Benito Martinez: ‘American Crime’ is exhausting — in the best possible way

Benito Martinez thought America was ready for the raw brutality and real-life stories told on ABC’s “American Crime.” Unfortunately, the network pulled the plug on the anthology series after its third season.

“I’m happy with what we’ve done so far and hope the legacy lasts,” the actor said when he stopped by The Times’ video studio.

John Ridley’s critically acclaimed series has tackled a slew of provocative issues — racism, homophobia, culture and class warfare, human trafficking and illegal immigration — during its prime-time run on network television.

“These are real issues that are talked about in the news every day to even more graphic detail. It’s what spins every news channel, every news media outlet. We examine that ad nauseam. But when we have a show that’s done the way we do it — characters with great detail and great respect to the people and the situations we’re talking about, no compromise: These are the people, they’re not good or bad, they’re people, and this is what happens when they get thrust in that situation and some of it sucks — absolutely, America was ready for it.”

However, he thought that the show was unfortunate in its time slots and that its content made it hard for some to watch.

“I don’t know exactly the ins and out of why we didn’t find the right night, the right lead-in or the right hour, but for those who see it, those who’ve tuned in — they like it, they tell me they like it and they enjoy it,” Martinez said.

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In Season 3, he played complex father Luis Salazar, a wealthy man who travels to the U.S. from Mexico in pursuit of a missing son who was pursuing his own American dream. Martinez said he was eager to sink his teeth into the role.

“One of the things they found and wanted to retell was that not everybody comes [to America] because they’re destitute. There is the American dream. No matter where you start from, you still want to come and make that better life, and here’s the best opportunity for that.”

In his character’s case, his son has a romantic vision of leaving Veracruz, working the fields and becoming a great chef in New York. There wasn’t a desperation for him to leave, so when he loses contact with his family, his father decides to trace his steps and begins working on a farm too. The main arc of their story is told against the backdrop of illegal immigration and the escalation of it in the recent political landscape.

“What I thought was handled correctly in this approach to the characters and circumstances goes back to the [1940s] bracero program. These farmworkers came to help the farmers. It was a hand-in-hand working relationship that existed and still exists to this day. Those farmers need these workers. That’s how economically they can survive,” he said. “ I think a lot of people are punished on both sides of it.”

As shooting began, Martinez was exposed to the brutal conditions that immigrants face daily, including “getting through the deep workings of what it’s like to cross — cross the desert, cross through the fence, be illegal and be in danger.” What the show got right was humanizing the immigrant plight.

“While we’re filming that and hearing on the news how bad and how criminalized everybody [immigrating] is and they’re evil, bad hombres and all this other garbage, it made me more resolute in my conviction to portray this character Luis as a three-dimensional human and just understand what these adults — they’re talking about their children — let’s see who they’re talking about. So I was very happy and very proud to play Luis and make him this three-dimensional person.”

It’s not the first time “American Crime” has put a human face on scary subjects. Season 1 dealt in depth with terrorism and xenophobia, but Martinez believes Hollywood has a hard time making a convincing story of everyday people.

“It’s unromantic, and I think Hollywood in a lot of ways would want to romanticize the human struggle. This is an everyday situation that all of these people, a lot of them, this is all they know, and this is their only chance they’re going to have to make a better way for themselves,” he said.

“I think a lot of times when it is portrayed, they’re not three-dimensional people. They’re just cardboard cutouts with a tagline, and it’s hard to do what John and the writing staff did because it takes a lot of commitment not only to make Luis a real person, but all the other farmworkers real people, the managers real people and then not make them good people. Not everybody has to be good. Luis in the end may or may not be good, depending on what your moral code is. To take that risk and not make it romantic — just look at this person as a person and get to know them in this real-life struggle — is challenging.”

The actor, who has also starred in FX’s “The Shield” and “Sons of Anarchy,” was exposed to the physical circumstances that Luis was and learned from them too.

“Besides the blistering heat, I wasn’t aware of the pesticides [they were exposed to] and how they linger. When these guys are working in the field for a full day, they were covered from head to toe. That’s because over time it’s just seeping into their skin,” he said.

“I finished a day’s work and I was exhausted,” he said of the very strenuous conditions. However, Luis’ emotional journey as he uncovered the truth about his son also took a mental toll as he delved into that angst and grief.

“It was tremendous. When I would finish certain days of filming, I would be depressed at home because it’s a hopeless situation. When you can’t find someone, there’s a desperation that gets in your bones and it weighs on your mind. You can’t stop thinking about it,” Martinez said.

“It was exhausting, but as an actor, it was exhausting in the best possible way, like coming offstage after doing ‘Hamlet,’” he said.

Watch Martinez’s full interview, in which he discusses Luis’ climactic decision and his parallels to Season 1’s Alonzo Gutierrez and what fighting skill he could bring to “Game of Thrones,” below.

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