Joaquín Cosío and Diego Calva On The Pain and Glory of Acting in Spanish in 'The Midnight Family'

In Spanish

Mexican actors Joaquín Cosío and Diego Calva spend their professional lives traveling between Hollywood and Mexico. They are sought after and appreciated on both sides of the border, working in film and streaming. This means they experience their characters' emotions in two languages, sometimes simultaneously.

Cosío experienced this while filming the Netflix series 'Gentefied.' Calva, on his end, encountered something "strange" when his Mexican accent blended with English during the filming of 'Babylon,' a film where he starred alongside Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt. Over time, his accent gradually faded as the story unfolded.

Both actors traveled to Miami along with Renata Vaca to talk about a project they worked on in their native language, with their own accents, and about their own people. This project is 'The Midnight Family,' a series available on Apple TV+ that follows a family operating a private ambulance service in Mexico City.

Inspired by a 2019 documentary, the show blends heart and action. Calva admitted that it took him a month to shake off Marcus, the youngest son of Ramón Tamayo (played by Cosío). "It happens with intense characters I play in Spanish," the actor said.

Despite this, both actors prefer acting in their native language. Cosío echoed this sentiment, saying, "the connection is more intimate." In his case, this closeness was particularly profound in this series. "Ramón is like many Mexican men—men with a life of work and family," he explained. While he didn't base the character on his father, he identified with those life experiences. "It's all they know."

Months of Living at Night

As the title suggests, the Tamayo family works during the night, when ambulances are most needed. That's their business—they're paramedics and are accompanied by a doctor. "They're all superheroes, but the women in particular," Vaca added.

Creating this project required a special effort from the cast. "We spent weeks working at night," Calva shared. It was an intense experience in every way, bringing the cast and crew closer as they worked on 'The Midnight Family.'

Though they have stories about accident scenes, earthquakes, fires, blood, and even vomit, what brings the biggest smiles are the memories of the games they played to stay awake.

The series is directed by Gabriel Ripstein and Natalia Beristain and produced by Chilean filmmakers Juan de Dios and Pablo Larraín, among others. It features powerful scenes of solidarity and empathy.

For Cosío, this project left a deep impression because "they represent the people nobody thinks about unless they need them. They provide a service that the government fails to offer. These are stories that matter about people who matter."