Shalim Ortiz News

Fans may not love his story line right now, but Shalim Ortiz is hopeful his character will soon catch on. Might help if he reaches America before 2008 rolls around.

Here is an interview the new Heroes star gave our friends at BuddyTV:

Were you a Heroes fan before you got the role?
I had watched a couple of episodes here and there. I was there following the whole story line but I definitely caught up on season one and immediately I became a fan right away. It's inevitable to watch a show like Heroes and then not get completely sucked into the show.

When you first got the role, because this is one of those shows where there are lots of secrets and everyone wants to know what's going on... How much were you told about your character when you first got the role?

Well that's a very huge question because the team of producers that are part of the show they kind of give a little bit of freedom to the actors; at least that's what happened to Alejandro. Obviously they had an idea of what role they wanted Alejandro to play on the storyline. they also had an open mind for the actor, in this case myself, to bring in my point-of-view on this character and how I envisioned this relationship between him and his sister.

And if you add to that the fact that I also pretty much helped translate in Spanish, because he speaks Spanish in the show, the script and everything, well ... then the character really becomes part of you and that's the way it's been happening.

Click here read the full interview.

Last week, Entertainment Weekly spoke with Dania Ramirez. Now? Here's a conversation with her on-screen brother, Shalim Ortiz.

EW: Tell us about Alejandro.
Shalim Ortiz: The fact that me and Maya are twins plays a very strong role in our power and what happens to us. We complement each other. We're illegal immigrants and we are running from the cops. We need to get answers because we can't live with what we have. We need to find a solution, a cure.

EW: Sounds intriguing. What about your character do you find most interesting?
Shalim Ortiz: His love for his sister. He protects her no matter what. Even if his life is at stake. My younger brother and sister are twins, so I based a lot of this relationship on what I grew up with. Their relationship is beyond just brother and sister. They take care of each other. It's beautiful.

EW: Is it easy to play Dania Ramirez's twin?
Shalim Ortiz: We clicked right away. We did not have to work on chemistry, it just happened the first time we did the ''chemistry'' read. We are both Dominican. We're in the same age range. There were a lot of things that we had in common that you can't make up, which helped.

Click here to read the full article.