- 10 hours ago
I think it's what people need at the moment. I think the landscape, in every aspect, is very heavy and quite dark," Younges explained. "Whereas this is quite an amazing escape. Everyone can relate because everyone loves vacation."
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00:00Hey, it's Lincoln Eunice, and I'm in studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:06Yes, ma'am.
00:07I'm going to start you now on a trial basis.
00:09No fraternizing with the staff or guests.
00:12That means no sex.
00:14Understood.
00:14So there's sex, deceits, affairs, pregnancy, mystery, firefights, crime, potential murder.
00:20Why are people checking into this hotel?
00:22Like, why?
00:23I don't get it.
00:23I know.
00:24You'd think the Yelp reviews would stop people going there.
00:26They'd run away.
00:28Well, it's a pretty amazing hotel.
00:30It's in Miami.
00:31It's right on the shoreline.
00:33It has a lot of history, and I think a lot of people that come to the hotel don't know
00:38that's happening before they get there.
00:40I was just thinking, imagine being the guest that's not kind of tangled into these web of
00:44lies.
00:45Why is everyone freaking out?
00:46Yeah.
00:47People are strange here.
00:48Yeah, why are you exaggerating so much?
00:49It's weird.
00:50Speaking of Miami, you guys filmed in Miami, actually.
00:52We did.
00:53How was filming that, and what were some of your favorites stand out?
00:56It was pretty crazy.
00:58It was my first time.
00:58It was the first time meeting the cast.
01:00It was.
01:00So I flew in from Australia, had like a 30-hour kind of trip, this 10-hour layover in Houston.
01:07Anyway, I got to Miami.
01:09I'd never been there before.
01:10We checked into the Fountain Blue, which is the most incredible hotel ever.
01:16I saw all your Instagrams.
01:18Yeah, it was insane.
01:19Poolside.
01:19I was like, I can't believe this is work.
01:21And it was during, I got to Miami Airport, and I was like, why are there so many people
01:25here at like midnight?
01:26And it was spring break and Ultra Music Festival while we were trying to shoot the pilot.
01:31So I got there.
01:33That was crazy.
01:34And then Eva called us all and said, hey, we'd like to take you out for like a cast dinner.
01:40And we went, okay, that's amazing.
01:41Great.
01:42Hi, Eva Longoria.
01:44And so we went down to this dock, and we're looking around, and we didn't know where to
01:48go.
01:48And then we see this like four-story yacht.
01:51And we're like, that can't be the place.
01:53So we keep walking.
01:54It's like a three-story yacht.
01:55And we're like, can't be that.
01:56Got to a two-story yacht.
01:57And then we just hear this lovely voice go, you guys!
02:01And we look around, and Eva's on top of the four-story yacht going, come on!
02:05Just for the dinner?
02:06Just for the dinner.
02:08Oh my gosh.
02:08Yeah, for the dinner, and we all sat around, and we had food, and the sun was setting,
02:13and we were all kind of meeting each other, and we're just going, what is happening?
02:16And that was our intro to Miami and Grand Hotel.
02:20That's the one and only time I think I'll ever experience that.
02:22That's crazy.
02:23It was amazing.
02:24No, you've worked really closely with Eva, and she's kind of taken you under her wing
02:27since casting, production.
02:28Kind of talk about those conversations you've had with her throughout.
02:32Eva has been the most incredible support to me, and the rest of the cast, and this project.
02:39I don't know why she took me under her wing.
02:41Yeah, why are you?
02:42I'm incredibly grateful.
02:43I think, because I'm not from here, I'm from Australia, she kind of wanted to make me feel
02:48welcome.
02:49That's awesome.
02:49But that's not exclusively for me.
02:52Every person that meets her, she's the most down-to-earth, real, kind of maternal, caring
02:59person.
03:00And so anyone that comes on set, whether you're there for the day or for the whole series,
03:05she's always so warm and loving.
03:07So it's amazing when that's your boss, because that trickles down on the whole set.
03:13She's throwing you a yacht party, too.
03:14It is a yacht party, which is pretty incredible.
03:17Now, when you first signed on to the project, what were some of the wow moments, I guess,
03:20that stood out on the script and kind of jumped off the page?
03:23And how familiar were you with the telenovela?
03:26So I had heard of the original series, Grand Hotel, but I hadn't watched it.
03:31And then I didn't want to watch the series before doing the pilot, just because I didn't
03:36want it to influence too much.
03:39So I'd read about it, and I kind of talked to the producers about the tone they wanted
03:46and all that kind of stuff.
03:47So then we filmed the entire series, and then I kind of watched it afterwards.
03:51And I loved the original series.
03:53And I think everyone was incredible in it.
03:56But in terms of the wow moments of our series, I think it's unlike anything on TV at the
04:03moment, which is really wonderful and quite difficult.
04:08I think it's kind of what people need at the moment.
04:13I think the landscape in every aspect is very heavy and quite dark.
04:20Like life right now, all kind of up in the air, whereas this is quite an amazing escape.
04:27You know, everyone can relate because everyone loves vacation.
04:30Everyone, you know.
04:32For me, I always go to hotels, and I'm always like, there is one of every different person
04:38in this hotel right now.
04:40That's so true.
04:40People from all walks of life, all doing different things, all different personalities, and they're
04:45probably all congregating in this one hotel, but we don't know about it because they're
04:49all in, you know, they're separate rooms, and you don't really cross paths.
04:52Whereas this show explores that, and it explores, you know, the underbelly of the hotel and the
04:57Miami kind of culture, as well as the guests that come in.
05:02And I don't know.
05:03For me, that kind of tickled my fancy.
05:05I really like that.
05:06And also, who wouldn't want to live in a hotel?
05:08That's kind of the dream.
05:09Exactly.
05:10I mean, I probably wouldn't want it.
05:12After a while, I think it could get a bit extreme.
05:14In terms of the Mendoza family, you'd either want to be one of the kids, or you don't want
05:18to be one of the kids kind of thing.
05:19Because they're kind of all over the place.
05:21Yeah, it could go either way.
05:22Yeah, yeah, yeah, completely.
05:23With kind of the mystery unraveling, we kind of find out Danny is the brother of Skye.
05:28Okay, how much of the whole story of Danny did you know before filming, and did you want
05:33to know everything?
05:34I didn't, well, no, they didn't tell me the whole story, as in how it would all culminate
05:40at the end, obviously.
05:41But I knew quite a bit from the pilot, and, you know, episode by episode, we kind of find
05:48out more about his backstory.
05:50I wanted to know quite a lot, just because there's a duality with him, where you don't
05:55know whether he's playing everyone, or if he's being genuine, or if it's a combination
05:59of both.
06:00I think it's a combination of both, right?
06:02Yeah, yeah.
06:02So I kind of wanted to know where to pitch that, in terms of knowing all the things that
06:09need to be revealed over time.
06:10Yeah.
06:11But it was really fun exploring that, and not knowing in certain elements.
06:15So I get to a certain episode, and I go, oh, okay, that explains this part of his backstory.
06:20Okay, cool.
06:21As an actor, you like kind of not knowing some aspects to it, too.
06:23I like knowing kind of the framework, and then I can fill in the pieces, and then if
06:29that way, hopefully, it correlates at the end.
06:32Yeah.
06:32Yeah.
06:33Based on the premiere, who would you say audiences should be looking at as, like, the biggest
06:38suspects for the disappearance of Sky?
06:40Like, based on what everyone has watched, who would you think, like, people are suspecting,
06:45without giving anything away?
06:46Does that make sense?
06:47Yeah, I think there's a number of suspects, which is good.
06:49It's funny when he's walking through the hotel, and he's just, like, looking at everyone.
06:52Yeah, yeah, well, I think that's the key to the show.
06:56I think everyone is involved in some way, and anyone could actually be the person that
07:04did whatever happened to Sky.
07:05Like, who?
07:07Like, like you, Brian.
07:09Maybe.
07:09Yeah.
07:10No, like, I'd say Gigi from the pilot.
07:12Everyone's looking at Gigi.
07:14Okay.
07:14Or, or, um, or Demian, who plays, uh, Santiago.
07:20Yeah.
07:21I think, I think they're kind of, they oversee the whole hotel, so I feel like they know what's
07:25going on.
07:26But, whether it's them or not, you have to wait and see.
07:29Now, when they're kind of, when fans are looking at this mystery story, is, are things not
07:33always as they appear, would you say?
07:35Is that something?
07:35Completely.
07:36Yeah.
07:36Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:37Yeah, I think, uh, there's a lot of misdirects, there's a lot of, you know, red herrings,
07:41all that kind of stuff.
07:42Um, which is good, because it makes you want to tune in and get the pieces to the puzzle
07:47each week.
07:48Yeah.
07:48Which I love.
07:49Yeah.
07:49It's perfect.
07:50Yeah, I think it's been a long time since you actually had cliffhangers on a show.
07:53On each episode.
07:54Yeah, yeah, for me, it's been a while since I watched a show where I was like, I need to
07:58watch the next episode, like, to find out that piece.
08:01So, I, yeah.
08:03That's true, because the first one and then the second one at the end with the, I won't
08:06give it away, but.
08:08With the, with the, yeah.
08:10The name, something.
08:11The thing.
08:12Yeah.
08:12The thing.
08:13Um, obviously, Danny works at the hotel.
08:16He does.
08:16And his boss is a bit skeptical of him.
08:19She's a bit tough on him in some ways.
08:20Yeah, she thinks he's a bit shady.
08:21Yeah, throughout, throughout your life, have you had that kind of a tough boss?
08:24Any crazy boss stories?
08:26I, I used to work in hospitality, um, in my, like, teenage years.
08:30I was wondering that.
08:31Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:31So, my dad was a chef.
08:33Yeah, I always loved cooking.
08:34I loved, um, hospitality.
08:35So, I worked in that a lot.
08:37Um, and I had some pretty extreme bosses.
08:40I had, I had one, this is terrible, but I don't care.
08:44I had one, I used to wash dishes when I was, like, really young, and they used to walk
08:49in, and there was a deep sink, and I don't know why they would do it, but they'd come
08:53in, and they'd drop glasses when I wasn't there.
08:56And so, I'd, I'd be, like, washing the dishes, and then the water would turn red, and I'd be,
09:00like, and I'd pull my hands out.
09:01Oh, my gosh.
09:02Yeah, it was messed up.
09:03That's really terrible.
09:04Yeah, yeah, so I quit that job.
09:05I got out of there.
09:06Wow, what, that's, like, a horrible, horrible thing to do somewhere.
09:09Oh, my gosh.
09:10And Yelp wasn't around then, so I couldn't really.
09:12Did you use this in your audition story, too, to tell them I worked at a messed up hotel?
09:16It's like, give me the job.
09:17Just like this.
09:18It's so crazy.
09:19What would be your best tease for the rest of the season?
09:22Best tease?
09:22Yeah.
09:23And what fans can expect?
09:25Um, look, I think everything you think you know, you don't.
09:30Um, and everything can change each episode, and it does, so, um, it's not one of those
09:37shows where I think you can come in halfway and figure out what's going on in every aspect,
09:43so I think you need to be watching every single episode, um, and I do think the payoff at the
09:49end is, uh, is worth watching, and the build-up.
09:53You know, sometimes there's a build-up to a show and it doesn't pay off?
09:56There is MS.
09:56With Danny, what, I guess, surprised you most about him throughout?
10:01Was there an episode people should look out for coming up, or...?
10:03Um, look, I'm incredibly grateful I got to play Danny because there is just so much that
10:10is revealed over time.
10:11He, he kind of, for me, has such an amazing arc, um, because you start with not knowing
10:17much about him, but then you do slowly find out quite a bit about him, but then that whole
10:22changes depending on, uh, he, he kind of has a different relationship for everyone he
10:27runs into, which, uh, was really interesting to play, but there are guests that come into
10:33the hotel that completely turn his world upside down, and then he's...
10:38Oh, so there'll be new guests coming, okay.
10:40Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, there's new guests that come in where you think everything's
10:43settled.
10:44He thinks everything's settled, and he's kind of got a grasp on things, and then it completely
10:48shifts, and he's, he might be caught out, or he might be a bit, you know, he has to recalibrate
10:55his position in the hotel and everything that is, uh, he's risking.
11:00That's crazy.
11:00Yeah.
11:01One thing we discover, um, in season, I mean, episode one, is kind of, when he gets into
11:06that fight, and you kind of see his skills in that, which kind of, the Mendoza family
11:09is attracted to that, is that going to develop over time, and what...
11:13Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of, um, action with Danny.
11:15Okay.
11:16Yeah, he's quite, um, physically capable, which is, which is very fun to play.
11:21Did you have to do training for that, or is this something you had a background in, or...?
11:25I, I, I did a lot of boxing.
11:27Yeah.
11:27There's a boxing, um, sequence, uh, later on in the season, so I did about two or three
11:32months of boxing, which is really cool, but I've always kind of loved stunts, and loved
11:36doing them myself, and it was funny with that first fight, I shouldn't tell you this, but
11:41that first fight in the, in the pilot at the wedding, um, one of, one of my really good
11:48friends now, but he, he guest starred on it, he plays Byron, his name's Ken Kirby, he had
11:53to come in and, and, uh, punch Jen Carlos's character, uh, El Rey.
11:59Anyway, during the scuffle, all that kind of stuff, his pants ripped, and we didn't have
12:05time, because we were shooting, you know, this whole sequence, but we didn't have time to
12:09go get the pants replaced, because they were kind of very expensive, and all this kind of
12:13stuff.
12:13So, as the shooting went on, his pant, his rip got more and more and more to such a point
12:20that he was almost fighting into, like, tighty-whities, and it was terrible.
12:24It was hilarious.
12:25It was very funny.
12:25He then had to do, like, this walk of shame back to the hotel.
12:28It was great.
12:29With, um, so, with you mentioning, kind of, that more and more guests are going to come,
12:33the cast is already an ensemble a bit.
12:35It is, yeah, yeah.
12:36Is there anyone you wish you had more scenes with, and are you going to have more scenes
12:39with someone we didn't see you with in the pilot?
12:42Look, I, I can't, I can't answer that without giving some things away, but I, look, I got
12:49to interact with everyone in the cast in different ways, which I really enjoyed, and as I said
12:56before, there was, like, different relationships and different, kind of, capacities, but what was,
13:01what was really cool is, uh, Katie Segal guest starred.
13:05Yeah.
13:05I would have loved to have worked with her more.
13:08I did shoot with her, but I just, I really enjoyed working with her.
13:11She was, she was extraordinary.
13:12That's awesome.
13:13Yeah.
13:14Are there any other guest stars you could choose?
13:15Yeah, we've got, um, Ariel Keble, uh, who plays Sky, uh, and then, uh...
13:20And she, it's not clear that she, she's not dead, is my guess.
13:25She's just missing.
13:26I'd like to keep my job, Brian.
13:29Sorry, sorry, sorry.
13:30Thank you so much for being here.
13:31No, thank you.
13:32Don't miss any of the drama on Grand Hotel.
13:35Monday nights?
13:36Monday nights at 10.
13:37On ABC.
13:38See you next time.
13:40See you next time.
13:41See you next time.
13:43See you next time.
13:43See you next time.
13:43See you next time.
13:43You
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