IN CONVERSATION WITH ANTHONY RAMOS

Interview by Jana Letonja

Grammy-winning artist, Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor, Anthony Ramos will star in ‘Transformers: The Rise of the Beasts’, the upcoming installment of ‘Transformers’which is releasing on 9th June. Shortly thereafter, Anthony will make his MCU introduction in Disney/Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’, which will premiere in late Fall 2023. 

shirt GIVENCHY
jacket ISABEL MARANT
pants GIVENCHY
boots JIMMY CHOO

Anthony, we’ll be seeing you in the seventh ‘Transformers’ installment ‘Transformers: The Rise of the Beasts’. How excited were you when you got cast on this film? Have you watched all previous installments?

I was very excited because I’m a for real fan. I’ve watched all the installments. I was also a fan of ‘Beast Wars’, which was a TV show back in the 90s that I used to watch when I was a kid. It was before the ‘Transformers’ movies and one of my favorite shows growing up. When I read the script and saw that the ‘Beast Wars’ was going to be a part of this movie, I was so excited and it made me even more excited when I got the role.  

Tell us more about the story in this latest ‘Transformers’ film. What can we expect to see in it?

You’re going to see new characters. You’re going to see a diverse cast, Dominique Fishback, Michelle Yeoh, MJ Rodriguez, Liza Koshy, Pete Davidson. I’m really excited for people to watch this movie as these films, and this franchise, haven’t been presented to the world in this way. I feel like this movie reflects the world a little more than I’ve seen before. 

top ACNE STUDIO
jeans CASABLANCA
boots ALEXANDER HURLEY

In the film you portray Noah, an ex-military electronics expert, who together with Elena gets swept up in a three-way conflict between the Maximals, Predacons and Terrorcons as they aid Optimus Prime and the Autobots in a war to protect Earth from Unicron’s arrival. How did you prepare for your role in this film?

I trained for this movie. There was a big fight scene at the end where we finally get to see the human characters get in the battle. We see them get active in a new way. Noah has his moment at the end of the movie where he’s fighting along Optimus and I trained for that. I went in on Saturdays to train with the stunt team and stay loose for that scene.The movie was really physical, so I just tried my best to stay physically fit.  

Coffee helped when we shot at nights. That was pretty hard, but it was great. Me and Dominique have great chemistry and have been friends for years before this movie. We’ve been wanting to do a project together. We both grew up in similar neighborhoods and I would play baseball in her neighborhood. We had mutual friends growing up. And it was set in Brooklyn, so I didn’t have to do a dialect or anything. It was set in a neighborhood that I grew up in and in a time that I grew up in as well, in 1994. It was really cool to get into that. I was sending Steven Caple Jr. places to shoot. It was cool that he was open to all of that. He asked what Noah’s apartment could look like, so I sent him pictures of my mom’s apartment where I grew up so he could see the layout of the living room, what the furniture looked like, what the refrigerator looked like, the kind of pictures on the fridge. 

You had a supporting role in ‘A Star is Born’, featuring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. How was it working with the two of them?

They are amazing. Bradley is one of the hardest working directors I’ve ever met and that was one of the first films he’s ever directed, so it was crazy to be part of that. I learned a lot from Bradley. He’s incredible. And Lady Gaga is amazing. I don’t know if that was her first movie, but she carried it beautifully. They make a great team. That was my first big movie too. It’s cool getting to be a part of peoples’ first films. 

Besides acting, you are also a Grammy-winning recording artist. Tell us more about how you developed passion both for acting and music?

I love music, music is my first love. That’s how I got into musical theatre, which led me to TV, which then led me to film, and then brought me back to music. I signed with Republic Records in 2019, put out two albums and am nowworking on my third. It’s been a lot of fun.

Music is how I express myself. There’s nothing like writing songs. When I’m in the studio, I come in with nothing, it’s like a blank page. There’s probably two or three other writers and somebody starts playing some chords and you just go. In the end you leave with something. Music is the most exhilarating thing.  

What is coming up next in your music career?

I moved to Miami and I’ve been working with writers down there. I have songs in English, songs in Spanish, songs in English and Spanish. Living down there opened up my world musically and creatively. You’re going to hear a lot of new sounds. This is probably the best music I’ve made.

My first song is called ‘Villano’, the villain, which is out now. It’s easy to get painted as a villain. I was coming out of a certain situation and this is how I felt. There were all these opinions and judgements made about me when no one had the full story. I’m grateful for how much I’ve grown from this situation though. All the pain and lessons in the aftermath is ultimately where the song came from. Later this Summer, I’ll release another song, called ‘Se Fue’, which is the international break up song. I’m excited for you all to hear it.

You have also collaborated with some fashion brands, like Calvin Klein and are currently a Tommy Hilfiger ambassador. What does fashion represent to you? How would you sum up your partnerships and collaborations with fashion brands?

I’m really starting to get into fashion and enjoying getting creative with clothes. I got to pick the fabrics, the colors, the patterns, where to put the monogram. I’m really looking forward to working more in fashion and collaborating with both new designers and people who have been in the game. Incorporating that New York, Brooklyn flavor as well. 

Giving back is something that is very dear to you. Why do you believe giving back is of such importance in today’s world? Can you tell us more about your ‘Anthony Ramos Scolarship’ organization. What inspired it and what are your organization’s projects?

Why not give? You receive, you give. It’s a flow. I finally started my scholarship fund and we have three students of color in low income neighborhoods in New York going to school. Kids like me. I am being able to have the opportunity to help them go to school, the same way that was done for me with Jerry Seinfeld’s scholarship at the time. I’m grateful to have the chance to do that. I love working with Opening Act in New York, bringing kids to premieres and readings of plays. It’s a lot of fun. Being able to work with them and mentor them, that’s what I love the most. 

Anthony, besides ‘Transformers: The Rise of the Beasts’ you have a lot of other projects lined up. What can you share with us about them?

I’m doing a sequel to the film, ‘Twisters’, which I’m excited about. Lee Isaac Chung is directing it and he’s amazing. The whole cast is incredible. Daisy Edgar-Jones is one of the best actors I’ve worked with in my life. She’s brilliant. 

I’m excited for people to hear the new music. I also have Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ for Disney+ and another movie coming out, called ‘Dumb Money’. It’s directed by Craig Gillespie and features Pete Davidson, Seth Rogen and Paul Dano, a bunch of really cool people. That will come out this Fall.

full look HERMES

talent ANTHONY RAMOS @anthonyramosofficial
photographer MICHAEL SCHWARTZ @mschwartzphoto
stylist JASON REMBERT @jasonrembert
groomer GALAXY SAN JUAN
photography assistant MIGUEL MORI
digital tech ERIC BOUTHILLER@onholiday_
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA @timiletonja