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Benjamin Bratt's first credit, the television movie Juarez, dates back to 1987. He therefore filmed it in 1986 or early 1987. Either way, it was roughly 30 long years ago.
"Ooooh, that's brutal," Bratt said in mock protest."It's funny, but I am now the father of a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, and there's nothing like having children to just make the time rip by. I thought it'd be the work, my years in the business, that would make me conscious of how old I'm getting, but, no, it's the children.
"Really, 30 years ... it's pretty amazing," he said."When I look back on it, I would say that the last 15 years have gone by in the blink of an eye and the first 15 were slower because it was more of a climb, an ascension.
"Coming out of grad school, you feel like you have to attain something, achieve something," Bratt continued."And I had a very strong work ethic at school. Then, when I got to LA, you can't but help get caught up in the idea that you can make it, that you can rise to something.
"What that something is, you don't really know, but I learned it was for me the opportunity to get the better roles," he said."I look back on that and wish I had the wisdom then to see it the way I see it now, but it's all part of the journey."
Bratt, who turned 52 on December 16, has experienced the typical ups and downs of a Hollywood career. He's been tagged as the 'Next Big Thing', dealt with subsequent slow patches and nowadays arguably is employed more frequently than ever before.
His long list of credits includes such television shows as 'Knightwatch' (1988-1989), 'Law & Order' (1995-1999),"E-Ring" (2004-2005), 'Private Practice' (2011-2013) and '24: Live Another Day' (2014). Among his films are Demolition Man (1993), Miss Congeniality (2000), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and its 2013 sequel, and the upcoming animated feature Coco.
Speaking by cellphone as he drove from New England to Manhattan, Bratt said that he'd realised early on that there would be"dry spells" in his career. All the same, something within him ” call it confidence or blind faith ” convinced him that he'd always work.
"I think that just came from my upbringing," he said."I come from a blue-collar background on my father's side. My mother was a professional RN, a nurse. I had the phone not ring much for a year or two, but I knew, even if the acting didn't work out, that I'd survive, that I could find a job.
"I wanted to make my living as an actor, though," Bratt said."And, thankfully, I've achieved that."
His most recent slate of projects has been impressive. This year alone, Bratt has co-starred in the films The Infiltrator, Ride Along 2, Special Correspondents and Doctor Strange. On January 4 he'll be seen alongside Queen Latifah, Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O'Grady on the new Fox series 'Star.'
Demorest, Destiny and O'Grady play Star, Alex and Simone, a trio of young women determined to attain success as a girl group on the Atlanta music scene. Latifah plays Carlotta Brown, a salon owner and former pop star who takes the ladies under her very protective wing.
Bratt, who co-starred in 'Star' co-creator Lee Daniels's film The Woodsman (2004), plays Jahil Rivera, a once-powerful talent manager who looks at the girls and sees dollar signs and a long-overdue comeback.
"The up-and-down of that roller coaster, it really never, ever gets old," Bratt said of his current hot streak."You never really know what's coming, and that's what keeps it exciting.
"This role on 'Star,' it's something I've never done before, and that's why I wanted to do it," he continued."Rivera has seen better days. It's alluded to that Carlotta had a hit record out, probably in the late '90s, but he's a little long in the tooth now, and a little short on funds.
"When he meets the girls, particularly Star, he recognises the potential of what they can do and where they can go," Bratt said."He recognises it immediately, and that's probably his genius. While lacking singing ability or any real talent of his own, he does have a talent for recognising star potential and developing it."
Part of his attraction to the role, the actor added, was that, in their preliminary conversations, Daniels said that he'd based Rivera"in no small part" on himself. Daniels first came to Los Angeles as a talent manager, representing actors such as Wes Bentley and Brad Rowe.
"Like my character, Lee was suffering from some of his personal demons," Bratt said."There was behaviour that would derail him not only personally, but professionally. I think, on some level, from an actor's standpoint, there's something exciting about playing someone like this, who achieves spiritual redemption in the face of spinning out earlier in his life.
"I'm not sure where we're going with Rivera as a character, though, because Lee keeps his cards pretty close to his vest," he added."I think he wants to retain that sense of danger with the character, where you don't know if he's morally good or morally corrupt. From my point of view, it's not only interesting, but fun to play somebody like that.
"Plus, since it's loosely based on Lee, we know that there's a human being in there, that he does ultimately have a moral compass," Bratt said."But it's the issue of getting there, and that's a matter of how many episodes of 'Star' we get to do. It'll be fun to watch that play out."
As 'Star' kicks off, Bratt's other big 2016 project, Doctor Strange, will be nearing the end of its run. Bratt plays Jonathan Pangborn, the man who inspires Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to go in quest of Kamar-Taj, the Asian land where Strange learns the ways of sorcery under the tutelage of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).
"What I thought was cool about Doctor Strange is that they had a more philosophical, existential approach to the material, just by the nature of what it was," the actor said."And people really responded to that. It's great to see that Marvel, beyond all the requisite explosions and whatnot, is moving toward heavier material.
"They're not backing away from it," Bratt said,"because they're recognising that their audience is smart and wants to be challenged that way, not just visually, but intellectually.
"That Doctor Strange is a global phenomenon is not surprising, but it's nonetheless cool, so that Jonathan Pangborn will be back."
