How 'Will Trent' star Ramón Rodriguez became an industry game-changer

ABC’s “Will Trent” is nary mean constabulary procedural.

“There’s a 1000 bull shows,” said Ramón Rodriguez, who portrays the show’s main character, Will Trent. “How bash you marque this 1 basal out?”

The broadcast play series, which besides airs connected Hulu, centers peculiar cause Trent: a dapper researcher whose instinctual crime-solving skills render him indispensable to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. But beneath the three-piece suit, there’s a much analyzable broadside to Trent, who navigates the residual trauma from being abandoned astatine commencement and increasing up successful the Atlanta foster attraction system. He is besides dyslexic.

“One of the breathtaking things erstwhile I came onto the amusement was not knowing wherever this quality was from,” said Rodriguez, 45. “Trent was precise overmuch [written as] a colorless character.”

Born successful San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rodriguez greeted maine connected a Zoom telephone from his contiguous location successful Southern California, portion wearing a New York Knicks cap. Before “Will Trent,” helium antecedently played the archetypal main Hispanic quality connected the HBO bid “The Wire,” and appeared successful films specified arsenic 2009’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “G20,” a thriller featuring Viola Davis, which premiered April 10 connected Amazon Prime Video.

Since the 2023 premiere of “Will Trent,” Rodriguez has molded his beloved quality successful galore ways; he’s a hard-nosed detective with a mushy side, which is astir evident successful scenes with his pocket-sized chihuahua named Betty. Based connected Karin Slaughter’s New York Times-bestselling caller bid “Will Trent,” showrunners Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen organically tailored the titular relation to bespeak Rodriguez’s real-life Puerto Rican identity. It’s a large triumph for Latinos successful an manufacture that different lacks Latino-led programming.

(Zac Popik/Disney)

“Once we tally retired of feeling fresh, creative, excited and inspired, past I deliberation we commencement phoning it in,” said Rodriguez. “But that’s thing I’m not funny successful and I cognize my partners aren’t either.”

Rodriguez has taken connected roles down the camera arsenic well. He directed “I’m a Guest Here,” the archetypal occurrence of Season 3, which wrapped earlier this month; helium was besides named an enforcement producer. “I truly wanted to beryllium a portion of the originative collaboration of creating this quality successful this show,” said Rodriguez.

When Season 3 dropped a bombshell regarding Trent’s biologic father, it paved the mode for a nail-biting Season 4, which was confirmed earlier this year.

(Nino Muñoz)

This interrogation has been edited and shortened for clarity. It besides reveals Season 3 spoilers.

In the books, Will Trent isn’t Puerto Rican, but this bid is peeking into your ain Puerto Rican identity. What are your thoughts connected that?

It was a taxable that they were funny astir exploring. Where does Will travel from arsenic an orphan who grew up successful the foster attraction system? Identity becomes a focal constituent for idiosyncratic similar that. Again [him being Puerto Rican] isn’t successful the books, which is benignant of exciting. We’ve been capable to abstracted and accidental that the books are the books.

It wasn’t thing that we were trying to benignant of cheque a container and say, “Great, Will’s practice is Puerto Rican.” It was a precise integrated mentation of this quality discovering who helium is.

When you were formed for the lead, did you ever representation the amusement arsenic what it is today?

 You ne'er cognize what’s gonna enactment and wherefore it’s gonna work. You don’t person power of a batch of things successful this business. The 1 happening I bash person power implicit is my work, what I tin bring to it, what I effort to do. This is the archetypal clip I’ve been connected a amusement that’s gone connected for this agelong from the pilot.

If you would’ve asked maine that, is this gonna beryllium the amusement that goes past 1 season? I astir apt would’ve said, “I don’t deliberation so.” And it’s thing against the show, you conscionable don’t know. It took a infinitesimal for maine to beryllium afloat convinced, but I’m truthful grateful that they were consenting to proceed having conversations with maine and that they were truly consenting to person maine connected arsenic a spouse due to the fact that that was important to me.

It doesn’t consciousness similar the amusement hinges connected those elements of identity. Why is it important to support that equilibrium successful this procedural show?

[Solving cases is] different facet of the amusement that I cognize audiences love. I conscionable deliberation the things that thin to propulsion our hearts to the things that are affectional and idiosyncratic things, what someone’s struggling with oregon however are they overcoming it.

In Season 3, we person a truly pivotal infinitesimal wherever Will accidentally shoots a atrocious guy, but ends up sidesplitting a young lad by accident. That lawsuit ended up changing the remainder of the play — helium was not capable to retrieve from that lawsuit of having the lad dice successful his arms. That was Episode 11 and that volition apt spell into Season 4.

(Zac Popik/Disney)

Your canine Betty besides shines successful Season 3. We get to perceive her dependable for the archetypal clip which happens during a amusive hallucination scene. What was it similar to movie that episode?

That was 2 episodes aft this tragic occurrence I conscionable described, which is crazy, right? We wanted to premix levity and wit with our dense play and affectional stuff.

So arsenic Will was entering this lawsuit that progressive a cult, helium gets caught undercover and successful that process helium gets drugged. Liz Heldens, 1 of our showrunners, had been dying to find a mode to get maine to creation connected this show, and I was similar “Listen: Will Trent is an awkward individual, he’s not idiosyncratic that’s retired present dancing.” She was like, “Well, what if that’s a hallucination?” I was like, “That’s brilliant!” Anything tin hap portion he’s tripping.

I retrieve I was walking connected acceptable and 1 of our accumulation assistants, Tim, had work the publication and said, “What if Betty talks?” So I pitched that to Liz and she topped it and went, “Well, what if Betty’s British?”

You made your directorial debut successful Season 3. How was that acquisition for you?

I felt similar a kid successful a candy store. By Season 3, I truly understood the quality and what works with our show, wherever our strengths are. I conscionable got to beryllium maine successful definite scenes, due to the fact that astatine the commencement of the [third] play Will has near the [Georgia Bureau of Investigation], he’s got a beard and he’s successful a T-shirt, jeans and curly hair.

It was besides amusive to nonstop caller formed members. We introduced Gina Rodriguez, who played Marion Alba, and Antwayn Hopper, who played Rafel Wexford. Which was truly fun. I’d beryllium like: “No notes.” [Laughs.]

Will you beryllium directing successful Season 4?

 I volition decidedly beryllium directing astatine slightest 1 occurrence adjacent season. It makes the astir consciousness for maine to nonstop the premiere arsenic I did this past season. I emotion that unit of having to acceptable the barroom for a season.

What tin audiences expect for the upcoming season?

We’re astir to statesman these superior conversations. There were immoderate beauteous superior cliffhangers astatine the extremity of Season 3, wherever we find retired Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) is pregnant, and Will is decidedly not the father, truthful that’s gonna beryllium thing to explore. Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn), who is simply a maternal fig for Will, is successful the infirmary bed. We conscionable discovered his dad, [Sheriff Caleb Roussard], which we don’t cognize excessively overmuch about, truthful I’d privation to cognize much astir the quality and what happened with the mom. There’s conscionable truthful galore questions that we volition get to research — I mean, is determination caller emotion successful Will’s life?