Eiza González Eats Her Last Meal

Channel: Mythical Kitchen

YouTube Video ID: CzM13VDTP-E

Episode Post Date: May 12, 2026

Transcript

I'm Aisa Gonzalez and this is my last
meal.
Every person has exactly two things in
common. We all got to eat and we're all
going to die. Today's guest is an actor
who you might recognize from Baby
Driver, the Ministry of Ungently
Warfare, and Three Body Problem. She's
got a whole lot more roles coming your
way, including In the Gray, directed by
Guyia Richie. And all that success is
despite getting fired from Placa Sesimo
when she was just 5 years old. Asa
Gonzalez, welcome to the show. Thank
you.
>> Of course. How dare you terrorize
Abelardo Mononttoya on that set. What
happened?
>> You know what? You when you're a child,
you're just a menace. I think that that
and and that never went away for me.
>> I didn't realize that Sesame Street in
different countries had different
characters.
>> What are the differentiating factors
between our big bird and your Abelardo
Montoya? And how do they end up with
such different names?
>> Even in the Spanish language, they're
different. Like from Spain to Mexico is
different. Like the Powerpuff Girls or
like Chica Super like Home Alone is uh
my poor angel. How do we come up with
that?
>> Panchcho contas heo
>> he loves extreme sports.
>> Panchcho
>> is his thing. We didn't have an extreme
sports Sesame Street Muppet.
>> So bizarre. I guess that Mexicans love
extreme sports. Maybe that's just
popular in Mexico.
>> I mean you certainly did growing up,
right? A lot of people don't know, but I
used to race professionally motorcycles
when I was young.
>> My father was a professional motorcycle
driver. It was really funny cuz I had
this tiny little helmet with with ears
on it and it was all pink and all my
covering protection gear was pink and
speed is something that I really loved
my entire life.
>> I think that translates in a lot of your
movies. You tend to be going really fast
a lot of the times in
>> a lot of cars. Yeah, I do enjoy it. I
guess, you know, my brother's 14 years
older than me and so I was grow I grew
up and he was a Marine and so I grew up
with really incredibly masculine energy
and I didn't really have a strong
identity as a young girl because I was
quite ADHD and bizarre. So I kind of
adopted his personality for a very long
time.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh, have you thought
about your last meal before?
>> You know what? Weirdly, it's a
conversation that comes up often.
>> Interesting. I think also from Mexico,
people have a ginormous interest in
Mexican cuisine. Every single time I
bring up the fact that I'm from Mexico
City, a lot of people bring up food.
It's the ver first thing they ask. And
it runs the gamut when it comes to
cuisine. You have like the street food,
but also the infusion based on whether
it's Mayan inspired or Aztec inspired,
and then you have something more of like
a gourmet version of it. So, it it's
incredible. And then we eat crickets. So
weird. Chapulin.
>> Chapulin. Yeah. Have you ever had it?
>> I have. I accidentally They've only been
featured on this show once and it was
because I did feed them to Hillary Duff.
I thought she would be down with them
and she seemed really horrified. So, if
you ever run into Hillary Duff in the
wild, maybe you can introduce her to
Chapel and maybe with some mess more.
>> I've done it. I've done it. When we were
doing the press tour of Baby Driver and
we were in Mexico City, we were at this
restaurant. It was like Lily James and
Edgar and it was sort of most of the
cast and and I said, "You guys have to
eat them. eat them all the time. And
they were like, "Really?" And I kind of
tricked them into believing that I've
had them a million times. You never had
them?
>> I've never had them. I've not once tried
it.
>> Did you like the chapalinas?
>> I did not eat them. I
>> You never You watched them eat them and
you watched them all. They all ate them.
And then they were like, "What do you
think?" I said, "I don't know. I've
never had them."
>> You ready to eat?
>> I'm very excited.
Asa, for the first course of your final
meal on earth, we have spicy tuna hand
roll, the Takis of lime, and then the
Harritos strawberry.
>> Wow. This is I mean, have you ever had a
karito?
>> I I I don't think I've ever had the
strawberry harritos.
>> Not to be redundant. It's like a rogue
one. Like, no one really thinks this is
a really good one, but it's always
missing. You can't get it because it's
the best.
>> That's Well, hey, cheers. Let's start
with that. Salude. I love a
kind of like the taste of my childhood.
>> The glass bottle is so much better.
>> Yeah, it's so much better, isn't it? I
grew up in the border. My family's from
a place called Gabora Sonora, which is
like a small town on the border of
Phoenix. And basically, there's I mean
truly on our in our little little town,
there's like two main streets.
>> And like the peak of our activity of the
weekend was to get on a car and drive up
and down those two streets and like wave
at people. That's all we did. But at the
corner of those two ice cream,
which is not Takis, but they would do
nachos and they would open them and they
would do the craziest Mexican mix you've
ever seen, like pico deayo, they put
they mixed um queso crema. They would
put the cra and then you would just eat
it in that bag and then the karito
always with it. And so that just brings
me drinking karito brings me back to
Sonora immediately. As soon as I taste
it, it's like I'm 14 years old again.
>> Yeah. Did you call those tosts locos or
like dori locos? Cuz that that's what I
>> toili locos.
>> Growing up in Southern California, I
mean, you're sort of just so much of the
culture that you're consuming is Mexican
culture. So my ice cream man also in
>> Rancho Santa Margarita in Orange County
had to locos. Yeah. And so I just have
such and sometimes gummy bears which I
never liked in there.
>> Are you my brother? Are you my longlost
brother?
>> I think so. I think so.
>> You're like an honorary Mexican. I'm
very impressed.
>> Thank you so much. I wanted to ask about
Takis.
>> This is, you know, the best hangover
food you could ever have. This in
chilakilles obviously, but because you
know spicy just food accelerates your
blood and so when you're hung over
>> is that is that the is that real hard
science?
>> No, I don't know if that's a hard
science but I have decided that I
believe that. And so therefore hangover
by default and it has to be with lemon
which this is the other part like we
call them lemon. Lime is lemon and lemon
is lime for you guys.
>> Should we pop these open?
>> Yes.
>> Okay. Do you do you put the lime
directly in the bag and shake it? We
also have a bowl if you want to empty
them out.
>> Excuse me, what do you mean? What? That
is the most unmexican thing I've ever
heard.
>> We can also get you chopsticks.
>> Yeah, I was going to say don't touch the
lemon. Um, no, we definitely do it. And
sometimes, you know, depending on how
you like it. I like to leave my lemon
inside. Lemon, lime, however you want to
call it. This was like I dreamt of
getting 5 pesos in Mexico cuz there was
like a like a lady that sat outside of
my school and she would have like a
couple of chips and always takis and so
I would beg my parents for 5 pesos so I
could go get this. You can put
Valentina. Have you ever heard of
Valentina?
>> We have a comically love and all the
bottles of Valentina are this big.
>> They're humongous.
>> We have We have one in the fridge.
Blaine, would you mind getting the giant
comic bottle of Valentina in the fridge?
>> Oo, that's some OG. There you go. Oh,
that's Valentina.
>> Oh my god. Thank you.
>> So that I mean, if you weren't having
enough spice, let's get
>> We just We didn't get this for your
meal, by the way. We just had this here.
>> This is incredible.
>> Try this. You have to try them both.
>> But it's Oh my god.
>> They have to be drenched.
They have to be drenched because I feel
like the lime cuts the spiciness out of
it. So, it makes it more
eatable, I guess. I think Takis um maybe
permanently changed the world palette.
>> I think it really did.
>> So good. Let's see how you feel about
Valentina
in this. I'm very impressed that you can
eat this. Most people would get raging
diarrhea from one of these.
>> Hey, the night is young. You know, we
still got probably another hour and a
half sitting here eating. We'll see.
Especially when you get all the dairy
into the mix.
>> You'll chase it with a little spicy hand
tuna.
>> This is insane.
>> Incredible. When you were on Lola at you
used to have an old lady that would come
with a folding table and set up a little
shop with like Takis and cigarettes and
candy. Was this a regular like in
between takes for you?
>> Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
>> This was how they get the children to
work so hard.
>> Yeah. And then I wonder why it was so
chubby. I was just like eating away like
did not pull back. She was my girl.
>> I'm curious working on the Del Noel. You
did more than 500 episodes of television
before you turned 18. What did you
learn?
>> Really?
>> Yeah.
>> Did I?
>> I believe so.
>> That's crazy.
>> What did you learn from doing that sheer
amount of volume? I mean, you did 225
episodes of Lola in one year.
>> It's all like a big blur.
>> Sure.
>> Yeah. You know, being exploited as a
child is all a big blur. No, it was
really great. You know, those
experiences are
so formative and at the time you don't
realize, you know, you're just happy and
excited to be there. I couldn't believe
that I was getting an opportunity. I
couldn't believe that someone saw
>> a talent in me. You know, when you're a
child, you're just a little kid with
dreams and you can't really tangibly see
it becoming a career. And so, it was
incredibly,
it never felt like work. It just was so
exciting and I didn't have to get woken
up in the morning like I was a
full-fledged independent child and cuz I
was just so eager to go to set and so
eager to learn something new. I mean,
listen, you're not doing like the top
quality acting and it's like a crash
course in performance because you don't
>> I went to school only for like 7 months
before that of acting school cuz I'd
convinced my mother to let let me drop
out of school to become an actress and I
don't know what made her make that
decision cuz she's crazy. But I just was
like grateful that I got the
opportunity. And so I never really paid
attention of how much I was filming or
whatnot. I was just trying to learn and
but I definitely look back and there's
bad there's bad habits you can pick up
from those things because you are on a
rhythm that you it's discombobulating.
You don't have a minute to sort of stop
and think what am I doing.
>> Almost one of the most dangerous things
is when you fall into those patterns
you're just you're sliding down you know
this whirlpool and unless you have the
inertia to make you stop you just keep
going down that route.
>> Correct. and you're just a child and so
you don't have the sense of discernment
of being able to recognize whether
that's a positive thing or a negative.
You're just
>> incredibly excited and eager.
>> And so I think that once I moved to the
US, it what was my strength became my
weakness. And so I had to really work to
undo those bad habits. And
>> you know there are certain performances
I look back and I'm like God that is
brutal. you transition from a different
country and stylistically people are
looking for different things in one
place to another and one thing is
knowing that that exists you know I knew
that there was a style of films but I
just didn't know how to make those and
so I just had real desire but I like
watched some of my performances I'm from
Dustel D and I'm like this is probably
some of the worst acting of all time
but I I was nervous I didn't know the
language you know English was my second
language I'd never acted in English
before. I had to really learn to be
compassionate and easy on myself because
I was just learning and I was doing the
best I could with what I could do at the
moment. But it did it became this like
undoing of bad habits from melodrama and
becoming a more of a naturalistic
actress in America. And that's very
different. I mean stylistically night
and day.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Dig into the sushi, please.
It's it's getting cold. Um Takis and
sushi. I don't know that these have been
eaten. And I'm sure they've been eaten
together before. Definitely not at this
table and definitely not by me. Where
does sushi bring you in your mind?
>> You know, sushi was something weirdly
very popular in Mexico. My best friend
growing up in elementary school, Sakuya,
was Japanese. And then her father
had come to Mexico to become a chef in
one of the biggest Mexican chains called
Suni. He was a chef. So I would eat a
lot of their food at their home. And I
became utterly obsessed. And so I just
developed this passion for Japanese
culture in general. Um, anime was huge.
I started one of like where I recognized
that I had an artistic drive was through
drawings and in anime. So her and I
would draw a lot of anime and and I was
really I'd watch this network called
Locomotion which would play it was kind
of like an adult swim but it had all
these Japanese animes from like your
typical Ran and um uh Sakura Card
Captors to Cowboy Bebop and I was just
genuinely obsessed with Japanese
culture. So I don't know I've always
really loved anything Japanese.
>> I love that. I want to get back to
something you said earlier when you were
like I don't know if it was a good thing
or a bad thing that you were sort of
working that much as a kid. It seems
like there's kind of a lot of gray areas
which is one of the taglines of of in
the gray. You're sort of working with
this team that exists in moral gray
areas. Do you think you have more or
less clarity on your life looking back
in terms of what was right and wrong?
>> I have less clarity. I think that at the
moment I felt really strongly about what
was I doing and why was I doing certain
things but in hindsight I think you are
a child and you're at the mercy of
adults really
>> old adults too I mean
>> older men making decisions for you and
and sort of those decisions become you
know your life and I'm just reminded
that I'm really grateful for having such
a good mother around me that time. My
mom was like a beast. You no one
>> effed with me.
>> She wasn't a stage mom. She wasn't a mom
that was like, "Go do this so we can
make money out of you." She was just
like, she could see that I found
happiness in the craft. And you find
yourself in this confus confusing place
where like, do you either support it
because that brings them joy, but also
it could be dangerous territory. So, I
don't know. I think about it sometimes
if as I I would let my children do it
and I'm like no way. To your question, I
look back at it and I'm like I there's a
lot of gray area. There's a lot of gray
stuff that I wouldn't necessarily
know how to describe or experiences that
probably have shaped some trauma
throughout my life. Like you never
really know.
>> You're kind of on this tight rope doing
a highwire act. It sounds like, you
know, everyone's watching you on the
tight rope
>> and judging you and have an opinion
about who you are, your identity, how
you look, how you don't look, and that
becomes really jarring when you don't
have an identity of your own and you're
portraying a character and at the same
time you're developing yourself and
finding who you want to be fully. It's I
have a lot of empathy for anyone that
has gone through that experience. You
see all these, you know, amazing artists
in this day and age that have
transitioned from child stars to
ginormous musicians or movie stars. And
I know what that experience is like. And
only people that have lived it know what
that feels like. It's dark. It can be
really dark, but also makes you
very advanced in the way you see the
world, if that makes sense.
>> Of course.
>> It's up for the second course of your
final meal on Earth. This is the main
attraction. These are the chakiles. And
then we have an oat milk iced latte from
Blue Bottle.
>> Oh my god.
>> And of course all the Valentina you can
drink
>> just in case.
>> Just in case.
>> Double it up. Oh my god. This looks
incredible.
>> Uh yeah. Tell me about your love of
chilakilles.
>> Nothing
makes me feel better after a hangover
than chilakilles.
>> Right after you eat it, you're just
done. You have no hangover.
>> We did make these from scratch. We did a
roasted tomatillo pablano and jalapeno
and serrano salsa. with a little bit of
onion and cilantro. I sauteed the chips
in there. Added a little bit of quesop
fresco grandma, sunny side up egg, and
some avocado.
>> This is incredible. Good job. I could
die. I could eat chilakilles every day
for the rest of my life and I'd be super
happy.
>> I hope you get too.
>> Oh my god.
This is so good.
>> The thing that I find so beautiful about
Mexican food is that there is so much
ancient history in it. So like
chilakilles are likely more than a
thousand years old. Chilakilis it's it's
a prehispanic nawat word,
>> right? The first tortilla was made
10,000 years ago. Like this is a dish
that connects you to something very
ancient.
>> We were able to make food out of scrap
like nothing. That was the concept of
Mexico. You know, you you feed the land,
you grow the land, you love the land,
the land gives back to you. Um and till
the day, that's kind of our our mantra
in Mexico. We give back to the soil.
It's not a It's not a country that was
built on big monetizing companies making
this that. I mean, I remember when I
moved here, the farmtotable thing was
like a concept. And I was like, well,
isn't that the norm?
>> Yeah.
>> And I think that really struck with me
when I realized that it was actually not
the norm. Mexico has blown up in the
world and nothing makes me happier than
sharing lists of restaurants, places,
bars, food because also we're just
talking about food, but there's the
whole drinking part of it all as well.
The history of how we make mscal, the
way that we make tequila, the years that
it takes, the work we work, the soil,
you make it with like chicken on the
soil and you're like making holes on the
floor. And that hasn't changed. Like
years of generations have passed and
they could have made it, you know, a
fast machine and somehow it just
maintained like a labor of love. It's
families and generationally passed to
the other one to maintain La Miscaleria
or the tequila place and it just it
really enriches the soul. It reminds you
that life is about that. It's not about
getting the nicest car or the nicest.
It's just building this something
historic with with your loved ones. You
know,
>> you are in a movie that's coming out
that takes pretty much that exact thesis
in life and that is I love boosters
directed by Boots Riley who is a very
very politically radical director in a
way that I love because he doesn't waver
from this sort of anti-corporate,
anti-conumption, anti- capitalist
message.
>> Correct.
>> And you play a character who has the job
of really explaining some heavy
philosophical concepts. How much reading
did you do going into that role? Well, I
I felt a lot of sort of responsibility
because as you just said and you
described perfectly Boots, Boots is
someone that
subtly drops
mad mad like you know knowledge. Violeta
is the representation of a rebellious,
you know, soul that really believes that
capitalism is taking over and we need to
stop it and we have to honor humanity
again. And she believes in the faith of
humanity and honoring people. And the
cherry on the top obviously is that
she's like incredibly knowledgeable
about science and she's just this stoner
geek. I've been cast in some roles that
I never thought I would. I somehow I end
up a lot in the science world and I
don't think I necessarily scream
scientists. Well, I'm curious what you
think that means because I mean you you
started certainly in America a lot of
your career playing like the fem fatal
archetype, the sexy vampire, a sexy
robot with blades for arms, sexy bank
robber,
>> but then like now two of the last roles
that I've seen you and you're explaining
dialectical materialism and
nanotechnology
>> I guess. Do you think that's imposter
syndrome or do you think there's
something I don't know kind of
ascientific about what you play?
>> The other way around. I think that the
the sort of presentation immediate
presentation is sort of something that
probably was projected on to me versus
me choosing to do so. And when you're
just starting your career, you're just
grateful getting the opportunity, man.
Like I just I'm like I know
>> zero other Mexican actresses at the time
that had crossed over and had a
successful career like Selma. And
>> choosing your role seems like a real
like luxury and privilege, frankly.
>> Oh, I I still don't get that luxury. I
think that a lot of people don't talk
about that. I think as a Latin woman is
really hard and it doesn't matter how
many years in the career I hear from
other P you know women that have opened
the doors they're still having to create
those opportunities for themselves
because people are not necessarily
giving them to them. So when you find
directors that you know like Jay
Blakesen when he gave me I care a lot or
VS giving me this or Benny offen Weiss
offering me threebody problem you're
just sort of incredibly honored and
grateful that someone is seeing
something outside of a stereotype in you
or or allowing you to expand. And I've
always found that interesting when it
comes to specifically Latin women. I
find it that it's been harder for us to
sort of break through that conceptual
idea.
>> Do you think that it's gotten better
over time? Like, have you seen a
noticeable difference versus when you
started your career in America in 2013
versus now?
>> I think the industry has been forced to
listen to audiences. I think that it's
not I don't think
>> Yeah. I don't think they were like
wanting to. They were obligated to
listen to audiences and now you have
Twitter and threads and people can voice
their opinion about what they want to
and they're listening. And so I think
that forced
while audiences engaging with people of
color and watching more interesting TV
shows and blowing up movies like you
know Sinners and movies that really are
making a difference in and mentioning
timely subjects. I think that a lot of
my peers have done an amazing job
choosing the right jobs to change it. I
really admire all the actors that are
making a ginormous change because it is
it is a community activity. It's not
something that you individually can do.
>> Okay, so for course number three of your
final meal, we have the pen alav vodka
with chicken.
So good.
>> Please dig in. So we sauteed a little
bit of shallots, a little bit of garlic,
lit that on fire with the vodka, toasted
up some fresh tomatoes and tomato paste
in there, and then just a fresh crispy
chicken breast on top with some basil.
>> Wow.
>> Bonapet. one though.
>> I could eat forever. I wish I could just
live to eat.
>> I know. Do you think you'd get tired of
it, though? Do you think there's some
sort of uh No, I think there's a sort of
philosophical angle.
>> Who could get tired of eating? It's like
the greatest thing on earth.
>> I don't even think sex like lives up to
it.
>> No,
>> I really don't.
>> Well, here's the thing. Sex, you need to
eat in between. Sometimes
>> I could totally live without sex.
>> Sometimes you need to go to 7-Eleven in
between to get a couple taquitos and the
rollers.
>> I could never quit food. Like I could
never I could quit anything. Food it's
just we don't deserve it.
>> Someone posed this question to me. Not
just food but sex or sauce.
>> I mean food. Food food above all. Just
>> I agree.
>> Traveling the world is only fun cuz
you're eating.
>> Mhm.
>> Because truly if you think about it it's
like uncomfortable.
>> Agreed.
>> But what soothes the process is food.
>> That's why you started a very successful
acting career just so you could get your
traveling around the world and eating
funded. And I love that for you. It
>> is the best. You know,
>> I think I was 18 the first time I moved
outside of Mexico and I lived in
Argentina for 4 years and I experienced
living in a different country and
tasting new food and experiencing a
different culture and it I never stopped
realizing from there on that was the
most amazing part of our job. I mean,
learned so much from different cultures
and different people and stylistically
how they work in a different place.
you've really traveled the world a lot
with Guy Richie cuz this is you've now
done three movies with him and I think
about three years is is when they've
come out and you you traveled all over
doing doing the fountain of youth as
well. What do you think it says about
you though that you've had so many
repeat collaborators? You're obviously
somebody that people really want to work
with.
>> It's the never- ending imposter
syndrome. You go into these sets and
>> I think it's taken me a while to believe
that I'm worthy of being part of it. I
think there's internally my own stuff
and then obviously
my own
I think that no one really gets the
opportunity to fully believe that
they're being able to be part of this
world and we go to these sets and work
with our idols
>> and you can never fully process that I
think because we're all children like
that's why I tell people we're like
what's like Hollywood I'm like we're all
the same we're just children obsessed
with makebelie and just excited to like
put on a costume and say words and with
the people that you looked up to. So Guy
Richie being one of them, sometimes
people get the chance to see you and he
saw me and that was very meaningful and
I have the chance to do that with other
people and in this movie specifically. I
repeat with all my co-stars and with
him. I worked with Jake, I've worked
with Henry and I worked with Rosamin.
>> Yeah.
>> So it was a really beautiful feeling to
revisit a set with people. You see it a
lot with other actors. You see Emma, you
know, Stone repeating over and over
again with Yorgos. Like you, it's fun.
It's fun when you sort of get the
chance. It feels like high school.
You're like playing Belief and like what
what are we going to play like today?
Like it's just fun.
>> Yeah. Your life seems like it's really
been this form of contrast causing
change. We have a bit of a surprise. I'm
curious if this Subway turkey sandwich
with pepperjack cheese and extra
Chipotle Southwest sauce jogs any
memories on where you might have been
while eating this.
>> Oh,
>> and what was going on in your life?
>> God. Well, I ate this for years and
years on end when I moved to LA. This
was like my goto. By the way, I think
Subway is the I love you Subway. I
could eat Subway forever as well.
>> Um,
if there's one person alive that buy
Subway, that's me.
>> You're holding up the entire 30,000
Subway economy.
>> When I just moved to LA,
>> M.
>> I was It was the only time I've had a
roomy, my roomy. It was me and her. Her
dog was named Takito. Subway was right
behind our apartment. Like, it was the
one place. And obviously, like I wasn't
spending thousands of dollars in food. I
was just like saving up money to make it
in Hollywood.
>> And so Subway was my go-to food. And
like if after every failed audition
um or a hangover, of course, that's why
I brought up that I'm an alcoholic. I
was an alcoholic. I would always like
eat Subway, but it would got to a point
that I just ate Subway 24/7.
And once I like moved up in the world
and I was able to like afford my own
apartment and whatnot, I still kept this
tradition of going to Subway after my
auditions and no matter what failed to
successful, I would eat my turkey,
pepperjack, extra Chipotle. Nam
>> I love that so much. Do do you view your
life in sort of different eras? Because
when you came to America and you're
eating all this Subway in that
apartment, it was because you had like a
really public traumatic breakup. And
even when you started acting, it was
when your father passed away in a
motorcycle accident. And you hadn't had
any acting experience before that.
>> From the outside looking in at least, it
seems like you've had these very
traumatic events and then that sort of
activates you in this way to where you
just zoom forward. Is that because
you're trying to not look back?
>> I don't view weirdly my life as
traumatic and therefore, you know,
that's trauma itself. you just live it
and you're in survival mode and
sometimes in interviews like
>> if I could people you know you could
change something and I go I wouldn't
even change my father's death
>> and that sounds really dark if you think
about it but
it just it just makes you it like builds
you it it it it's the foundation of the
human that you become your the way that
you deal with adversity and the way you
try to progress process things and so
>> but it's also given me the strength to
put up with a very
grueling career. And everyone sees the,
you know, this interview and the talk
and the haha and he he he and no one
talks about like the dark side of when
you're not getting opportunities or you
don't have money to pay the rent or
you're like chasing a dream and you
dropped out of school. Like I think
about it all the time. I'm like my mom
is a lunatic. I dropped out of school.
What if this didn't work out? I would be
I would I would be really in trouble. I
wouldn't have.
>> But also truly like what if it didn't
work out because I think your mom maybe
had faith. I mean your mom you know
pregnant when she was 18 in orthodontic
school. Yeah.
>> And you I mean like there was I'm sure
so many what ifs in her own life that
she's shown a mirror on and said well
>> I think you've just nailed it in the
head. I think it is faith and having
faith is the most important thing. And I
think that in a world we're all not
really seeing the light at the end of
the tunnel. I think faith and and belief
in yourself is the most important thing
and I don't shy away from the fact that
I realize that I was very lucky that
things worked out for me because it
could have gone
>> really badly
>> tight rope with the whole world watching
>> tight rope
>> the whole world and also in insane
Mexican media
>> it is and that's why I admire anyone
that chases their dreams. I really do.
And when you see them celebrating them
and being proud and maybe sometimes
cocky and conceited about it, like
sometimes you have to, you know what I
mean? Sometimes you have to hype
yourself up and like believe it because
we are living in a world that everyone's
trying to knock you down with humbleness
or like make you feel like you're not
worthy of something. And we live in a
hyperaware world. Back in the day,
you're sort of living your career and
trying your best. And you didn't really
have a sense of what the other sounding
voices outside were thinking about you.
Now you just got to open Twitter and got
humble real quick.
>> I deleted all social media from my
phone. I'm free.
>> It's so nice. It's soul crushing because
>> it's the ESPN app that I scroll through
constantly now. That's it.
>> Well, I don't think that you can be a
creative human being if you're highly
aware of what's being talked about you.
I just don't think you can be in this
creative flow and create art and be free
of yourself. And so I do feel a lot of
empathy for us and for the people that
are like following and starting their
careers in this environment because I I
still when I was doing Lola and I was
doing all my soap operas and even when I
started here I didn't really have that.
I wasn't really looking at what the
Twitter verse was thinking about or the
letter box or the this and that. I just
was doing things and I was thrilled by
that. And now everything's a,
>> you know, if the announcement came out
or this came out or the review came out,
it's not about the art anymore. And I
think
>> we got to just like shove that away. Be
creative. Do whatever the hell you want
to be doing. And I really think you have
to be courageous and push through and
like push away from the trauma and let
that go. But it is hard. You know,
>> I I never know if I should let that
trauma go or sort of keep it in my back
pocket as something to fuel me. But I
>> I don't think you can let go of trauma.
I don't think it's a real thing.
>> It's in your backpack regardless.
>> It follows you forever and it it like
flares up like in the most strange
random places. I find myself flurring up
in the most bizarre ways and and really
taking it a beat to be like, "Wow, I
didn't know that was in me." But it's
beautiful. I think trauma is beautiful.
I think that adversity is beautiful. I
think that being someone that pushes
through and and it's messy. And it's
okay to be messy, too. I think that
Again, life is very complicated and so
and we're living in a very crazy time.
>> Yeah. I had something that a therapist
said to me once cuz I I was sort of
going on my own rehearsal about I'm
grateful for my traumas because that's
what's made and she kind of had to stop
me and go like, "Have you ever thought
that you're successful not because of
your traumas, but in spite of them?"
>> And I just broke down and started
crying.
>> It's true. It was the first time
somebody could sort of like grab you
>> and say you're you're okay to let down
that guard that I'm sure she'd seen a
thousand times before. Do you ever feel
like you're able to to let that that
guard down?
>> Yeah, it's hard for it. It really is
hard for me. I you know it's it's
experiences harden you and I think that
becomes challenging to any individual
and you really start getting older and
you're more set in your ways and instead
of being more malleable. But I I think
that's what I like about our career is
you are forced to continue to be
malleable. And if you're not,
>> then that's kind of the death of your
career because
>> that feeling itself, that act itself is
what fuels growth as a performer. And so
I just I'm grateful that I always can
fall back into the craft and I can
always go back to acting because it
reminds me that you can't harden
yourself in a specific way. you have to
consistently keep it moving
>> and and art lets you be that vessel. And
so I I I'm really I always say it, my
career's really saved me over and over
and over again. It's a double-edged
sword, you know? It's it's both so
brutal and there's days that I can't
pick up myself from bed and like I don't
believe in myself and I don't think I
can do it and I think I'm a fluke. I'm a
impostor. I don't know how I've made it
this far. And then there's days that I'm
like, "Wow, this job really has given me
purpose in life." And so it's just I
think, you know, I can only talk about
my personal experience, but everyone
could probably feel that way if they're
getting the chance to do an a career
that they're passionate about. And so
I'm I never take for granted my career.
I really will endlessly thank anyone
that thinks of me to be able to keep
keep on doing it.
Asa, for the final course of your final
meal on earth, we have the chocolate
fondant, the lava cake in aros con
leche. Please dig in. Now, this is a
fresh mering cake with ganache baked in
the center. And we run about a 78%
success rate on it being molten.
>> Okay, here we go.
>> And this moment is wow.
>> Yes. Look at this beauty. This is so
naughty, you guys. You really chose
correctly your job, your day job. I
think you and I both figured it out
pretty solidly.
>> Oh my lord.
>> Do you do food dances?
>> No.
>> I like watching other people do food
dances, but I feel creepy now.
>> Do people do it? I'm just like
>> kind of here.
This is where I really stop being
Mexican and really start being white.
>> Yeah.
>> Is I'm just here. Yeah. Yeah.
>> It's the off time.
>> They're laughing as they
>> snapping off time for sure. Uh, I came
into this
>> You need to have a little food dance.
It's not You're not eating good food if
you're not dancing. Did you know?
>> Sometimes I do a single a single stoic
white guy fist pump, you know?
>> So good.
>> I'll go like
>> That's
so American of you.
>> Listen, I said,
>> "When's the first time you had chocolate
fondant?" It must have been with my best
friend that I was telling you about,
Sakuya, cuz they did it at that
restaurant and it was like very fancy
restaurant and I was like, "This is what
life is about."
>> Especially as a kid. This is like the
most exciting thing that could possibly
happen.
>> Have you had a roache before?
>> I have. I'm a huge fan. We did this
fresh. We boiled the rice and the milk.
Added a little bit of cinnamon, a little
bit of lime zest actually, just to sort
of set it off.
Oh my god.
>> Here's how we do.
>> Seems like you get you a little dance.
Yeah. Kind
>> of like the hips a little bit.
>> This is so good.
>> I want to ask about a clip of you that
went viral from Hot Ones where you were
able to cry on command through one eye
and that was spectacular. But I'm
curious the context behind it cuz you
said that there's like a 5-year period
where you didn't cry and couldn't cry
>> and it was only through acting I think
at that high pace that sort of allowed
you to find that emotion again.
>> Was there something in finding that
emotion in acting that allowed you to
grieve in a way?
>> 100%. I I truly
again that's the beauty of the craft.
Um, and and I always love watching. I
remember when I was young, I'd watch the
actor studio a lot. Um, and I wanted to
go to that school and I eventually made
it into Strawburg,
>> but it started from there where I would
watch actors explain
what were they experiencing while
creating a character or whatnot. And
sometimes it was completely the opposite
where as comedians were having, you
know, they're making a comedy and but
they're sort of grieving something
really dark that had happened and they
would bring up the death of a parent or
a death of of a loved one. And I I
remember finding that confusing. But
then if I apply the same rule to my
life, I think about my my beginnings and
I was doing, you know, optimistic, fun,
childlike characters that are fun and
happy and sassy and and all these
things, but I was really in a dark dark
dark place. Like I was dealing with
heavy heavy depression over my father's
death. It was really hard for me. I I
dealt with a lot of bullying when I was
young and I never really was able to
process that. Um that was categorically
a big big catapult into why I griefed
through performance and and obviously it
is exacerbated once my father passed and
I really as you said I couldn't cry I
couldn't deal with emotions and and but
that guided me to push harder you know I
was like this is not going to limit me
I'm I'm not going to be limited by what
I'm experiencing in this moment cuz I
can come on the other side And I don't
know, I'm 12 years old. How do I know
this? I don't know. But it's the I I
really find incredible children.
Children are incredible. I always think
about it because when we're older, we
are set in our ways and we sort of deal
I find myself dealing with things way
worse now than I was when I was younger.
I had so much more
fire in me and and and maturity to see
further down the line. Maybe is
ignorance. Maybe ignorance is bliss. and
and there's so many opportunities yet to
to meet. But I do find that children
deal in the most amazing ways. And so I
love I love that the craft allows us to
explore and and and dive into different
areas of our lives and tip our toes and
use it as a catalyst to process
emotions. It's I mean again, how lucky
are we? Not a lot of people get to do
that. And and now I'm like a crying
machine. Now I cry about everything when
I get to work with kids, you know, and
in three body problem in the next season
I work with a kid and and he's just
it's amazing to observe cuz it brought
me back to when I was a child and I was
him and his age and I was living exactly
what he was living and and I was just
it's it's magical the the transition of
life and the process of life and how you
kind of can come back to who you were
before and recognize it in other people
and and and see, wow, I was once that
little person and he might not be able
to explain a lot of things, but he's so
full of life and ideas and creativity
and and so earnestly living. And I I I
don't know. Sometimes I kind of dabble
between like, would I ever leave or
allow my children to do this career? And
I'm like, hell no. And then I'm like,
absolutely. This is like the most
amazing career. Again, I wouldn't change
a thing. Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> We ask everyone in the show, what do you
think happens when you die?
>> What happens when you die? You just die.
Just gone. Asalgo.
>> Was that was that always your uh
>> was that always your philosophy or is
that something that came?
>> I've just had a lot of death in my life
since a very from a very very very young
age. A lot of death you know within one
year four people died in my life like
all my grandparents and my father. And
that was such an early stage of my life
and then it just kept happening for a
lot of my life. And I think that it's
something, you know, I think about death
every day. I don't know if you think
about death every day. There's people
that don't. I'm flabbergasted. I revisit
a lot. Like my dad died at 42.
>> When my dad died and I was young, I
thought that was so old. I was like, he
is so freaking old. He's so old. That's
totally normal to die. Now I'm so close
to that age. Well, not so close, but
close-ish.
>> At 15 years old,
>> like a little bit close-ish is I think,
wow, holy cow. Like 42 is so young. Like
he lost his entire life. And and that
just gives you so much perspective about
things. And I'm like, at 42, he, you
know, he didn't see me grow. He didn't
see he didn't even know what an iPhone
was. Like, it blows my mind sometimes.
I'm like, he didn't know what an iPhone
was. He never saw it. And it it just
goes to show that life is just this magn
magnificent experience that we get to
do. And we're all again I repeat, we're
in this massive consuming world where
we're like and the next thing and the
next job. And I catch myself like and
the next thing and if the next job if
the and we're just so consumed by it and
we're not realizing like right now right
now right now this is amazing. We're
here. Like, I'm having a conversation
with you about food and like my history
and where I come from and my family and
my my my tribe.
>> Yeah.
>> And that's all that matters. And then
you die and then nothing mattered. And
so that's my thoughts about death. Like
the aftermath, who gives a
>> You ready to go to the lightning round?
>> Yes. Oh my goodness.
>> Who's the one person dead or alive you
don't have to share your actual last
meal with?
>> Dead or alive?
>> Yeah.
>> My dad. What song do you want to be
played at your funeral?
>> Uh,
some like deep trap. Like I would want
people to go down and like party and
just be like some Bad Bunny probably.
>> Tortis or tortas.
>> Mice.
>> Who's your dream eulogizer at your
funeral?
>> Wow.
>> Bad bunny might be cheaper cuz he's not
performing.
>> Yeah.
>> So I think then the rates would drop.
He'd be like, "Mommy,
mommy yat
dal."
>> Who's sexier, Jafar from Aladdin or Jack
Skellington?
>> Wow, I see what you did there.
No, Jafar. Jafar really awakened some
dark thoughts in me. Jafar was my sexual
awakening.
>> But I was like, my like first love was
Jack Skellington. So, it's hard.
>> What's your biggest fear?
>> My biggest fear death. What did Kristoff
Waltz's face taste like?
>> Rich.
>> What's your greatest regret in life?
>> Biggest regret? Not continuing in my
singing career.
>> Finally, Asa, are you happy?
>> Not really, but it's okay.
>> That is okay.
>> That's the best answer and maybe the
closest answer that I would be able to
give. Truly, I mean, you are absolutely
refreshing. Uh, what a wonderful time. I
could geek out about Mexican food all
day. Thank you for being here. If you
want to deliver your last words to that
camera right there,
>> Dal.
>> In the words of Pitbull, Daddy Yankee
and all the greats that came before.
Check out In the Gray in theaters May
15th. I love Boosters 522. Both only in
theaters. In theaters.
>> Yes, only in theaters.
>> Go to the theaters.
>> Go to the theaters. Watch original
movies. Original movies. We need more of
those. Please, please, please support
original stories.
>> And someone subsidized the raisin nuts
industry. The raisinets are going to die
unless we buy them at movie theaters.
>> I don't like raisin nuts. It's okay.
They can die.
>> The perfect way to elevate all of your
meals. The last meals bar set is
available now at mythical.com.