Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Quarry’s Bobby Soto

Actor Bobby Soto has never felt a deeper connection to a project or role than he has after signing onto Scott Teems’s adaptation of The Quarry. As a Mexican American, Puerto Rican citizen, Bobby has faced his fair share of social injustices and discrimination—one of the prevalent themes in the film—and he’s channeled those experiences into shaping his character, Valentin.

Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Damon Galgut, The Quarry tells a thrilling tale of sin and redemption. After murdering a traveling preacher, a fugitive drifter (Shea Whigham) travels to a small town and poses as the man he killed. But soon the local police chief (Michael Shannon) grows suspicious of the man.

Pop Culturalist caught up with Bobby to chat about The Quarry.

PC: What attracted you to The Quarry?
Bobby: It was the simplest “yes” I’ve ever given to a project. Being a Mexican American, Puerto Rican citizen of this country, I’ve faced my fair share of social injustice and racial discrimination. I’ve experienced a lot of the things that my character in the film is pointing the finger at based solely on the color of my skin. Throughout history, people have been trying to fight for Chicano movements and the right of migrant workers, especially in Texas. Back then, Mexican Americans used to be lynched for being themselves!

That’s something that’s not written in the history books. Back during the Great Depression, the president at the time tried to blame Mexicans. He said Mexicans were the cause for the Depression, so they deported almost 2.5 million Mexican American citizens. People don’t talk about it in history class. It’s shameful. A lot of Mexican Americans who were raised here their whole lives were taken back to Mexico, and they didn’t know anything about Mexico, so they were lost. They didn’t speak Spanish because they grew up here their whole life.

PC: How did you prepare to get into your character’s shoes? Did you draw on any personal experiences?
Bobby: I did a lot of research after hearing all these stories. It gave me a lot of empowerment to speak out. Growing up, my grandparents came here as immigrants from Puerto Rico and from Mexico. But when they came here, their whole goal was to conform to American society. So what does that mean? You get rid of your roots. You stop talking in Spanish. You start learning English. You start adapting to the way of life here, which is to make money, work hard, pay your rent, and feed your kids. That’s it. Work, work, and work. That’s it. That’s still my grandmother’s philosophy to this day. She’s in her seventies, and her thing is, “Work really hard and make money. Keep your head down, and don’t complain.”

I was fortunate to grow up around my grandparents having that perspective. At the same time, my own parents had a different perspective having been born here as first generation. They grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, and their experience was very different. They had a lot more freedom to do what they wanted. What can this country give us or provide us? What can we create here? I was fortunate enough to be taught from my parents that I could be who I wanted to be. I could do what I wanted to do—as long as you know you’re doing righteously and you have morals and ethics.

I grew up in a Catholic home as well. So that was another lesson from God and living a righteous life. My first language growing up wasn’t English; it was Spanish. I didn’t know a word of English until I was eight. They put me in ESL classes in elementary school.

When I was seventeen, I went to an art school. They put me in another class because I had an accent. They told me that my accent wasn’t good for acting. Those moments really stunted me in life because they were telling me to conform and to be a certain way. When I read The Quarry and knew it was going to be adapted by Scott Teems into a story of Mexican Americans in this country, I knew I could use my own life experiences in the role. It made me think a lot about my past.

It made me question a lot of things. I really looked into what happened to Mexican Americans in this country and how they ended up where they did. What was the route that was taken? How do we make sure history doesn’t repeat itself?

Everyone sees clearly the way that our president treats Mexican American people. It causes a ripple effect throughout the country. When I knew Scott Teems was adapting this into a film, I knew it was in good hands. He’s this gentle, kind, genuine human being who understands the history. He gave me this opportunity and trusted me with this character. All I had to do was give my whole self up.

PC: What was it like working alongside the cast?
Bobby: It was a great experience working with Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Bruno Bichir. Man, Bruno Bichir is a beautiful human being. He has his own theater production company in Mexico City with his whole family. It was fantastic working with all these actors who have twenty-plus years in the game. I was like, “Man, this is a beautiful opportunity. It’s a dream come true.” For me, it was about giving it my all and putting one foot in front of the other.

PC: What was the biggest takeaway from this project?
Bobby: The biggest takeaway was to be kind to myself and give love to myself. Know that it’s okay to feel whatever you’re feeling and to go through whatever you’re going through. All of these actors walk with this lightness. I’m sure you can touch one of them and they’ll tip over. That’s how light they are. There’s no stress about anything. They’re not tightening up or trying to control the situation or experience. They’re open and they’re free.

Shea Whigham told me, “If you can trust me, then you know I can give you my love, and vice versa.” We can trust each other with love, and we can love each other. Knowing that, we’re able to go as far as we want because we know it’s all love. We know at the end of the day, we’re doing all this for the sake of art. We’re doing this to tell a story.

Catch The Quarry on Demand today.