Manny Montana started on "Graceland" as the happy-go-lucky FBI agent Johnny Tuturro, but a season and a half of undercover work inside the Solano cartel has taken his character down a dark and dangerous path. He killed the not-so-innocent Sid in cold blood and has nearly sacrificed his secret identity (and his life) to save his girlfriend Lucia, but at what costs remains to be seen.
"I think Johnny is doing things out of love that are stupid, which people do in real life, so I think that's why people will relate to it," Montana told Headlines & Global News in an exclusive interview. "It's all going to come to a head in episode five and not in the way that I think people are going to expect it to end."
He sat down with "Graceland" creator Jeff Eastin before the start of season two and the two talked rabout the direction of Johnny's storyline. Montana only had one request that he and his character be "challenged."
When asked about another hot button issue, Donald Trump's recent comments about Mexican immigrants, Montana just laughed it off.
"[It's like] when your grandpa says a stupid thing and you just think, 'Oh, you old idiot,'" he said. "I can't even get mad at him. It's so idiotic that for us to get mad, it's like arguing with a fool. You end up looking like a fool."
What really gets his blood boiling is when high-profile figures of minority enforce the negative stereotypes that many in their communities are trying to shed. Nothing disappointed him more than the conviction of New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, who received a life sentence for first-degree murder this past spring.
"When I see them doing dumb s-t it pisses me off to the core because it gives the general public a reason to be like, 'See? They can't have anything,'" Montana said. "It's a little unfair but I think we should hold ourselves to a high standard."
"Graceland" airs on Thursdays at 10 p.m. on USA Network.
