Michael Mando

Michael Mando Instagram – On the day we shot the soliloquy – the A.D.s surprised me by wearing Nacho t-shirts and the crew had painted tear drop tattoos next to their eyes. 
When we reversed the cameras from The Salamancas and Fring to Nacho, an unexpected sandstorm hit us, and we were rushed out of the desert before our cars would sink in the sand.
 
That night, I couldn’t get into my house because lightening had struck down the tree next to my driveway. A series of coincidences kept piling up until that final moment when Gordon yelled “Action!” 
 
I didn’t know this episode would change my life the way it has, but I knew Nacho represented something special to the crew. He was a man fighting for morality in a world of greed and corruption; they wanted to dominate each other, he searched for virtue and decency. 
 
He was not born with a silver spoon; his father was a single-parent first-generation immigrant who barely spoke the language… The scripts called for the character to make all the sacrifices imaginable, for example: he never once enjoyed the pleasures of the cartel life or was seen celebrating. He never boasted – and to his credit, despised all attacks on the innocent, whether he knew them or not. However, instead of giving in and joining the chorus when the pressure reached its max, he doubled down on “Breaking Good” and was adamant about honoring what his father stood for. What he has come to stand for. 
 
He essentially breaks free. But instead of disappearing into the sunset, he comes back for his dad. In the closing statements of “A Rock and A Hard Place”, he finally speaks truth to power and makes the ultimate sacrifice. On his own terms. On his own two feet. No fear. No regrets.
 
When first introduced, he spares the lives of three people. In his last scene, he secures the safety of one more. 
 
Here’s to many more character arcs like this in popular culture! 
 
With love, 
MM | Posted on 07/May/2022 01:27:31