What is Dani Rojas from 'Ted Lasso' doing in 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'? Exploring breakout star's role in new film
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In some universe, if ‘Ted Lasso’ had a crossover with the world of ‘Transformers’, the Internet would have gone berserk about the existence of such an anomaly. But, giving us a taste of that, the actor who played Dani Rojas on the Prime-time Emmy-winning show has made his way in to one of the biggest movie franchises in the world. Cristo Fernandez has immortalized his portrayal of a Mexican football striker playing for AFC Richmond in the coveted show and now the actor is riding high on the newfound fame.
Cristo has leapt into the world of ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,’ the seventh installment of the ‘Transformers series. The 32-year-old actor from Guadalajara has lent his voice to the character of Wheeljack in the new Transformers films who is known to be part of the Autobots in their fight against the evil Decepticons. A role in the Transformers series has only brought more recognition for the Mexican actor who, until now, was making his name through ‘Ted Lasso.’ Cristo is delighted to be a part of a big franchise and did add a touch of his heritage while voicing Wheeljack.
'I just try to make it my own'
Cristo’s role on ‘Ted Lasso’ was a happy-go-lucky kinda guy who was competitive yet kept the needs of his team before his own. But Cristo mentioned that even while voicing the Autobot character in the film, he was given enough creative liberty to toy with its final manifestation. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Cristo said, “I know this version is going for the Latino vibe, and the director (Steven Caple Jr.) was really cool with me. He was telling me, 'We want to make him very Mexican.' I just went for it. I'm so grateful that he let me put so much of who I am to the character. I just try to make it my own."
Before ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,’ Cristo has mainly been in short films made by himself. “Most of those credits that you see that are in Spanish, or that all of those IMDb credits that I have, most of them are literally my own projects that I created with friends, that I did short films and I tried to put them in festivals. I created myself some roles because I never got any role.” Cristo mentioned that ‘Ted Lasso’ made 'Transformers' happen for him and he’s forever indebted to the show.
Who is Wheeljack - the character voiced by Cristo Fernandez?
Wheeljack is an Autobot from the planet Cybertron who is fighting for the Autobots against the evil Decepticons. In ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,’ Wheeljack seems to transform into a Volkswagen van. The character made a brief cameo in ‘Bumblebee’ and is known to work closely with Arcee, another Autobot who is a field commander and a loyal servant to Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. With Cristo Fernández playing Wheeljack, expect a touch of Mexican humor, the same humor that made Cristo a star with Ted Lasso.
'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' hits US theaters on June 9, 2023.