BY IRVIN RIVERA

New York native actor TYLER ALVAREZ has been in the spotlight for a while. He started acting young and continuously plays a variety of roles that ranges from comedy to drama. He was recently on Netflix’s BLOCKBUSTER, playing Carlos, a Quentin Tarantino film lover. He was also known as Peter Maldonado in the highly successful show AMERICAN VANDAL. He played roles in titles like Orange is the New Black, Never Have I Ever, Fresh Off the Boat, Veronica Mars and more. But there’s so much more to Tyler than what we have seen so far. The rising star has a plethora of skills to offer and plenty of life wisdom to share. 

“I know what it means to die. But now I know how to live. And I live bigger. It broke my heart open. I appreciate sunsets, I appreciate people. I have this, like profound gratitude for every moment, because I know that it can be taken away” says Tyler, who also quotes a lesson from Dead Poets Society- “Suck out all the marrow of life.” 

In this exclusive interview, we went on a deep dive with Tyler on his life as an actor, the intricacies and uncertainties that came with the job, appreciating and living life to the fullest, and learning to love himself inside and out.

Hey, Tyler, what's up? How's it going?

Hey, I’m good. Good Good, God, shit. Everywhere. There's that I filmed a project up in Montreal then a week after we wrapped and I went to Puerto Rico for Christmas. And then I've been in New York for the past few weeks, just visiting family and staying here and heading back to LA. Thank God. What about you? What have you been up to?

Working Working Working

Working? Yeah?

I just got back from Sundance. Just trying to gather myself. So yeah, good to see you. It's been a while. Today, I want to talk more about you. This is the Tyler Alvarez show right now. So Tyler, I know this is going to be a broad question. But if someone asks you, who is Tyler Alvarez as a person and as an artist? How would you describe that?

Oh, God. Who am I as a person? I'll say a few things, as I'm constantly evolving.

So I'm never the same person I was a week ago, which is a good thing. I work really hard at trying to better myself mentally, physically, spiritually and as an artist. I spend a lot of time meditating and journaling- you know, doing mens groups, working on my mental health a lot- Oh, it’s important to me. Oh, so if I were to describe myself in three words, it'd be- Buddha, crackhead and I don't know the word because I like I guess, although I have that, you know, really deep part of me, I'm also on the other side too, where like, you know, banging my head against the wall with my friends and act like complete, you know, crazy people. 

As a human being, I'm open and grounded. And as an artist, I'd say I'm somebody who… I want to continue to make art that means something to me. My motto for life, if I'm being honest, is I want to suck the bone marrow out of life. Like that is the way that I want to live my life with everything. I don't hold back. I never say no. My friend will call me at like nine o'clock at night and I'll be like, be in bed, just put my mouth guard in and I'm getting ready to turn off my phone. And it’s like, Oh, you want to go do something? and I'm like, Okay, fine. And I’d jump out of bed. And it's like a spoof of energy. And I go. That's just the way I live my life- always. That's like a long winded answer to your question.

That's a good answer. I mean, you're living your life to the fullest. You're living it to the 100, sucking that life marrow out and just getting every bit of it.

 I got that from Dead Poets Society, I believe. That's where it's from.

How would you describe your evolution as a person throughout the years of your existence in this world?

You know, I was a really curious, open, playful child. And I think, growing up and feeling insecure, and not feeling like I fit in, and being insecure about being gay, I lost that a bit. And so now I've been on a journey, to find that part of me again, to find that creativity, to find that playfulness. And then, especially probably one of the biggest things that impacted me as a human being in my evolution was when my brother died. And for a lot of people, death, or at least, I found out, that a lot of people become closed off to death. But for me, it opened me up. I know what it means to die. But now I know how to live. And I live bigger. It broke my heart open. I appreciate sunsets, I appreciate people. I have this, like profound gratitude for every moment, because I know that it can be taken away. And so I have to say, that has probably been the biggest impact on me as a human being. And there was this moment- so my brother died. So I was in the middle of filming a movie, right? Like, second weekend to filming, I had my 21st birthday on set, the following day, a show that I was working on got canceled, and in the following day, my brother died. So it was like, in one week. Everything that I had based my identity on- work, you know, what I knew about life, all just came crashing down, crashing down. But it was actually a really amazing moment for me, because I had, it offered me an opportunity to build up, build myself up on myself, and not on things from the outside. And I've done that, and it's been such a blessing to me, because I am so much more fuller as a person from all of those experiences. And, and as an artist, I've evolved in the sense that, like, it's become really important to me to do things that are meaningful, and that will have impact and change or be of service in some way. To me, that's how I want to spend my time on this earth- doing meaningful stuff.

It shows in the projects and the characters that you involve yourself in as well. Like, if you look at it, on a deeper level, there's that meaning that you're talking about. It's there. If you have to dig deeper, it's saying more about what's on the surface. You as well as a person, like you're very grounded, and yet you have this really joyful energy. That's kind of infectious. Like I remember that we were on set. 

I was at a Variety: Power of Young Hollywood party and some guy who was there came up to me and he was telling me he's like, you know, I watched your show, (meaning "American Vandal,") at a time in my life where I was really depressed, and that show helped me get through that time. You just don't know how your work will resonate with people even if it's a way to help people get through a time. Yeah, it's great to be of service in some way.

Yeah, it's beautiful. Like what you said, you just don't know who or how your work will affect people.

And that's everybody on the planet, really. Everybody has that effect on people- and it's not just, you know, in this form where you can reach so many people at once. It's like, every single person- even the mailman dropping off mail can give somebody a smile every day. Yeah, you know, ask them how they are when they're dropping the mail off. And that can have a huge impact like everybody has. We're all connected. We are. That's one thing and I've become much more spiritual as I've gotten older.

You’re just like an old soul

Yeah, always very much. Like, I've been handling all of my own business since I was a child. I was 15 years old. No, I think I was like, 12/13 years old, setting up meetings with managers and agents. And, I remember one time, like, when I first got talking to my manager, he called my mom and my mom missed the call. And then I called them up right after I was like, Listen, don't ever call her, call me. I handle all my own business directly. Meanwhile, I'm like, 12 years old, and my balls hadn't even dropped. So, yeah.

That's great. I mean, you're equipped with that confidence and these life skills at such a young age.

I don't know. I guess there's a base level of confidence there. But I think also, it's like, a need, like, when you want something more than you want to breathe? Like, if you're hungry, no one has to tell you to eat. So I went for it, even at that young age.

Now, let's talk about the challenges and the highs that you've experienced throughout your career. So what are like, the high points that you can remember and the low points that you can remember, and how did you navigate around that?

So the high points in my career, you know, one of the highest points, was doing the show, American Vandal. And that was crazy. For me. I mean, I had just graduated high school, it was the first time that I was a series lead and number one on the call sheet. And it was amazing. I mean, we got nominated for an Emmy, we won a Peabody Award, I was going to the very first awards, it was all being recognized. And it was a show that I was really passionate about. And that was like an incredible ride. And then it coincided right with when the show got canceled. And my brother died. That was a low. And it was the first time I had gone kind of from project to project to project back to back to back. So there really was no lapse in time. I never really worried about the next job because I always had a job right after. And that was the first time that I had a little bit of a break. And it was terrifying, If I'm being honest. You know, every actor talks about it. It's terrifying. You know, I think Meryl Streep said it- she's like, like, life is unpredictable. But actors know it, in a way. Because we don't know what's gonna happen next, you know, look at you know, look at what's her name, who got nominated for an Oscar today. From Everything Everywhere, All At Once. Michelle Yeoh- Yeah, she was like I thought it was over. Like, it's just like the reality of our business. And how I dealt with that was- I see it as a blessing because I was able to find myself. I really based my identity on being an actor for a long time. I was younger. When I was a kid, I didn't really like myself so I formed this identity. And then during that year, I got to get in touch with me outside of that. And it was amazing. I was starting to hang my hat on myself and no one else and nothing else, which is, you know, really important. 

And then a high and then that coincided right with a high. I did a play at the Roundabout in New York City. It was my first play, first time in Broadway doing theater and it changed my life because it became the love of my life. I love theater. Looking for a play to do right now. You know, performing for 600 people eight times a week for eight shows a week was just thrilling. And working with other theatre professionals and doing a piece on immigration and it was really dramatic. And I got to play a soldier with PTSD and I got to play my character from age eight to 23 when he came home from the war from Afghanistan. Again to get to live a character's whole life was remarkably interesting. That was another high. Yeah, man. It's constantly a ride but I'm just trying my best to kind of trust the way in which the universe moves me. Because I've always been supported. And that's something I constantly need to remind myself every day.

You're supported, you're blessed.

Yes, absolutely. And it's never that never befalls me in the slightest way. 

And I love when you say that, you know, you have to remind yourself of the fact that you’re always supported, because I feel like it could be applied to other people. Other people could use that reminder. Every day, you have to remind yourself that you're blessed and that you're supported. 

Everywhere. I mean, that's the thing about acting. The reason why I think actors can be actors is because we're all quite similar. And so we all can connect on it. We all experience and kind of go through the same things just in different ways and different avenues. There's this saying, Nothing human is foreign to me. And so yeah, you know, we're all we're all going through the same stuff, just in different ways and in different situations.

When you mentioned your joy in doing this Broadway production. Would you say that you wanted to do more projects that are a little bit more on the serious side? Because you started young in the industry, people usually tend to put you in a box. But you're constantly evolving and I feel like it's exciting to see you playing a different role. What other types of roles would you want to see yourself in?

Yeah. So I've done a lot of comedy. I've done a handful of drama, too. You know, that play was drama. I was on Orange is the New Black as a kid. I will definitely want to do more drama. That's kind of where I want to focus. I've had a lot of fun doing comedy. And I love comedy and will continue to do comedy. But I definitely want to do more drama. God, I can't say what, but I was signed on to do a film at the top of last year, playing a mobster, a wiseguy, which is a role I've always wanted to play. And then the scheduling conflicted with Blockbuster, and I had to drop out. I didn't get to do it. But that is definitely a role I've always wanted to play. Well, you know why, I'm from New York and I love those mafia movies. That, you know, I've always wanted to play- I always want to tell the immigrant story because my grandma's an immigrant, she was born in Cuba, came here with nothing. I've heard a lot about her and what her story was like, and I've always wanted to honor that in some way. Yeah, but I just want to do more drama. Anything meaty and interesting. And I like playing roles that are not like myself. Peter in American Vandal, that's a character for me. Like, I don't walk around with, you know, glasses, and I'm not so socially inept as he is. And, you know, the character from my play was completely different for me too. He was on the spectrum. I like playing things that are outside of myself. I want to be challenged. Yeah, I like being challenged. I know if it if it scares me. It's something I have to do. Like, I didn't want to do the play. Well, I mean, I saw a play, I never want to do theater, my whole life growing up. And then I stopped because I was scared of it. And then at freshman I saw Death of a Salesman closing night with Philip Seymour Hoffman. And I was like, Oh, God, I have to do this. And then I did it. And it was scary. I came offstage terrified my first night and then after that, it was fun.

You need that little amount of fear to push you further.

Yeah, I think I get bored if I'm not scared.

So what's a valuable life lesson that you learn throughout your life that you'll always carry with you?

There's this quote that I love. Nothing real is ever threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God. I don't believe in God, universe, whatever, you know. My biggest life lesson is just suck the bone marrow out of life. Too me. Life is an amusement park. And I don't want to, and I don't want to just ride one ride while I'm here. I want to hit up every single ride.

Love, openly and ferociously. Always. Every single person can tell them you love them. And I had an experience where I was working on a project and I got really conscious, and I was like, wow, I say I love you to a lot of people. I'm like, wow, a lot of people don't say it back. I was like, Oh, God, like maybe I shouldn't. And I was like, No, fuck that. Like, love openly. You know? Those are just a few that come to my mind.

Those are good lessons. live life to the fullest and love ferociously. Yeah. Tyler if you were a book, what would you be? And why? 

If I were a book, what would my title be? Let's start with a title. A Long Day's Journey into Light. What would it be about? It would be about a child learning to love himself from the inside out. And then trying to share that love with the world. And having fun while you do it.

That's important. Always important. 

I stress on the fun. I work. Believe me. I work really hard. And I play just as hard.

And you just got to find that yin and yang, of working on that between the two. It's hard to balance things. Sometimes you get caught up in work. And sometimes I need to balance things out. So it's just finding that right balance. But that's beautiful. That's beautiful. Thank you. I've learned a lot from you today.