ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Me Time star Luis Gerardo Méndez about the upcoming Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg comedy. The John Hamburg-directed film premieres on Netflix on August 26.
“When a stay-at-home dad finds himself with some ‘me time’ for the first time in years while his wife and kids are away, he reconnects with his former best friend for a wild weekend that nearly upends his life,” reads the logline.
Tyler Treese: You have so many great scenes with Kevin Hart throughout Me Time. Talk to me about working with him. He’s so naturally funny, that has to really be an ease when you’re doing, comedic scenes.
Luis Gerardo Méndez: Yeah, and also terrifying, especially when you speak Spanish and you need to improv with him. That was really hard and same with Regina Hall. They’re so funny. They are like machines of saying stupid, funny things all of the time. To be able to improv in the same level in a language that is not mine was definitely a challenge, but a really fun one for sure. They’re great.
Yeah. I was going to ask about the second language because it’s so effortless in the film. I’m sure the scripted scenes are a lot easier, but how has that transition been like?
Pretty stressful, but I do a lot of comedy in Mexico, and I do a lot of improv, and I love doing it. It’s just when you need to do it in a different language, it’s hard, but I knew that was going to happen because John Hamburg, the director of the film, does a lot of improv in his movies. I think that’s the reason the movies he does feel so fresh and unique and real, because most of the things you’re seeing happened in that only take. So, yeah, it requires a lot of concentration and energy for sure.
You’re playing this character Armando, he’s this big-shot philanthropist. So tell me, what kind of inspiration did you take from to put on this character who’s so larger than life?
My character, Armando, is like the son of Toms Shoes and all of the crazy millionaires I met in Tulum, you know? The purpose of this character is just being the biggest danger and threat to Kevin Hart’s character, because he’s this guy who’s rich, woke, he’s a good person. He has great hair, so he needs to be terrified of him because his wife is working with me the whole time. So it was just fun to play that role.
It’s also interesting because Kevin’s character Sonny is just always assuming the worst of your character and you get to play around with that because the audience doesn’t really know. Is he that bad? What’s he like? So how fun is it having that middle ground and getting to play out that mystery?
It’s the best, because yeah, you can have these little subtle looks to the other character when you can kind of trick the audience in one way. But yeah, at the end of the day, he’s just a very nice guy. But that’s what jealousy does to your brain, you know? Like you can start seeing people in a horrible way and they’re just really nice people, but they are a threat for you. So that’s why you hate them.
