Cruz-ing to Success
Soap Opera Weekly, 1/1/91
by Janet Di Lauro
Thanks to Rosie in Australia!
What significance does a daytime Emmy hold in the big, broad spectrum of things? Santa Barbara's exceptionally talented A Martinez (Cruz Castillo) -- the winner of 1990's Best Actor honors -- ponders the question for a moment. "I don't know if it means anything or not. It's hard to tell...But an awful lot of people noticed it."
The actor maintains that "the nicest thing" about winning was simply feeling everyone's joy over it. "There were so many people in New York that were happy about it," he says. "My wife and I stood in the reception area for a couple of hours. People kept coming up to us to say nice things about the fact that I'd won. It made me feel loved."
While Martinez enjoyed the ecstasy of winning, he has also known the agony of defeat. Three times before, he was nominated in the same category and lost.
"The first year it was difficult to sort out all that energy and accept the fact that somebody else won the prize. But things are different now. I don't know if it comes down to having been nominated before, or just the changes that have come down in my life. Things are so sweet for me these days. Both my kids are healthy and doing well. My marriage is in wonderful shape. I didn't have any huge, desperate appetite to win...although I certainly prefer it to losing," he adds with a smile.
As for the Emmy and his future -- "I've always believed that whether or not you get a particular job is more dependent on your audition than on anything else. Maybe the fact that my name was in the papers for a day will make some people think about me more when they're deciding who to cast. Because it all comes down to this: You don't have a chance until you're considered. And I think that is oftentimes a potential glitch in the career of anyone who is of an ethnic minority," notes the Hispanic actor. "You don't have as wide a field to turn over. Hopefully, I'll get considered for a couple of things that maybe I wouldn't have because of this."
While SB viewers don't perceive Martinez as a minority per se, that isn't the case within the industry. "Santa Barbara's done a lot for me," he says. "I really feel like I'm a pretty mainstream actor these days. But most of what I get offered is dependent on the ethnic makeup of the character, first and foremost."
Portraying the prominent role of Cruz for the past six years often makes Martinez feel as if he's "carrying the banner" for Hispanic actors.
"Right now I am, but everything has an arc," he says. "I don't seem to be doing as much (on the show) as I did previously. I think that's because it's widely perceived that Santa Barbara needs to broaden its base on some level to thrive. I think the reduction in my screen time is a part of that. I feel a little bit sad about it sometimes, but it's not overwhelming."
The fact is that Martinez and his leading lady, Marcy Walker (Eden), have gone from being the focal point of SB to a mere part of the overall package.
"The writers are in a difficult situation," Martinez points out, referring to the fact that both he and Walker do take leaves of absence from SB when other projects arise. "They can't always predict when Marcy and I are going to be around. They have to construct stories that can be snatched out of the mix without damaging the show. It's a delicate process."
The future of Cruz and Eden, however, may not rest entirely in the writers' hands. The day when either Martinez or Walker announces they're leaving the show could be just around the bend. That almost became a reality a few months ago when Walker filmed the nighttime pilot, Bar Girls. If it had been picked up as a series, the days of Cruz and Eden would have been history.
"Everyone was kind of holding their breath, and crossing their fingers and hoping so hard that Marcy wouldn't leave. Nobody wanted to approach the subject of, 'What if?' I didn't want to talk about it. I know that," admits Martinez. "But Marcy's so gifted. My wish for Marcy is that she ends up doing great films, but maybe it doesn't have to happen next week.
"Whatever circumstances come up and change the situation for us, it's going to be difficult -- whether I leave, or she leaves, or they show us both the door at the same time." The actor readily admits he can't imagine finding the rapport he's had with Walker with anyone else, "Partly because of who we are, partly because of the circumstances that we've been lucky enough to encounter. We're very important to each other."
Whatever choices Martinez ultimately makes regarding his career will be discussed in depth with his wife, Leslie. "She's very much a part of all the decisions. We try to proceed in concert when it comes to stuff like that," he says. Then he adds, "Leslie's my best friend. I really feel sorry for people who don't have that. Leslie has a different point of view about the way things work than I do. She has an optimistic nature. She feels that everything will work out fine...that my career is going to remain healthy for a long time. I tend to be obsessed about avoiding the darkness that's always threatening to swallow me up. That seems to be my basic take on the way things work. It's unfortunate, but thank goodness she's around to mitigate it."
There is one element of his life in which Martinez shares his wife's optimism -- the continued strength and growth of their family as a unit. No matter what turns his career takes, he has no worries that stardom will ever take away from this treasured time with his wife and their children, Cody, 4, and Devon, 1.
"I know that if I lose contact with my family, I will have nothing to offer," Martinez states adamantly. "I was a much more diminished human being before I met my wife and had these kids. There is just no way to deny that. That's the source of my confidence as a man. I'm not going to ever put it in jeopardy.
"Beyond that, Leslie is deeply secure in her sense of her position in my life. After the Emmy show, several people commented to her about all the attention swirling around. They asked her if it was difficult to watch me be the focal point of all that energy and affection. And she said, 'Not at all. I've wished this for him since I've known him.' That's the truth. We are on each other's side. There's no debate on that issue. If it ever turns into one, I'll find a way to put my family first. And it's not some noble thing. It's just that the simplest things are so totally joyous when it's your own family."
Martinez indulges in those simple things whenever possible. "I've had a lot of time off this year. Cody and I have gotten to go to a couple of ball games together. I've even started to teach him about base ball. He does love it, and that makes me really happy because I love it so much. He asks me questions. He's an eager learner and has got a great fantasy attitude about the games and the players. Devon is out there, too. One of her first 20 words was baseball. She runs around outside saying, 'Baseball, baseball, baseball,' over and over again.
"Devon's going to be very athletic, too," Martinez continues. "She has no fear of heights or physical pain that we can measure. She's on the moon when it comes to daredevil time. She crashes and burns with regularity, but with a great attitude. She sometimes gets called 'Bumpy,' because she bumps into a lot of things, inadvertently and otherwise. She's real cool, though. She's a bright light."
Both of Martinez's children are bright lights in his life. And he'll continue to work hard to give them the best life has to offer.
"More than anything I want to be able to get my kids all the way through and not have them suffer too many serious disruptions or have barren times based on my career. I'll do the best I can to make that happen and try to balance it with the sense of doing something worthwhile whenever I possible can. I'm more fearful of it than Leslie is. Which one of us is right remains to be seen. Whether things will be as difficult as I somehow imagine they're going to be or as easy as she seems to believe they will be...it's hard to tell."
With Martinez's extraordinary talent, his wife's positive vibes and a little bit of fate, the best may very well be yet to come!
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