Money and success are his decoys. Vengeance is what he truly desires.
Both the guilty and the innocent are paying for the wrongdoings from Alejandro Montecristo’s mysterious past in the new dramatic thriller series titled Montecristo, with William Levy holding the main role, streaming today on ViX.
“This is a project that has caught my attention for years,” Levy shared in a phone interview. “Now that we’re about to air it, seeing the final product is something incredible.”
Set in Miami, Cuba, Spain and beyond, the series takes inspiration from “The Count of Monte Cristo,” an adventure novel from 1844 written by the French author Alexandre Dumas, who also wrote “The Three Musketeers.”
When it comes to playing a character like Montecristo — the CEO of a thriving technology company who’s destined to reunite with Fernando Alvarez Mondego (Roberto Enríquez), a businessman connected to the Spanish aristocracy who wants to buy the company — the Cuban-American actor says, “Le tienes que echar ganas,” meaning that you have to try your best and give it your all.
“This is a character that I’ve always wanted as an actor. The role of Alejandro Montecristo is a big challenge for me, it’s the biggest one that I’ve had in my career because he’s a character that was created for the world.”
In the thriller, the suspense leaves us to determine what’s really the driving force behind the reunion between Montecristo and Mondego: fate or revenge for a decades-old misfortune from Montecristo’s past.
Levy — 42, who doubles as the executive producer of the series alongside Jeff Goldberg — said that the modern re-telling of Dumas’ literary work is “not like the book,” adding that a lot of changes were made including the ending.
Unlike the original novel, the character in the series is Cuban, similar to Levy, who was born in Cuba and moved to Miami when his family was granted political asylum in the U.S. when he was 14.
The actor says his role reminded him of the moments he lived through while growing up in Cuba, making it easier to deliver an emotional performance.
“We’re the same,” Levy joked about his character. “The fact that we made Montecristo Cuban, and that he was born and grew up in Cuba…it gives me the opportunity to feel more identified with myself and it also gives me the opportunity that I’ve never really had in my career — taking on the role of a Cuban actor. It’s something I really enjoyed doing and I feel very proud.”
All six episodes from the Spanish-language series are now available on the ViX streaming platform from TelevisaUnivision available in the U.S., Mexico, and most of Spanish-speaking Latin America by subscription, online at vix.com.
“I feel proud to be able to share a project like this one with our people and our Hispanic audience because there aren’t a lot of projects like this one in the U.S.,” Levy said.
Levy’s role is accompanied by Esmeralda Pimentel (High Heat) as Haydée Hernández, Montecristo’s right-hand woman and hacker. Juan Fernández plays Cristóbal Herrera, the aristocrat and Spanish ambassador in Havana while Silvia Abascal (Asombrosa Elisa) is Mercedes Herrera, Herrera’s daughter.
The show’s lineup of actors also includes Itziar Atienza (Wrong Side of the Tracks), Guiomar Puerta (Estoy Vivo), and Franky Martin (Wrong Side of the Tracks).
Produced by Spain’s Secuoya Studios, Montecristo was created by Lidia Fraga and Jacobo Díaz, directed by Alberto Ruiz-Rojo, and produced by David Martínez, Ángela Agudo, David Cotarelo, and Sergio Pizzolante.
Becerril is a freelance writer.
