Music was a part of Anthony Ruivivar’s childhood — his father, Tony, was the leader of Waikiki show band Society of Seven — but he found his calling as an actor.
Ruivivar’s early work included roles in “Race the Sun” in 1996 and “Starship Troopers” in 1997. Two years later he was cast as Filipino-American paramedic Carlos Nieto in the NBC drama “Third Watch.” The show ran for six years, and Ruivivar has worked steadily ever since.
The 46-year-old actor is currently a main cast member on the CW’s sci-fi crime drama “Frequency,” which is based on the 2000 film starring Dennis Quaid and airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
QUESTION: Your “Frequency” character is Stan Moreno. Was the role written for a minority actor?
No, but they were colorblind about who they cast. I got it, which was really cool, but then they changed the character’s name to Stan Moreno to justify the ethnicity. I don’t think they would have to justify ethnicity if it was just a white person.
Q: You’re half Caucasian, but when you audition they see someone who looks Asian or Hispanic. In general terms, how has that affected your career?
It’s totally affected me. When I did “Starship Troopers” I played Shujumi, but in the Robert Heinlein novel, (the lead character) Johnny Rico is Filipino. I asked about that, and they said they couldn’t do a $100 million film with a Filipino lead.
I’ve worked my way up (in 20 years), and now I can play maybe not the lead, but the second lead and have very prominent roles. But I had to work my way through that.
Q: Did you ever consider going into music like your father?
Dad would bring instruments home, and I’d learn how to play them. As a result I can play drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, but I’m not amazing at any one instrument. The acting bug bit me early on, so I kept music as a hobby and went into straight acting.
Q: Tell me something that might surprise people.
Instead of a writing journal, I’ve always kept a musical journal, and so now I can look back at it and listen to what I was playing at the time and kind of pull in where I was at at that point in my life.
“On the Scene” appears weekly in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Sunday Magazine. Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
