The Heroes star was recently interviewed by TV Guide. And, now, Entertainment Weekly does the honors…
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What can we expect from Maya’s storyline?
DANIA RAMIREZ: They drop you in at the heat of what’s going on in these people’s lives. The first time you see me, I’m running for my life from the cops, somewhere in Central America, because of something horrific I’ve done with my ability. I’m trying to come up north to understand what’s happening to me.
Alejandro and I get to introduce a completely different side of the world. We get to introduce Central America. Through my character you get to understand more about illegal immigration and how hard it is to make it.
EW: Is it easy to play Shalim Ortiz’s sister?
RAMIREZ: Oh yeah. He’s a sweetheart. As a person I really have a lot of respect for him and as an actor he’s really devoted to his craft. That’s been the really easy part. Honestly you need that connection, because we play twins. We’re more than just brother and sister.
EW: I know you’re under strict orders not to disclose too much, but what can you say about your power?
RAMIREZ: I can give you a little hint — you might not want to make me sad. You might not want to make me cry. I’m dealing with more of the darker side of having a power. My ability is not something I’m comfortable with or understand what’s going on with.
Posted at October 1st, 2007 8:21 am by A. Hiro
Filed under: Dania Ramírez
The character of Maya - portrayed by Dania Ramirez - played a deadly role on the second season premiere of Heroes.
How does the actress feel about joining the show? And just what the heck is her super power on it? Ramirez answered these questions and more in a recent interview with TV Guide.
TVGuide.com: You’re in this not-100-percent enviable position of having to join a hit show in its second season. That has to be a little daunting, right? Dania Ramirez: Honestly, I didn’t even stop to think about it. They called my manager and were interested in me testing for the show. At the time I knew about Heroes, of course, but I hadn’t really watched all the episodes. So I told my best friend, and she was like, “Oh my god, it’s the best show ever! You have to get on it.” I watched a couple of episodes and told my manager, “I have to be on this show.”
By Episode 8, I couldn’t stop watching. My dog would look at me like, “Please walk me” and I’d be like, “OK, in one more hour.” They never opened the role to anyone else. I went in, I tested and a week later, I was at work! And honestly, until this day, it hasn’t even hit me yet.
TVGuide.com: Do you think that your turn in X-Men 3 as another empowered mutant, Callisto, placed you in the Heroes producers’ minds? Ramirez: Honestly, from what I’ve heard from the producers, it was my role [as Blanca] on The Sopranos. They saw my first episode of The Sopranos, called the casting director and asked her who I was and to find out about me. And then when they were together thinking of new characters for Season 2, Tim Kring wanted to create a Latina character and one of the producers was like, “Maybe we should think of this girl.” And that’s how it all happened.
TVGuide.com: I saw the season premiere, but help me out here: What exactly is Maya’s power? Ramirez: You’ll find out in Episode 2.
TVGuide.com: What, she like kills people by making them bleed through their eyes? Ramirez: Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. It’s more about how Maya feels too much. If you put her in a situation where she’s feeling fear or feeling vulnerable… well, you don’t want to make her upset, basically. In Episode 2, you’ll see how I do it.
In Episode 1, you only saw the effect, the aftermath, of me having [used my power]. It was more about understanding that this is something that she can’t control. She’s essentially a good person but something has happened to her. As the episodes go along, you will see how it all happens and the importance of my brother (Shalim Ortiz).
As far as the former fact is concerned, however, the actress who plays Maya is lucky she works out regularly with well-known celebrity trainer, Ramona Braganza.
Braganza’s roster of celebrity clients includes Jessica Alba - and he has the Heroes star on a cardio and strength training regimen for an hour and a half three times a week. These exercsies focus on the lower body: abs, glutes and legs.
As you can tell by the picture seen here, the workouts are paying off. Quite well.
Posted at September 24th, 2007 12:31 pm by A. Hiro
Filed under: Dania Ramírez
We’ve already heard from one new member of the Heroes cast today, David Anders.
Now, here are a few snippets of an interview Dania Ramirez conducted recently with IGN TV:
IGN TV: You’ve had a busy year, so I’m curious if you even had a chance to see Heroes last season before you went in for the part. Dania Ramirez: Well, actually I saw it all before I started working on the season. I hadn’t seen it all when prior to starting the second season. I knew about the show, of course. I think there’s about nine people in the world that have never heard of the show.
So I’d heard of it, but I’d never watched it prior to them wanting to test me, partially because I was in New York for a long period of time filming the last season of Sopranos and then I was doing a film, so I was just busy, so I hadn’t really caught up in watching the show.
But right before I tested, one of my really good friends, who’s such a huge fan, when I told her, she was like “Oh my god! You’re crazy, you have to be on this show!” And she came over to my house and she had all the episodes from iTunes, and we just sat down and watched. And by episode eight, I just couldn’t stop watching! I was obsessed!
IGN TV: So how excited were you when you actually got the role? Ramirez: Oh my god, honestly, I’m blessed. The producers and I think some of the writers had seen my work on Sopranos, and so they wanted me to come in for anything at one point. Then eventually [Heroes executive producer] Tim Kring said he was creating a Latin character and they were like “Oh, let’s look at this girl.” So when they called me, and had me test, they never opened the audition to anybody else. They wanted me to be good and nail it and all I had to do was not mess it up. No pressure! [Laughs]
Here’s a photo of four news Heroes we’ll get to know a lot better as the season goes on:
Four guest stars and/or recurring new Heroes in season two, clockwise from top left: Eriko Tamura, Nick D’Agosto, Dania Ramirez and Barry Shabaka Henley.
Get ready, Heroes fans in Canada. You’re getting close to your only chance to meet a quartet of stars from your favorite show during their worldwide tour.
At noon on August 31, at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square, the following four cast members will descend on hockey’s homeland:
These stars will greet fans and autograph copies of the Heroes: Season One DVD at the special event, hosted by ET Canada’s Rick Campanelli.
Fans can submit questions for the actors at globaltv.com.
The spotlight will be on Quinto, who has signed on to play Spock in JJ Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek XI.
Ramirez joins the cast this season as Maya Herrera, a woman plagued by a threatening ability that forced her and twin brother Alejandro to flee their homeland for America.
Kristin at E! Online recently answered a few Heroes-related questions about season two. Let’s get right to them!
Do you have any Heroes news? I miss that show!
The powers of new Heroes Maya (Dania Ramirez) and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) are connected. Dania told us this about her brother, “We need each other.” We also hear that despite reports the fraternal twins are from the Dominican Republic, they’re actually from Central America and will either be leaving from or at least passing through San Cristobal, Honduras.
Do you know anything more about David Anders’ role on Heroes?
We asked Masi Oka, “Riddle me this. White guy from Oregon. How is [David Anders] a samurai-type in feudal Japan?” He answered, “You will find out in the first episode. And it’s an answer that everyone will be happy about. Does he have any powers? Does he share any powers? We don’t know. Is he white? Yes.” Masi wins at life.
How is Sylar going to fit into Heroes this season?
We talked to Greg Grunberg recently, and he had this to say: “We’re still playing with some of the stuff from last year, but they’ve definitely introduced a new character, which I hope I have a big part in, that they alluded to last year. Remember, Molly said last year, ‘Every time I think about him, he can see me; he’s the bogeyman.’
There’s this character that is looming out there that’s bigger and badder than Sylar, so it’s going to be pretty crazy.” I ran that by Sylar himself, Zachary Quinto, and he said, “There’s definitely a dark new energy on the show, and it’ll be interesting to see how Sylar fits into that.”
Do you know what’s going on with the Petrelli brothers in season two? So do we, so we asked Adrian Pasdar what was going on between Nathan and Peter, and we were sad when he told us, “Milo and I have not worked together in a long time…”
What’s happening with my boy HRG on season two of Heroes?
According to Jack Coleman, he’s moved the family to somewhere in Southern California. He says, “Los Angeles would not be accurate, but not far off.” He added, “Everyone survives, but the Bennets are a very dislocated but determined group that tries to make the best of it, but old ways and old ghosts quickly come into play very dramatically.”
Heroes, Heroes, Heroes!
There will be an upcoming storyline set in County Cork, Ireland. Separately, look for a dangerous new Francophone character named Sophie. She’s the employee of a powerful, mysterious group, and she’s “not afraid to use lethal force to accomplish her mission.”
Posted at July 17th, 2007 10:33 am by A. Hiro
Filed under: Dania Ramírez
The cast of Heroes is growing by the week.
Aside from fairly well-known actors such as David Anders and Dianna Agron, one of the new stars will be Dania Ramirez. Here’s her background:
Ramírez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She dreamed of acting since her childhood, reenacting Spanish soap operas for her family as she grew up.
Dania was discovered by a modeling scout while working in a New York City convenience store at the age of 15 and was cast in a small part in a soda commercial. Years later, she decided to pursue acting seriously and studied at the Actor’s Workshop in New York City.
After completing a degree at Montclair State University in New Jersey, Ramirez moved to Los Angeles. She was an extra in the HBO film Subway Stories (1997), where she met filmmaker Spike Lee who later cast her in his film, She Hate Me (2004).
Other credits for this actress? She appeared as Potential Slayer Caridad in the final episodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; as Callisto in the film X-Men: The Last Stand (2006); and as Blanca Selgado (AJ Soprano’s new love interest) in the sixth season (part one) finale of The Sopranos.
During the 2007 off-season, it was announced that Ramirez was tapped to portray new character Maya Heroes. It’s unclear right now just what power she will possess.
Dania Ramirez is a popular woman these days.
