Manuel García-Rulfo moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago and now the Guadalajara actor says he feels more like an Angeleno than a transplant. “I love this city. It's great. It has a lot to offer,” he says with a charming smile.
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
It's fitting then that he's at the biggest show in Los Angeles. García-Rulfo is preparing for his fourth season as defense attorney Mickey Haller on Netflix's “The Lincoln Lawyer,” a series that features motifs of gentrification, city hall corruption and courtroom intrigue, all specialties of Los Angeles. And Haller handles it all from Los Angeles' most iconic office: his Lincoln Navigator (and sometimes a classic 1965 Lincoln Convertible).
Relaxing in a La Última Librería T-shirt, García-Rulfo, a literary obsessive, talks about another of his recent projects: helping to bring to life “Pedro Páramo,” the Netflix adaptation of Juan Rulfo's 1955 magical realist novel. a story close to his heart. since he is a distant relative of the famous author. “I think it is the most emblematic literary work of Mexico,” he says of the book, which served as an influence on Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García-Márquez.
Looking ahead, García-Rulfo will appear in next year's highly anticipated reboot, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” further expanding his already diverse career. With roles that reflect the diversity and complexity of the city, García-Rulfo is not just part of Hollywood: he is making Los Angeles his own. This is how you would spend the perfect day in Los Angeles
7:30 am: Burritos with friends, oatmeal alone
If I go out with friends on Saturday night, I sleep in on Sunday morning. But later than 9 in the morning it is too late for me. If I don't go out, I get up around 7:30 or 8 am. Breakfast is not a routine. If I'm with friends, we go to breakfast. If I stay home, I like overnight oats. Or a smoothie. Many people who come from Mexico say, “What places do you recommend?” I'm terrible with names. I know where it is, but I never remember the name. There is a breakfast burrito place that is in Los Feliz.
9am: Hit some tennis balls
I usually play tennis in the morning or afternoon, when the sun sets. I started playing when I was a kid and then I stopped. When I came here to Los Angeles 15 years ago, I started playing again. Tennis is very mental. You have to really be in the moment. It's like a meditation, not a meditation, but it's one of those things you can do for hours and time just stops. And California is amazing for that reason: the year-round weather is perfect.
I have been playing in Plummer Park in West Hollywood. It's a community. You go there and there will be people you know. You wait for a game to end and then you jump. It used to be very easy to get a court. You just showed up and waited half an hour at most. But now the courts are adapted for pickleball, so we only have two or three courts for tennis. Now it's more difficult.
11:00 a.m.: Zuma Beach and sushi burritos
If the day is really good, I like to go to Zuma Beach. There is a restaurant near there called Hello's Smile Cafe which has sushi burritos. It's in a small square so we took it and then headed back to Zuma for the rest of the day. Sushi burritos are so good, man; You just drink it and then you can eat on the beach.
3 pm: Recite legal jargon
When I'm filming “The Lincoln Lawyer,” which lasts like five months a year, I'm exhausted. We are filming every day. Sometimes we work on Friday night and finish on Saturday, so on Sunday I have to study. I go play tennis to unwind and just breathe, and then I come home and continue studying. I have to read scripts and learn lines. [Because it’s a courtroom show]there are many monologues and legal terms. Usually on weekends, I study. And I will simply pray to the gods of the arts to enlighten me.
5:00 p.m.: Books, books, books.
I love books, that's why I go to them a lot. the last bookstore. I could spend the whole day there, when I'm downtown. There's one in West Hollywood called book soup. I had an experience there the other day. I went in to buy a book and a guy with a motorcycle helmet comes in, takes it off and says like this [shakes his head in slow motion] and her hair is all messy. It's Keanu Reeves. Time just froze for me. And he's going to buy some books.
I've been reading a lot of history lately. I was in England [shooting “Jurassic World Rebirth”]That's why I'm obsessed with his story. I started reading a lot of Roman history. I was obsessed with [Charles] Bukowski was obsessed with [Haruki] Murakami and now I'm in this period where I'm obsessed with the story. Right now I'm reading “The Iron King.” [by Maurice Druon]which is so good. That's where George RR Martin got his inspiration for “Game of Thrones,” but it is based on reality.
7pm: watch a movie
It's a shame, because ArcLight in Hollywood was my church. Now I have to drive a little. But yes, most Sundays I try to go to the movies. If I'm filming “The Lincoln Lawyer,” I won't go out. Maybe just watch a football game or a movie at home. My team sucks, they are called Atlas de Guadalajara. In the Premier League, I think Chelsea is my team.
I haven't been to the movies in a minute because I just finished “Jurassic.” [World]“A week ago, I was in Thailand and Malta. I actually saw a movie in Malta; we all went together. We saw “Deadpool and Wolverine.” Tonight I'm going to see “Megalopolis”. And I want to see “The Substance” with “Anora” by Demi Moore and Sean Baker.
22 hours: Play some songs before bed.
Sometimes I play the guitar and if I'm in the mood, I'll pick up the guitar and play. And then I usually go to bed around 10:30 or 11 at night.
