The Lincoln Lawyer is driving on to a TV set near you this weekend. The Netflix series about a lawyer who works out of the back of his various Lincoln cars is based on the wildly popular book series, which was made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey in 2011. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo stars in this latest version, and he tells ABC Audio he plays it differently than McConaughey — though he likes the latter’s performance.
“I remember watching the film, Matthew McConaughey’s film, back in the day, when it came out and loving it, loving what he did. I mean, it’s Matthew McConaughey, he’s amazing,” the actor says. “I especially remember the character, because I wasn’t familiar at the time with the books… what a great character.”
Stepping into the lead character’s shoes as a Mexican actor is a dream come true for Garcia-Rulfo, who says, “That’s the great thing about America…it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can make it.”
“I think I was very thankful to be playing not the cartel,” he continues. “It’s such a cool thing to be a lead as a Mexican actor, to be playing that is really, really something.”
“When I when I got [the lead role], I’m like, wait, am I playing the lawyer? You know, like, is this the lead, are you sure?” the actor recalls. “It’s so important. It’s it was such a pleasure. And I’m really thankful for that.“
Although thankful for the role, if Garcia-Rulfo were a lawyer, he says he wouldn’t be working out of the backseat of a moving car like his character does.
“I get car sick very easy,” he admits. “Like I can’t read, you know? No I couldn’t do it.”
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