Actor Desmin Borges, who has been seen on many notable tv shows and films including playing a very memorable vet with PTSD on FX’s You’re The Worst, is now starring in a new comedy-drama called DriverX, which chronicles the life and riders of a ride-share driver played by Patrick Fabian (Better Call Saul). Desmin plays one of the service users, Tommy, a comedic character trying to find himself in the back seat of a car as well as through some very interesting night-time rendezvous.
Also
starring in the movie, which starts its theater run late November 2018 and can
also be seen on many streaming platforms at the same time, are Tanya Clarke, Melissa Fumero, Oscar Nunez, Max Gail and Travix Schuldt.
I had
the opportunity to talk to Desmin about his role in the film, learn about his
comedic inspiration, and get a glimpse into what makes this successful actor
tick.
-----------------------------------------See DriverX in Theaters and On Demand Starting November 30, 2018
On Being Tommy
"Working
on this movie was a blast. This is actually the second project I have worked on
with Henry and Mark. The first project I worked on with them was a film called The House that Jack Built. It was shot in the Bronx in NY a couple years back. And
then Henry called me up one day and said, "Hey, I'm working on this new film,
I've got this character that I am writing for you for you now, and I want you to
do the thing that you do and add to it as much as you can.”
Desmin’s Knack for Improvising
"Henry said that because on the House that Jack Built, the script wasn't exactly
finished so we had a lot of room for some improvising within the scenes to kind
of flush it out and Henry and I really hit it off on that level. Because you
know, LOL if I get the green light and I hear go I'll take it into a couple different
directions!! That way we have some variety and layers, because who knows what
kind of story they want to craft once they get into the editing room.
And so
I said yes of course very quickly, read the script, and found out it was going
to be opposite Patrick, and I have been such a huge fan of his for such a long
time and then yeah when we got on set it felt like Patrick and I had been
working together for such a long time!"
On Being in Car in the Rain In The Wee Hours of the Morning
"We got a lot of what was on the page out, and then we just kind of just started playing around and letting it fly from there and taking it in different directions, cause we were in the car the whole time and for the most part it was raining and we weren't in perfect communication with Henry, so we didn't know if we were going in the direction he wanted.
So we
would go like 20 or 30 minutes at a time and we would just get whatever,
whatever was happening was happening, and then we would get out of the car, and
he would give us some notes, and direction, but it was really fun and I was
really grateful that we had a director and a writer who enjoyed the
collaboration process, who understood that there are sometimes ways we can
elevate what is on the page.
I kind
of got that feeling because of so much time spent in the car, that we could put
our input in."
There Really are People Like Tommy
"You
know Henry and I talked about who this type of guy is, where he's from, the
fact that well, he has a wife, but we envisioned him as the kind of person that
mixes substances so whether that's like alcohol and pills, or alcohol and coke
or something of that sort that there's always a demon that he's always trying
to chase down but diverting them through these substances.
And we
were shooting at night most of the time. It was basically like 9pm until 4am in the
morning so I was pretty delirious anyway so it helped, I’d be like should I say
this or not, and it was like yeah, let’s do it so that was really cool."
Inspiration from his Hometown of Chicago
"Yes, it’s
funny, I know guys like this, specifically, that I knew from Chicago. I kind of
based it on them. I went to acting school when I moved to NY but before then in
my mid-twenties I knew these couple of guys. They were really outgoing, charming,
charismatic, they seemed free to do whatever they want, and then you find
out that they have a partner and they're
ridiculously in love with them, but they both have this understanding that
allows them to live their individualistic life styles and then meet at the end
of the night no matter what kind of night that it came to be and I always
thought that was an interesting tactic.
It's
not really my personal philosophy, for being in a relationship, but it's
a fun one to play with in my character because
it gives you the opportunity to explore some material that you necessarily
would not be able to, without making the person sound like an asshole, or too
committed to being a player, which my character is not that. He's still looking
for himself individually, even though he's with this person. And he may want to
be the best person he can for this partner, but he's still fighting his own
demons you know, outside of the relationship, so I always thought it was an
interesting approach."
On Being A Funny Guy
"I know
how to make things funny but I don’t know if I could write a whole set, if I'd
be good or effective, I mean you hear about most of those comics who were
bombing forever until finally it clicked one day. I heard Zach Galifianakis
talk about this, other comics……..it takes time."
Watching the Church Lady, Listening to Sandler’s Hanukkah Song
and a Steady Diet of Wayne’s World
"I'm an SNL
kid, I grew up on them, you think about Belushi and Akroyd, but the cast I
connected with most was the one with with Mike Meyers, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartmann, Rob
Schnieder, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley.. the whole gang.
That
whole movement that was happening in the early to mid 90's turned out to
be like some really amazing stuff, and I feel like a lot of my humor is kind of
fed through watching them every Saturday night, and how much joy they took
working together. Probably the best
thing I took away from it, is the way Amy and Tina, well they really enjoyed
working together within those skits and you can tell, Jimmy Fallon was always
breaking laughter in the skits, some crazy stuff!"
A Bit Like Fabian’s Character
"So it
was fun to play this within this scenario, and it was just so nice because it
kind of mirrored a little bit of what Patrick's character is going through what
he's trying to juggle and fight within his own."
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"Maybe my
character is like a younger version of himself, that he sees, I had always
thought that but we really didn't talk about that.
Patrick
is a middle-aged man not feeling comfortable with where he is. I think that depending
on where you are, your age or location, a person could feel out of place
anywhere. When I was in Houston Texas when I was younger I felt out of place
there coming from Chicago so I definitely understand that feeling of
feeling out of place."
Getting Around in NYC
"Living
in NYC when Uber first came out, I started ordering it all the time, because it
was cheaper than taxis and it would come right up to you. Then then when I
heard about some of the affiliations that the CEO had, politically, I cancelled
my Uber account. I do have LYFT for when
I need it.
Chicago Pizza - Lou Monatti’s or Giordano’s?
"Favorite
would be Lou Monatti’s. But, I'm not a
deep dish guy, not that I don't love it I just can't handle all that cheese
it's too heavy for me. My favorite pizza of all pizza is the small Sicialian
square that are usually called grandma style they have it in parts of Chicago
but it's all over NYC and it reminds me of the pizza that my grandmother used to
make in her kitchen. But if I’m in Chicago, if I'm taking someone out, we're
going to Lou Monatti's."
Why He Can Binge on Stranger Things but not This Is Us
"Favorite
shows to binge on? Stranger Things, um, and This Is Us. The thing is, you can't being this This Is Us
because it's too emotional, I can't binge more than two of those
episodes in a row because I'm crying at the end of every
episode."
I also like the Walking Dead, I could go down
the rabbit hole and get really dark with that one and spend a few hours there.
Oh, and
I like animated – have you seen these shows? I’ve been binging Archer and
BoJack Horseman."
Advice for Young Actors – You are your Competition
"I would
tell a younger actor to always remember that it's not a competition against you and everyone
else, it's a competition against you and yourself and as you prepare and hone
your craft the way you want to and in a way that makes you passionate those writers, directors and producers and
casting directors will remember you. They may not want you for this part but
they're remember you for another down the road.
I feel
like a lot of people feel there is a lot of competition between them and
someone else, and the older I get the more I realize that way it’s going
to be a rough sledding ahead. But as
long as you remember that it is you versus yourself I think you'll be
good, it allows you to push yourself more and not get so down on yourself.
if you
know that you did the best you could, I can guarantee you those people will
hire you for something that's probably better than what you are auditioning g
for now and you'll win out later. It will give you the opportunity to grow more
to expand whatever reportiere you already have in your box."
Besides DriverX, What Else is On Your Slate?
"I did a
film called Private Life. It’s about a couple, played by Kathryn Hahn and Paul
Giamatti having a hard time having a baby, so they go through the other
options, whether its adoption or IVF. And along the way they deal with some
complications. I play this character who
is employed by Paul Giamotti’s character. I’m his only employee in his pickle
company and I fall very head over heels with his niece It’s made by Netflix."
So Many Platforms, So Many Voices
"There’s
lots of new players in the movie business these days, lots more opportunities,
it's great. You get to hear more female voices and voices from people of color
and you get a nice variety of stories from people that need to be told, so that
everyone can feel a part of what is going on."
For Info on DriverX:
To
Connect with Desmin:
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