William Levy is having the best year of his career (Carlos Alvarez/FilmMagic)
Cuban actor William Levy asked for coffee shortly before the interview began. A sign that the conversation would be fun, and it was. The goal of his team was to promote his new super series “Vuelve a mí”, a project from the Telemundo network that premieres on October 9 in the United States. Touring the country and now Mexico, Levy spoke about a character “that required effort.” “It was a very hard emotional experience. Maybe one of the hardest of my career,” he said.
Santiago, the main character of “Vuelve a mí”, is a boxer who accompanies Nuria (Samadhi Zendejas) in search of her kidnapped young son. Although most of the super series was filmed in Miami and the surrounding area, the action takes place in Mexico City and Ciudad Juárez. “In-depth work has been done at the production level to maintain the geographical integrity of the series. It was impressive how they found parts of Homestead and Fort Lauderdale that looked like Mexico. You will be surprised,” he said.
“Come back to me” is Levy’s third season since he destroyed the dream of success in the Mecca of cinema. First came the new version of “Café con aroma de mujer” and “Montecristo”.
The Cuban actor came to Hollywood dancing. First he took part in the video for “I’m into you”, the hit by Jennifer Lopez, in collaboration with Lil Wayne. The song was part of the album “Love” released in 2011. It was later featured in two episodes of the VH1 series Single Ladies.
Shortly after, he was selected to take part in the dance reality show “Dancing With The Stars”.
The ABC network, which broadcasts the show, presented him as “the Latin American Brad Pitt”. For Levy, it was a complicated label and difficult to let go of. Although he was involved in more than a dozen projects, “there were a lot more no’s than yes’s, and always for reasons beyond my control,” he said.
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“I’m not the only one who has suffered from being too tall or too blonde to be Latino. But I have a very strong accent to play American characters. “It’s impossible to fight what the people who make the decisions have in their minds,” he explained. He’s also not the only one who only receives offers that feed the stereotype about Latinos. In the case of William Levy that of the “Latin Lover”.
Her most successful roles in the English language included starring in the erotic thriller Addicted and the romantic comedy The Single Mom’s Club, produced by Tyler Perry.
“I needed more than this in my life,” he explained.
Goodbye Hollywood
The Dominican government has been offering generous incentives to filmmakers who agree to shoot their films in the Caribbean country for more than a decade. William Levy learned about the show in 2017 while filming “Cinderelo,” a Spanish-language romantic comedy in which he plays the handsome and successful alter ego of Marlon (Miguel Rodarte).
William Levy showcased his comedic talents in “Cinderelo,” courtesy of PantaYA
The following year, he returned to the Caribbean country to star opposite Carmen Villalobos in My Girlfriend’s Ghost. It was then that he came to believe that his efforts in Los Angeles were being diluted. “It’s been drilled into you that the path is there, but you make the path yourself. I’m very competitive and wanted to focus on where I could achieve the best results. What could be better than with my people?” he said.
In 2019, Levy was the producer and star of his next film “In the Arms of a Murderer”. It was William Levy Entertainment’s groundbreaking project. While developing the next film, he made history as an actor with Café con aroma de mujer.
“God doesn’t waste sacrifice,” Levy noted. It was a sacrifice to give up baseball, his childhood dream, and focus first on modeling and then acting. Going to Mexico to do soap operas is another. Another left soap operas and sought his fortune in Los Angeles. Another option is to discard this claim and allocate a significant investment to the production company. But “every sacrifice I made, I did with all my strength and achieved results that make me very grateful,” he emphasized.
William Levy as a model in 2010. (Kike San Martin/Getty Images)
Unexpected results
“Café has been Netflix’s most-watched production for hours. People’s support for what I do is great. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude to all the people who support me,” he said.
Then came “Montecristo,” in which he shared posters with Esmeralda Pimentel. In addition, he was an executive producer of the series, which is part of the Vix catalog, Televisa Univision’s streaming platform. Inspired by the story “The Count of Monte Cristo,” the series is the first Spanish-language series to join GloboPlay, the platform of Brazilian television giant GloboTV.
Levy also signs a contract in Spain to produce and star in two series and two films. “What is happening is extraordinary. “It wasn’t easy, but it’s a great reward for the effort,” he said.
All of this fruit will be seen starting in 2024, but for now William Levy remains focused on “Come Back to Me.”
The rumors that follow him
Relieved is the perfect word to describe Levy right now. He had few more encounters with the press and seemed to enjoy fending off any attempts to talk about his private life. “Why does it matter where I sleep?” he asked, laughing at the question about the differences between working on a project in Miami, where he has lived since he was 16, or in another city or country.
He later admitted that he suspected the question concerned his personal life, a subject that was vetoed, although the shadow of his alleged romance with his co-star Samadhi Zendejas accompanies any conversation about the project. Apparently Levy is used to it. Rumors about a crush on his female companions have been circulating for years. It happened with Jacqueline Bracamontes (she confirmed it), Maite Perroni and Ximena Navarrete, among others.
This time, even during the recording, he assured that his two-decade relationship with Elizabeth Gutiérrez, the mother of his two children, was over. Perhaps that’s why he insisted that it was “irrelevant” where he was when he was involved in such an intensive project. “There was a lot of physical and emotional labor, in addition to a lot of intimate scenes that are very uncomfortable for me. They are always very difficult. “I never got used to it,” he revealed.
“It was not uncommon to work 18- and 20-hour days, with only a few hours to bathe, eat and sleep. In such cases, it doesn’t matter where you recover as long as you can recover,” he stressed.
When the “Come back to me” campaign ends, he wants to devote himself to his children and then pack his bags for the old continent. “I’m always involved in something. I don’t know how to sit around and do nothing, and what’s coming is very exciting,” he said with smiles and kisses. It’s not for less. At 43, William Levy is doing what he loves, he is in control of his professional destiny and has reached the best phase of his career.