Luna Lauren Vélez is a familiar face for fans of TV and movies alike. The actress has appeared in everything from Dexter to Oz and Ugly Betty, can be seen in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and as the voice of Rio Morales, Miles' mom, in Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse. CBR had a chance to talk to the actress about being not just Miles' mom but the moral compass of Spider-Verse, representation, and her Transformers moment.
In a chat that, at times, veered into a comfortable Spanglish, Vélez shared how great it was to see both her new projects come out at the same time, what it means to bring her Latine heritage into a movie like Spider-Verse, complete with her Spanish, and what she hopes little kids can take from the kind of movie the cast and crew have tried to make with Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse.
CBR: First of all, congratulations on such a great and fun movie.
Luna Lauren Vélez: Thank you so much
The theater I was at reacted very viscerally to that scene where Miles responds to his mom with "whatever." I want to start with that because it's so Latine. How was it bringing the Latine experience to the film in such an authentic way?
I'm thrilled that we were able to bring it into the film because there was an openness about just letting us be as authentic as possible. It was really important to the directors and the writers that we be authentic [and] natural. I think it really shows in these characters because, for me, I remember all of this growing up, my mom being a certain way, and she was loving and strict. You would never say "whatever" to my parents. Even now, I would never say "whatever" to my mother.
So this resonated with so many people because they were like, "That wouldn't happen." And of course, Miles is this, you know, current day, this generation, and I feel like he would say it, but in my day, we wouldn't.
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There's also this message that comes directly from Rio, that's at the center of Miles' storyline in Across the Spider-Verse, about not letting other people tell you where you belong. At the end of the movie, we see Miles step up to Miguel and assert where he belongs.
Sure. It's interesting. I said to someone earlier today a phrase that I heard my mom say the whole time I was growing up, a phrase which was her. That's how she got through everything, and you know, when you're a kid you're like, ok, here it comes. "La vida es dura, pero yo soy mas dura." [Life is hard, but I am harder] But it's something I live by now, and I really understand it in a very different way. So I love that you brought that up because I think it's one of the most important elements of the film -- that thing that his mom says to him.
"I know you're getting older. I know you're growing up. I mean, you're going to go out there in the world and do everything, but never let anybody make you feel like you're not worthy [or] you're not valuable," all of these things that, ultimately, he does come to understand, and that makes him stronger, like literally stronger, right?
When the first movie came out, there was this sense that it was just going to be a cool but temporary thing, and now there's an entire universe, and Miles Morales is not just the other Spiderman. For some kids, Miles might be the Spiderman -- a Latine and Black Spiderman. Was there an awareness of that as you were filming?
Yes, not all the time, but the hope is that it's going to resonate with all kids, which is so important. I mean, all kids, but it is something that is really, really super important to me that specifically Black and brown kids are going to have this experience. I remember as a kid seeing Star Wars and wondering, will I ever get to that place where they drink blue milk in the morning? It seemed like it wasn't available to me, and I'm really happy that, for these kids now who are seeing it, it's the norm. This kind of representation is one of the most important components of the film for me.
The kids who didn't have superheroes and didn't have Star Wars now have that representation and can see themselves.
That's, for me, why representation matters because if you can see yourself in these different circ*mstances living a life that you thought you would never be able to live or that you didn't have access to, you can be it. If you can see it, you can be it, right?
Sometimes, in superhero movies, parental figures feel more like a vehicle for the hero to learn a lesson than real characters, but in this case, Rio and Jeff have their own storylines. They are their own people. That makes it easier for viewers to struggle with Miles when it seems like his family is in danger.
The audience, too, has become attached to them because they see them as real people. [In[ the first one, we saw that Rio was a nurse and Jeff is a police officer. This isn't a struggling family. These are professionals who live in Brooklyn in a brownstone, and they're doing very well, and their son is in school and on his way to college.
I love the representation of this family. And then this time, we get to know them a little bit more. We see Jeff is conflicted. "How do I talk to my son? How do I reach him?" And Rio is conflicted too. "My son is getting older. He's not my little boy anymore. He's growing into a man." And, of course, Spiderman, you know, Miles has his conflict. "I'm a teenager, and I'm a spider hero. I want to be in this Spider-verse world. I want to be part of this incredible multiverse. I want that. I also want to protect my family and be with my family." So, I think those were all such interesting components to put in there. I think it was really smart how they fleshed out the characters of the parents so that we can understand his struggle, right?
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You have Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts coming out at the same time! Did you expect both of them to come out at the same time? What can you tease about what the two characters you're playing have in common?
Yeah. I mean, I feel like what an incredible opportunity in time to have both of these movies. I had no idea they were both coming out at the same time until a couple of months ago, and it's really exciting. But more than that, I feel like the real excitement is the audiences and how they are loving the films. Both of them.
I think you'll find that what they have in common is this idea about the importance of family and strength in numbers. I think all of these messages are really important, and Transformers has that same message -- these aliens uniting with humans. There's no division within us. I think it's really important, especially now. We're so fractured as a country, and these are messages of hope and healing, and it's really good. I think we need this now.
You've done TV, movies, and voice work. I know this is like asking you to choose a favorite child, but do you have a favorite medium?
If I had to say my favorite, it would be theater, and it terrifies me the most. It's like terrible stage fright. But I love it. I love the immediacy of it. It happens in real time, and there is nothing like that. That being said, I love them all, and I'm lucky enough to do them all. My first film was I Like It Like That. And that was a hard act to follow because I thought nothing is ever going to feel like this, and that's not true.
Catch Luna Lauren Vélez in Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in theaters now.
