'Stumptown' star Adrian Martinez teases Tookie's 'dark secrets,' asks people to tune in to ABC dramedy for 'the Avenger'
All fans of ‘Stumptown’ graphic novel series already have September 25, 2019, marked on their calendars, but the rest of us need to take a note of the date too. ABC is premiering Jason Richman’s televised version of the series on the said date, and starring as the badass protagonist Dex Parios is Cobie Smulders aka Robin from ‘How I Met Your Mother’ aka Agent Mariah Hill from the Marvel movies.
A private investigator with PTSD, a gambling problem and a penchant for justice, Dex’s life is constantly in danger, but thankfully she has a guardian angel in Tookie, played by Adrian Martinez. The hilarious Latino actor tells MEA WorldWide how it was clear even at the script stage that he needed to be the caring, loving figure in the life of Dex, who is very clearly a loose cannon.
“She has different sexual partners and she's out there risking her life to help solve these cases. And in the meantime, she comes to me for advice and she comes to me for guidance. I have this Guardian Angel approach to remind her, 'Listen, you got to be careful because things can happen that everybody is going to be on the good side of things,'” explains Martinez, adding that the emotional hook for the character was that he's trying to protect her.
Along with being the comic relief in the series, Martinez’s Tookie is also a very relatable character on the show. “I think everyone has someone in their life they look out for, you know? Parents look after the kids or sometimes kids look after their parents. There's always someone you worry about, there is always someone that you care for, you look out for and so I think the audience will relate on that level and Tookie's also a very funny character,” he elaborates, adding how there is going to be a lot of action and there's going to be a lot of drama, and there is also going to be comedic relief that he hopes to bring to the character, which does not exist in the comic book universe created by Greg Rucka.
Martinez is looking at Tookie’s absence in the graphic novels as an opportunity to bring something fresh and new to 'Stumptown'.
“I was assured by the creative team that Tookie will be a three-dimensional character, which is something very important to me. Nobody wants to see stereotype - it's boring and we've all seen those already. Tookie runs the taco stand in town, and I am a Latino actor, but beyond the surface is a three-dimensional person with dark secrets that shall be revealed over the course of the season,” he teases.
The actor, who was very impressed with the graphic books, as soon as he read it, talks about how deep they cut. “They have strong emotional connections between the characters and so I could totally see why ABC would want to build the series off of it because it's something that you look for,” he explains, adding how successful shows really depend on the emotional connections between the characters and making sure that the audience can feel these connections.
“If you don't have that then the show is not going to work. But I saw in the book that these emotional hooks were all over the place, and so it makes sense, and it's a smart move to do a series based on 'Stumptown'.”
He also appreciates the fact that the ‘Stumptown’ stories are funny, and have a strong female lead in a way we have never seen before. He says, “We've seen plenty of cops, but she's a private investigator with PTSD. I've not seen that before, so, whenever you are reading something that you've not seen before, it's very attractive because automatically you can say that the audience will be pulled in because it's something new… And, then you have all these different strong emotional connections and it's funny. There's a lot going on here.”
Martinez continues, “I think the audience is going to be really impressed by the production value, and of course, you have a great cast led by Cobie Smulders, who is one of our Avengers. Once you have an Avenger in the cast, you're in a good place. Then you also have excellent actors who've been in hit shows like Jake Johnson and Michael Ealy and Camryn Manheim and so you have a really strong cast with the next to the creative team.”
After all, it is the only action dramedy on television – it’s got action, it’s got comedy, it’s got drama, teases Martinez, adding how no other show is going to give all three elements under the same umbrella that ‘Stumptown’ does. So, if you are a fan of one or all of the genres, do not forget to tune into ABC’s ‘Stumptown’ on Wednesday, September 25.
