Douglas 'Fights' His Way To The Top

Sundance Film Festival 2000 sizzled with new films and introduced a bevy of new actors. One movie that seemed to be on everyone's lips won the best director award and the Grand Jury prize for best dramatic film. The movie is "Girlfight."

Produced by John Sayles ("Passion Fish," "Lonestar") and directed by Karyn Kusama, it stars Michelle Rodriguez as a strong young woman who wants to box. Co-starring as her love interest is one of Hollywood's most promising young newcomers, Santiago Douglas.

Now meet Douglas, who has already guest-starred on some of television's hottest shows, including "The Sopranos," "Law & Order," "Third Watch" and "Maloney."

This week, you can catch Douglas on Thursday, co-starring with our favorite sleuth, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), in the CBS movie "Murder, She Wrote: A Story To Die For."

In The Beginning
"It was always what I wanted to do," Douglas tells me about his love for acting.

We sit in Douglas' comfortable condo in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles. It's a warm afternoon, and we drink ice water and close the blinds against the sun.

A native of Puerto Rico, Douglas moved at an early age to New York City, where he discovered his talent for entertaining. It was after a brief singing career that he found the acting path.

"I was writing and singing in a group called Subliminal in the '90s," Douglas says. "And after things with the group ended, a friend convinced me to go back to school for acting."

Douglas found his way to the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, where he would meet such luminary actors as Raul Julia, Miriam Colon and a woman who would eventually become his biggest champion and mentor: Alba Oms.

Douglas credits Oms as the person who was to give him his first big break.

"Alba Oms, she's an incredible woman, she was the first Latina in the Actors' Studio," he tells me. "She still teaches the greats. Alba has been my personal tutor and teacher."

Douglas' big break came when Oms cast him in the theater school's production of "Simpson Street."

At the same time, Douglas landed his first television role: "I booked 'Law & Order' at the same time."

Douglas tells me that he was so nervous about his first television role that he went "into a state of ... shock." The shock proved to be helpful: It gave him so much focus that he was able to do the scene in one take.

Boxing Santiago
The movie "Girlfight" almost didn't happen for Douglas.

The actor tells me that when the producers were casting for the film, he wasn't available to audition.

See Douglas' work. video clips

"I was shooting an episode of 'The Sopranos' and I was working the day they wanted to see me," Douglas says. "They couldn't see me; I couldn't get in (to audition)."

But a twist of fate led him back to the film.

"(The casting agents) were cleaning out their office, and they started shuffling pictures, and my pictures came on top and they called me in and I met the director," he says.

The rest, as they say, is history.

With a budget of only $1 million, the movie was a small production, but one that the cast and crew instinctively knew was special.

Douglas himself says that he knew "Girlfight" was unique the first time he read it.

"Honestly, sometimes I attach myself to a project and it runs through me like a river. As soon as I read 'Girlfight,' (I knew)," he says. "The girl-boxing thing had an edge; either it's going to not work or work in a big way."

After meeting his co-star, Rodriguez, Douglas knew that the movie would be a big hit.

Douglas plays Adrian Abreau, a tough kid from the streets and Rodriguez' onscreen love interest.

"Adrian is a young boxer from Brooklyn. He's the kind of guy who doesn't have a lot of answers," Douglas says. "He goes with the flow and happens to have talent in a certain area, which is boxing. He hopes that boxing is his way out ... (and will) bring him fortune."

On Aug. 14, "Girlfight" will be released nationwide.

Mystery Man
"Of course, everyone's heard of Angela Lansbury," Douglas says. "She's like, well ... they are different women, but I felt like I was working with Bette Davis or Joan Crawford in many ways. I felt like this is an honor."

Douglas is talking about working with Lansbury on his CBS movie, "Murder, She Wrote: A Story To Die For." Lansbury revives her role as mystery writer and solver Jessica Fletcher.

"(Lansbury) is incredible," Douglas says. "Some of the scenes -- it's like watching a pro. Nothing loose."

Douglas plays a young guy named John Mendozo.

"I'm (Lansbury's) assistant," Douglas tells me. "I'm a literary student at L.A. College, and my focus is to get my mystery plays published. And there's this big conference going on in L.A. and a murder."

Douglas' character manages to get himself assigned as Jessica Fletcher's personal assistant at the conference. And I'm not giving away any more of the story. Let's just say someone gets murdered and Fletcher steps into to solve the case.

Time's Up
It's time to go, and Douglas finishes our conversation by telling me that his own production company, Circle Inc., produced his next film, "Time's Up," co-starring Argentinean actress Leonor Benedetto.

Douglas also has spearheaded the efforts of the Premiere Weekend Club, a national nonprofit organization, which promotes Latino film projects.

I thank Douglas for his time and I head for the door. Later I will tell my friend, "That guy is going to be a star." And I mean it.

Photos By Jeff Lorch

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