Will Trent’s Ramon Rodriguez Talks Will’s Return, His Past with Rafael Wexford, and Working with Gina Rodriguez

TV Fanatic chatted with Will Trent's Ramon Rodriguez about Will's return, his past with Rafael Wexford, and much more. Check it out!

The post Will Trent’s Ramon Rodriguez Talks Will’s Return, His Past with Rafael Wexford, and Working with Gina Rodriguez appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Will Trent has returned and that was some Season 3 premiere. They know how to reel viewers back in after a long hiatus.

Will Trent Season 3 Episode 1 featured lots of high-stakes drama. The team suspected an Atlanta gang ordered a hit on a local cop. Tensions were high as the lead suspect was an old friend of Will’s from his foster care days.

TV Fanatic chatted with leading man Ramon Rodriguez, and he shared how Will felt when he returned to Atlanta and his friends’ reactions.

 He also discussed Will’s history with Rafael Wexford, Will’s relationship issues, and working with Gina Rodriguez.

Check out the interview below.

Hi Ramon. So, the dynamics for Season 3 have changed. Was Will expecting the cold shoulder from his friends, especially Faith and Nico?

Will didn’t even expect to come back. He expected to stay in Tennessee, living his lovely life in the middle of the woods and working as a private eye with Betty. The fact that he’d been brought back surprised him.

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Are the reactions appropriate? Maybe since they were upset, he left and didn’t say a word. However, he’s also surprised he’s walking into this. He’s astonished that Rafael, someone from his childhood, is involved, so it’s all a bit strange.

He’s walking through the office in his jeans and t-shirt, not with his usual suit on. It’s all out of body for him. It lands when he walks through his doors at home, and his place is different. It’s been Nico-ized. Nico’s not happy to see him.

But when he sees that that dining table represented what could have been, it sets in on him, what he’s done and what he’s left, and, you know, for all the reasons why he did it. He had his reasons that made sense to him, without a doubt. It wasn’t easy, but he did what he had to do.

Yes, absolutely. How long will it take to repair the bridges he burned?

It will take time. Faith and Will started where he didn’t even want a partner in Will Trent Season 1 Episode 1, and we slowly watched them build a partnership, which is difficult for Will to do. He doesn’t let many people in his life, so those building blocks must be rebuilt.

 You have to rebuild trust again, and that takes time.

So, it’s not an immediate thing that happens quickly, and he has to have some hard conversations about what happened and why he did what he did. Until that happens and until you slowly start having events and things that make those relationships feel like it’s safe again to be friends.

It takes time so both parts will need patience. Will also feels betrayed by many things, especially towards Angie. So, will that building block and how it will be repaired be interesting for Season 3?

 Yes. Since they’ve been in each other’s lives forever, will Will and Angie at least become friends again, if not eventually reunite?

 It’s a tricky question. It’s challenging in the beginning. They don’t even interact with each other for a few episodes.

It’s tough once they are finally forced to be in front of each other. It’s awkward. Are they going to talk about it? Eventually, they do. It isn’t easy because there’s so much history.

They’ve been through so much, and what happened and how they’ve dealt with it was gut-wrenching. So, I can’t tell you if they’ll be together or what will happen.

But I will tell you there will be some brutal conversations that must be had, which will be hard.

Oh, I am looking forward to that. I have always liked Will and Angie and their relationship facets, so I can’t wait to see it. In the premiere, Will returns home to prove Rafael Wexford’s innocence. Can you tell us more about his connection to Rafael and why he thinks he owes him?

Will is pulled into this case involving someone he did not expect from his childhood. We know something happened. Will owes this guy some debt, but we don’t know what it is.

I was able to direct the Season 3 premiere, so it was fun talking about this history, what happened, and showing this history between these two characters. One entertaining thing that we did when the characters met was they had this fight. It’s a funny fight, but it’s a violent fight, and I love that.

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There’s some fun music to it that shows them knowing each other, hate each other at this moment, or are angry towards each other. But then we see a grandma enter. So, we know there’s history and there’s love. And so, it’s an excellent, fabulous relationship.

 But it continues, as Rafael keeps getting involved in criminal matters and getting in Will’s way in various cases. So, he has to confront it, and eventually, we get to what happened during their childhood.

It was a specific period. Will runs into Rafael after he gets out of the foster care system after he aged out. He meets this guy and lives with Rafael and his grandma for a bit. But something happens after that, and we don’t know what it is until later in the season, and I can’t tell you yet.

Totally fair. Are we going to see flashbacks to this later in the season about what happened?

That’s a definite possibility. We haven’t filmed it yet, but we are approaching it quickly when we talk about and possibly show what happened between these two.

The writers and everyone involved have done a fantastic job of picking up the pieces where we left off and introducing some new characters and drama.

Last season, we dealt with Will’s childhood traumatic event of his foster mom, who he felt he could have saved but died. This season, we’re going to have more of that, more things like that that will affect Will, and it might even affect him forever. It’ll be exciting.

But we also brought on some exciting new people. Adding new characters to our cast and folding them into the storyline is entertaining. We have Marian Alba, played by Gina Rodriguez.

How does she end up impacting Will’s life? It’s a fun relationship and a different one for Will. In terms of having women in his life, there is always some tension and complication, but it’s pretty hopeful with Marion, which is cool. The only one that happened with was Crickett in Season 2, but that blew up.

Yes. Literally.  So why do you think he clashed with Marion at first? And where do you see their relationship going?

He was there for a purpose. He’s working on this case when he runs into Marion, and she’s unaware he has information she doesn’t know. She becomes a real asset to him, but what’s interesting is that she gets afraid when he tells her some information.

I love the moment when he vomits all of his past, and what’s been going on with him to this stranger, he doesn’t know. I thought that was also true.

Sometimes, we can tell strangers more truthfully than we can tell people we live with or know or friends or family. So, he dumps this stuff on her, and she doesn’t run away.

In fact, she is intrigued, and then they start talking. She’s invaluable to him in this case. But as the season progresses, we learn that she shows up for Will in ways that not many have, which significantly matters to someone like him. They share similar codes and facts that matter to Will.

We learned that matters for Marion and an assistant district attorney. She’s also very refreshing as a character. When she comes in, she can be funny and emotional.

But the biggest thing is that she’s someone who shows up for Will, and that’s for someone who has not had people show up for him and has not relied on that either. He doesn’t expect it from people.

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What has it been like working with Gina?

Gina is awesome. I’ve known Gina for a long time. We’ve always kept in touch for many years and never worked together. When the conversation came up about this character of Marian Alba and that it’s someone we like to be on for the duration of the season, I thought Gina would be great.

She was on a very short list, and I had reached out to her personally. And I asked her if she still wanted to work together, and she told me when I brought her on Will Trent. I told her there was a fun character and an exciting opportunity for her and the show.

So, it’s been great. She brings a fresh breath of energy. Again, it’s so specific for Will because of his relationships. Each one is different.

His relationships with Amanda, Angie, Faith, Nico, and Betty show the other side of Will. We get to see another side of this relationship with Marion, which is excellent.

I can’t wait to see that. And then, to wrap up, what is your favorite thing about Season 3?

Directing the Season 3 premiere was my favorite thing so far. It was an exhilarating experience. I know this show well. We’re in the third season. This crew is like family. I’ve never been a part of a show from its inception and gone past one season, let alone now that we’re in our third.

We all know each other well, and we’ve been there through the highs and lows of what life can bring. To be able to collaborate with them creatively on that level was incredible. I felt a fundamental responsibility to set the show off on a strong start for season three as a great starting point and jump-off point for the season.  I loved it.

Thank you. I cannot wait to see the season in its entirety.

I can’t wait for you to see it too, because I can tell you’re into it.

Will Trent airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 8/7c and streams the next day on Hulu.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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The post Will Trent’s Ramon Rodriguez Talks Will’s Return, His Past with Rafael Wexford, and Working with Gina Rodriguez appeared first on TV Fanatic.