Juvenile hall, youth authorities ... I was in a lot of trouble. I grew up like the characters I`ve been playing. But would I do things differently? I honestly believe that circumstances create destiny, almost. There weren`t too many ways I could have done things. The only things that were available to me were either be a laborer or be a drug dealer. So I became an armed robber. It was a lot simpler.
I`ll be watching TV and all of a sudden I`ll think, `Hey, I`m in this!` A lot of times I don`t even know the names of [the movies]. I just show up. From 1985, when I first started, to 1990, I did a shit-load of B-movies about prisons. They would always say, `Get that Mexican guy with the big tattoo.` I`d show up and I`d have one line, like, `Kill `em all!` or something.
[of on-set competition between actors] "I`ve watched so many of those kinds of things turn bad, and the last thing you want to do is compete with somebody, `cause he might be a sore loser."
It was the funniest thing I`d ever heard. I`d been in Soledad, San Quentin, Folsom, Vacaville, Susanville, Sierra - and here`s a guy asking `Can you act like a convict?` I remember I said `I`ll give it a shot`.