Stephanie Beatriz knows she is becoming the Thanos of acting as she collects TV dads like Infinity Stones. The actress — who can currently be seen starring alongside Ted Danson in Netflix’s A Man on the Inside — has appeared in dozens of projects in the 15 years since she first made her on-screen debut, many of which fall under the sitcom umbrella. While she is best known for portraying the jagged-edged police officer Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine — a project she devoted nearly a decade of her life to — she has also worked on shows like One Day at a Time, BoJack Horseman, Twisted Metal, and more.
To the untrained eye, it may seem like Beatriz just loves laughing with her co-stars on a sitcom (she does!) but dig a little deeper and you’ll see a common thread: TV legends. In B99, Beatriz’s character reported directly to Captain Raymond Holt, played by the late Andre Braugher. Jump over to Modern Family where she played Sonia, the sister of Sofia Vergara’s Gloria and the sister-in-law of Jay (Ed O’Neill). And while Danson is self-explanatory — shoutout to Cheers — one could make the case that Beatriz’s Twisted Metal castmate Thomas Haden Church should make the list for his work on Wings. Sure, it may be a coincidence. But also, maybe not?
“I like dads, yeah,” Beatriz joked while chatting with Decider about A Man on the Inside, adding that if she had to reason a guess, there’s a deeper and more significant explanation.
“I think my own father was the person who really introduced me to sitcom comedy. We really connected a lot over Seinfeld when I was a teen girl and, you know, when you’re a teenager, it’s really hard to talk to anybody that’s not another teenager. It’s hard to talk to other teenagers, but it’s particularly hard to talk to your parents,” she shared.
Beatriz’s father passed away in 2022 and she has since opened up about not only the painful experience of watching a loved one on the decline, but also the beauty of starring in a show like her latest series with creator Mike Schur, who previously co-created Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
The new Netflix series follows a retired professor and widower (Danson) who takes a job as a private investigative assistant, going undercover inside a San Francisco retirement community to look into the theft of a valuable item. Beatriz plays Didi, the potentially too compassionate manager of the Pacific View Retirement Community.
For Beatriz, starring in a show that examines the themes of aging, death, and family issues not only served as a therapy of sorts — she also said that the show helped her to connect with her own mother — but also a “challenge” as an actress. While the show mainly follows Danson’s character throughout the eight-episode first season, Beatriz does get her day in the sun in Episode 6, when the story follows Didi through a day in her life. She told Decider that even after 15 years in the business, being entrusted to lead the narrative is incredibly special.
“There’s nothing that I like better. I think I woke up every day on that project, but particularly that week, just full of fire and energy and excited to get at it,” Beatriz said, adding that while she may not always hit the mark on the first time, she is beyond grateful to have creatives who are there to encourage and inspire. “It’s so fun to have a creator trust you with stuff.”
Keep reading to see Decider’s full interview with Beatriz for the Netflix sitcom.
DECIDER: This show really feels like a debutante ball, a coming-out party for the softer side of your acting chops. What was it like to get to showcase those softer, more gentle skills that you have?
STEPHANIE BEATRIZ: I think one of the most incredible things about working with someone like Mike Schur is that he really has this ability to see actors for the multifaceted sides that they have and contain. For example, someone like Kristen Bell. He just takes everyone’s ability, almost like a prism or a crystal and he sort of turns it and shines a light through a different part of it., and you just get to see this totally different side of them. He’s done that many times for many actors. And I’m just really lucky to be sort of in the same grouping of people that he sees more than what is on the surface, more than meets the eye. When he asked me to play the role, he was like, “I feel like we’ve seen a little bit of what you can do, and there’s so much more than that.” And it was such an amazing thing to have someone, a creator, say to me. When someone says something like that to you, you’re like, “You believe in me, I guess I should also believe in myself.”
One of my favorite episodes is Episode 6, where we have a change in perspective, a change in point of view from Didi’s side. To lead that as an actor, what is that like to have someone come to you and trust you enough to lead the narrative?
Joyful, fun, a challenge, a delight. There’s nothing that I like better. I think I woke up every day on that project, but particularly that week, just full of fire and energy and excited to get at it, you know? And it doesn’t mean I always hit the mark. There were definitely times when I was kind of struggling to figure out, “What is the tone of this particular scene in the arc of the episode as a whole?” But that’s why Mike and Anu [Valia, director] really guided me in that process. But it was so fun. It’s so fun to get to do stuff like this. I feel the same way about, you know, I know that we’re not talking about this today, but I feel the same way about Twisted Metal. It’s so fun to have a creator trust you with stuff.
I want to ask, I was looking at your body of work and you’ve worked with Andre Braugher in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Ted Danson in this. You did Ed O’Neill in Modern Family. It feels like you might be collecting older comedic actors like Infinity Stones.
I like dads, yeah.
Is this something you’re doing on purpose or…
I think my own father was the person who really introduced me to sitcom comedy. We really connected a lot over Seinfeld when I was a teen girl and, you know, when you’re a teenager, it’s really hard to talk to anybody that’s not another teenager. It’s hard to talk to other teenagers, but it’s particularly hard to talk to your parents. My dad and I really bonded over sitcoms and the stories and the absolutely unhinged comedy inside both. I think because of that, I connect my own father with sitcoms. And I think that there always is a father figure in sitcoms somewhere. But I also think I’ve just been really fucking lucky. Who in their whole career gets to work with not one, not two, but three and more than that?
On this show, I will say one of the father figures that I had was also John Getz. One of the first indie, cool movies that I ever saw was Blood Simple. I saw it in the theaters, like in a rerelease, and I just absolutely was astounded with his work. The fact that I get to work with him this many years later and get these like, fantastic scenes with him where he’s just a crotchety, amazingly acted hilarious bastard. I mean, he really reminded me of my dad a lot in those scenes. I just feel incredibly, incredibly lucky that I have worked with these TV legends. And I and I learned a lot from all of them every single time. I’m just like a little sponge. They are so annoyed by me because every time we cut, I’m asking them about stuff that they’ve worked on in the past or begging them to tell me stories about stuff.
I’ve told everyone that I’m calling this a “Call Your Mom-edy” show. It’s just this beautiful blend of of bittersweet and comedic. I’m wondering if it inspired you to reach out to anyone in your life or maybe reconnect with anyone who might go overlooked.
You know, my mom and I have — like many other women that I know — a contentious, tender, sometimes tenuous relationship. That picture in Episode Six of Didi and her mother is my mom. I surprised her and told her that she was going to come to set with me and she went through the works and got her makeup done. My dad passed away years ago. Parents are so tricky, they are sometimes the people that love us the most in the whole world, and yet also the relationship is so fraught and delicate and painful sometimes. And I hope — especially because of the timing of when this show comes out — that people watch this with their families. And if they don’t, I hope it’s, like you said, inspires them to reach out to their families and to their loved ones because as fraught as some of those relationships are, some of them are still really full of love. Really, really full of love. Sometimes you just don’t know how to love each other very well. And I think that that’s what this show explores. How can we love and learn to love each other just a little bit better before we go?
I’m definitely not tearing up over here. I really feel like this show is going to resonate with so many people because everyone has seen someone they love on the decline or everyone has dealt with dementia or something. What are you hoping people take away if they don’t take away anything else from the show?
The power of television to inspire connection. I know we all sort of [say] “It’s just TV and there’s so many other things to do and spend your time on.” You can be on your phone for 24 hours a day. But I think a story and craft can really inspire connection with people. I think television is a powerful medium and has been since the beginning of its inception. Think about the sitcom, the history of the sitcom. I Love Lucy and how here we all were like absolutely loving an immigrant, a character who was part of a sitcom. That’s really powerful, I think.
A Man on the Inside Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Be sure to check out more of Decider’s coverage of the freshman Netflix comedy.
The post Stephanie Beatriz Talks Collecting “TV Dads” and the Beautiful “Challenge” of Starring in Netflix’s ‘A Man on the Inside’ appeared first on Decider.
