls me into him, which is cool.<\/p>\n You do so much on the show. You\u2019re the lead, you\u2019re one of the producers. You directed an episode earlier this season. How does that affect your actual preparation on the acting side?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> Yeah. There\u2019s not a lot of time; I\u2019ll tell you that Lance.<\/p>\n It\u2019s one of the things that I think most people may not truly understand when you\u2019re wearing multiple hats. And even if you\u2019re not, if you happen to be on a show and you\u2019re in a lot of scenes, time is limited. I know people and God bless them that have that memory where they can look at their lines and they got it. That is not me. I am slow. I\u2019m so slow.<\/p>\n So, what that means is that I\u2019m often having to get up very, very early, way before my call time to begin a process of studying. Because by the end of a shoot day, especially if I\u2019m working every day, I\u2019m fried, so it\u2019s not going to really stick.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned the morning is really sacred time for me. Very, very early in the morning. But there\u2019s not a lot of time because the executive producer title for me is not a vanity title, it\u2019s something I take seriously. I like being involved in all of those discussions about every aspect of the show, music, directors, scripts, casting. Every part of it, I love being involved but that requires time.<\/p>\n Luckily, I\u2019ve gotten a little bit better and what I think it is, is that I\u2019ve gotten more comfortable with the character. I really know him and so it may not take me as long to process and learn dialogue.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re preparing in the early morning, are you still writing things in the script, finding motivations or what you want to do in the scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> I\u2019m not writing maybe as much as I used to, but I\u2019m definitely writing things down. If I showed you what my sides used to look like, it\u2019s crazy. It\u2019s madness. It\u2019s like, there\u2019s stuff everywhere and drawings. Now there may not be as much of that, but there\u2019s definitely things in there where I\u2019m making notes for sure.<\/p>\n One of the guest stars this season was the guy who played Raphael, Antwayn Hopper. You two were terrific together. Did that chemistry happen organically?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> He was introduced in the premiere of season three, which I was able to direct, which was incredible, and we introduced two really big new characters. One was Raphael, the other one was Marion Alba, Gina Rodriguez<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s character.<\/p>\n With Antwayn\u2019s casting or Raphael\u2019s casting, I remember I saw his tape and he really stood out to me, and I said, \u201cLet\u2019s bring him back. Let\u2019s do a call back.\u201d We all agreed because we loved him, we just wanted to see some different colors and try some other things. And he came back and did a call back and he crushed it. He just crushed it.<\/p>\n The tricky thing about our show, which I\u2019m proud of, but it is tricky when we\u2019re casting is we\u2019re not just sort of a typical cop procedure. It deals with some heavy traumatic stuff and some funny stuff. So sometimes you\u2019ve got to be able to sort of juggle both. You\u2019ve got to be able to have the skill set of being able to do comedy and drama. Not everybody can do that. And Antwayn, I could see he had that.<\/p>\n The thing with that character is we didn\u2019t want to just have a very sort of one layered bad guy, somebody simple. We wanted to have some complexity and nuance. We also wanted to show the history of what happened, and that Raphael has something over Will. We just don\u2019t know what it is, and we learn about it later.<\/p>\n I spent a lot of time with Antwayn. We talked and we rehearsed because I wanted to make sure that it really sang, that people could really get behind it and go, \u201cThat guy\u2019s great,\u201d because he is great and that they just maybe wanted to know more about the character. \u00a0Again, it wasn\u2019t a simple role, it was a complicated character where we got to see vulnerability. We got to see intensity and danger.<\/p>\n All of those elements and colors were what we were looking for and it was amazing. That I got to direct his first episode and Gina\u2019s first episode on the show and it was fantastic.<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019re on the other side of the desk and you\u2019re involved in the casting, do you think that\u2019s helped you at all as an actor?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> It has. I\u2019ve seen it before. I\u2019ve been a part of casting and there\u2019s no doubt. I mean, the one thing that is so true and it really is, man, when somebody walks in the room, you very quickly can tell if they\u2019re it. It\u2019s really a feeling that even emits over tape, which is convenient. I do them as well.<\/p>\n Being on the other side of it now, where I do get to really have an input in the process and go, \u201cWow, that person is fantastic. Maybe they\u2019re right for it.\u201d Or maybe they\u2019re not right for that part specifically and we find something else for them down the road. But they really stay on our minds.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s also when you\u2019re relying on your casting directors, which we have fantastic local and national casting directors. They get the show and the people they present to us are just great.<\/p>\n Being from Maryland, I think I\u2019m legally required to ask you about your role on one of the best shows ever, The Wire<\/em>. That was one of your first roles, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> It was, absolutely. That is one of the most incredible experiences in my career, without a doubt. It\u2019s one of the few jobs I kept all the scripts to because they\u2019re that good.<\/p>\n I was spoiled. Like you mentioned, it was early in my career, and I actually thought, \u201cOh, all TV must be like this when you get the scripts.\u201d That\u2019s definitely not the case.<\/p>\n It was a really wonderful experience. Honestly, I had the great fortune of working alongside what I really believe is one of the greatest actors in Michael Kenneth Williams<\/strong>. I got to play his lover. That character, Omar, that he created is so beautiful and compelling and just fascinating. And he was so marvelous in other jobs as well that he did after that, but in particular for The Wire<\/em>. So, I had the real honor that that was my scene partner. I joined in season four. He\u2019d already been on it for several seasons. So, it was really great.<\/p>\n And again, look at how things worked out. When Will Trent<\/em> came about and I was on board as a producer and starring in it, we started talking about the role of Amanda and who comes up, Sonja Sohn<\/strong>. And again, another person, Erika Christensen<\/strong>, I go way back with her.<\/p>\n But it was pretty great to be reunited with her. We\u2019d never had scenes together, Sonia and I in The Wire<\/em>, but we knew each other and we hung out a lot. We had a mutual friend in Michael and other actors on the show. And so it was a really wonderful experience, man. I am so proud that I got to be a part of that show, knowing how beloved it is.<\/p>\n If for some reason you could have Dominic West<\/a> and Wendell Pierce<\/a> on an episode, my head would explode.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramon Rodriguez:<\/strong> What was crazy is that I ended up actually working with Dominic on The Affair<\/em>, that was another full circle moment. I\u2019ve been having a lot of those where I said, \u201cYou know, if you stick around long enough, you end up running into folks.\u201d And it was great to work with him on that show.<\/p>\n The Wire<\/em> has produced such incredible talent. When you look at who came from that show, it\u2019s baffling. I\u2019m a very small part of that show, but it\u2019s a credit that I\u2019m incredibly proud of.<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ramon Rodriguez as Will Trent There are some shows where you just want to hang out in that world, and for me, Will Trent is one of them. From the first episode, I was hooked and to be honest, I kinda want to be Will\u2019s best friend. Ramon Rodriguez, who stars as Will, laughed when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12021],"tags":[13474,2246,2305,2850,4731,5727,4678,2971,8992,18971,91423,46552,5640,40328],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-250964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acting","tag-actor-interviews","tag-cat","tag-cool","tag-crafting","tag-featured","tag-interview","tag-joy","tag-playing","tag-quiet","tag-ramon","tag-ramon-rodriguez","tag-rodriguez","tag-strange","tag-trent"],"yoast_head":"\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.dailyactor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ramon-rodriguez-antwayn-hopper-will-trent-600x338.jpg)
![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.dailyactor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-wire-ramon-rodriguez-michael-kenneth-williams-600x338.jpg)