Courtesy FX
Courtesy FX
Courtesy FX
Courtesy FX
Fill 1
Fill 1
August 22, 2016
Online Originals

Who Is That Masked Man?

Can a masked Mexican ex-wrestler save New York from a vampire epidemic?

David Gutiérrez

A series centering on a deadly vampire epidemic threatening to spread out of New York to the rest of the world holds enough potential to drive a multi-season story.

Yet somehow, The Strain, FX’s supernatural drama based on the popular book series, remained incomplete until its inclusion of Angel Guzman Hurtado, El Angel de Plata (“the Silver Angel”), a vampire hunting ex-Mexican wrestler-actor. Played by veteran actor Joaquín Cosio, Angel made his debut in The Strain’s second season and quickly became a fan favorite.

Cosio began acting in stage productions in Chihuahua, Mexico, but it was a move to Mexico City that started him acting in features. Roles in Oliver Stone’s Savages and Quantum of Solace later followed. Ultimately, it was his role as “Gabriel” in The Thin Yellow Line that garnered him the attention of The Strain’s co-author and co-creator, Guillermo Del Toro.

Cosio’s move into American television began with a phone call. “I was in my house one day when the phone rang, so I answered it,“ says Cosio. “’Hey, Joaquín Cosio? Hi, [I’m] Guerillmo Del Toro. How are you? I have a TV show and I want to ask you if you could work with me?’”

Cosio accepted Del Toro’s offer and dove into the Strain novels. He quickly grew to love the character of Angel, and was drawn to his similarity to the popular, eternally masked, Mexican wrestling icon, El Santo.

El Santo starred in a series of comic books and supernatural thrillers, as well as becoming a master of the wrestling ring. “I said, ‘Wow this is a beautiful character,’ because the role has some echoes of Santo. Every Mexican knows him; everyone loves him. It was a beautiful muse for me because in Mexico, the wrestler culture, lucha libre, is so deep within the Mexican culture.”

Angel, like Santo, was the star of series of supernatural films in the 1950s and 60s. A filmed on-set injury forced Angel into retirement, an event Angel watches repeatedly.

Audiences meet Angel in the present day where he works as a dishwasher at a Tandoori restaurant. It is there he meets Augustin “Gus” Elizalde (Miguel Gomez), a former gang member turned vampire killer, who happens to be Angel’s biggest fan. With Gus’ help and insistence, Angel overcomes his reluctance to help fight against the growing vampire horde and even saves Gus’ life during a standoff.

“He wants to be a hero,” says Cosio. “And all his conditions changed. Now he’s a poor man, a dishwasher, but with the soul of a wrestler. But he wants to be a hero again. When he was a champion, he was a famous wrestler, and he has the opportunity of [returning to] that with Gus.”

But how does a former celluloid masked hero fit into the world of The Strain? “It’s a reality that Angel is living. He’s inside the story, a member of the city. He’s a part of it. He feels the same as the others, he knows what happened or maybe he understands what happened.

"But what I think is, he never thought that he’d have to fight against vampires. Because he was a dishwasher and he was living his own life. But the circumstances take him to an adventure. And then he finds in him the possibility of becoming a hero again.”

The wrestling mask embodies much of the luchador mystique and is what allowed the character of Angel to remain anonymous. Thus far, Angel remains unmasked, but Cosio recognizes the power behind donning the iconic hood.

Though he dodges revealing if Angel returns to wearing it, Cosio beams when discussing the mask’s meaning. “I love it. The mask, for an actor -- not just for the character -- is a great experience because it changes everything in you. You become another guy. The mask gives you power.

"I remember Jack Nicholson’s [quote] from when he played the Joker in Batman. He told Michael Keaton, ‘Let the costume [do the] work.’ It’s true that if you put something over you, a mask or a cape, you change. You’ll be stronger.”

Cosio completes his transformation into Angel by affecting a limp. “I have to work [on] my limp because he limps [due to the injury]. When I received the news I was cast, I began immediately to work with my body. And later when I read the books, I saw he was strong, but he had a stomach and he was limping. I had to work on my limping because it could be a problem if I don’t do it right.”

The Angel/Gus dynamic is a relationship Cosio relishes. Angel’s initial dislike of Gus slowly transformed into a prickly alliance that continues to evolve.

“Obviously, he sees Gus as a lot of things,” said Cosio. “First, he sees him as a fan. Gus is a fighter.  He makes Angel remember how he was when he was young and a wrestling champion. I think he sees Gus as a son and a student, a follower. And their relationship, with the experiences that they live through, becomes very strong.”

Angel’s storyline was shared solely with Gus throughout the second season, but Cosio promises Angel’s world will broaden in the upcoming third season. “I continue working with Gus. We have a story apart, he and I. I have some [interaction] with the other guys [in the cast], but it’s short.”

While Angel and Gus may not have seen eye-to-eye, Cosio and his co-star, Miguel Gomez, have a far more positive relationship. “[Miguel’s] a very great actor. I have to work so hard to be at the same level. Because he’s new, he’s modern; he’s so fast [snaps fingers]. He thinks so fast. His methods are different than mine.

"The Strain is a great experience for me because I work with very great actors from all over the world. I was a Mexican actor and I never studied other acting [methods]. But, I see the way that [the other actors] played these characters and it was the best school for me. This season was very fun for me and for everyone.”

The Strain’s second season ended on a down note, with a major character going missing and another one dying. The series makes it clear no character is untouchable – including Angel. Like any good wrestler locked in a full nelson hold, Cosio shakes off the possibility Angel’s future is in jeopardy. “I feel safe,” says Cosio with a grin. “I’m still going.”

The Strain begins its third season on August 28 on FX.



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