Alexis Sides on His Breakout Triple-Threat Role in Paramount's "Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies" (Video)
Continuing the legacy of the 1978 film Grease, and the 1971 musical it was based on, comes the new Paramount+ musical dramedy Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, a prequel series set in 1954 which focuses on the misfit students at Rydell High who create the iconic Pink Ladies clique. In this episode of Multicultural TV Talk, triple-threat Alexis Sides talks with us about his early love of acting that began when he was growing up in Mexico, what it felt like working with such a diverse cast in a typically white-centered time period, and how he is similar and differs from his character Pedro, aka Potato.
"I identified in some ways with Potato and the T-Birds," he says. "They’re really expressive and energetic, and thankfully because it’s a very theatrical show, I felt more comfortable fitting into it. One of the things I struggled with in TV and film was 'being smaller.' They always tell you to 'go smaller' for the camera because in theater you have to be 'bigger.' Delving into the character, I tried to unlearn a lot of things.
"There are a lot of lines that Potato has that I didn't feel comfortable with but I knew it was part of the character and the era, and that’s what you're trying to portray in order to show that there was something wrong [back then]," he explains. "He does it to be part of a society where that was normal. He and the T-Birds are the rejected ones, and the Pink Ladies, as well. Hazel and Wally face a lot of racism and discrimination, and the show brings a lot of awareness to things that are still happening nowadays."
Catch new episodes of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Fridays on Paramount+.
Watch the full interview above or listen wherever you download your podcasts, including Audacy,iHeartRadio,Spotify,Apple, GooglePodcasts, Pandora, Stitcher and TuneIn.
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Juan Ayala
Juan Ayala is a Brooklyn-based writer, podcaster and columnist at MediaVillage. He covers programming aimed toward diverse, multicultural and LGBTQ+ audiences under his Multicultural TV column. His love for TV and film ranges from workplace comedi…
