With a no-nonsense take on AIDS, a fierce condemnation of ignorance, and a passion for being present, Rudy Youngblood, star of Apocalypto, shows A&U’s Dann Dulin Why He has what it takes to go the distance
What will he be like? Will he be stalwart, intelligent, driven, vulnerable, and fearless like Jaguar Paw, the Mayan tribesman he played in Apocalypto? We’ve spoken over the phone several times and I’ve scanned the Internet for background information, and so I’ve got a jagged concept of Rudy Youngblood. The last piece of the puzzle is soon to arrive.
Nearing noon on a typically luminous Los Angeles afternoon, he appears in a mile-high-jacked-up-shiny-jet-black monster 4 x 4 borrowed from his stuntman friend whom he met on the set of Apocalypto. I greet him on the street, we embrace, then walk up to my pad where the makeup artist, my associate, and photographer are eagerly waiting. Rudy hugs them all. He certainly knows how to make
an entrance.
Rudy is a full-blooded Native American of Comanche, Cree, and Yaqui descent and his ancestors fought in the major battles of the Indian wars in the nineteenth century. Raised in many places, he calls a small town in Texas his home, where he began working as a construction laborer at age ten. Today, by trade, he is a brick and rock layer, carpenter, landscaper, plumber, electrician, and does paint-and-body work. His passion, though, lies in dancing, art, and now acting. After high school, he was offered Fulbright scholarships to major colleges in both art and track and field, but he chose Native dance instead. He has traveled the world performing with the Native American Dance Theater and even danced before an audience that included General Colin Powell. It was on a whim that he went to a general casting call for Apocalypto. He had no acting or film experience, but director Mel Gibson cast him in the lead. Gibson obviously saw Rudy’s strength, which he exudes in his arresting performance in this epic film.
Settling into the living room, we sit next to one another. Casually clad in a smart black T-shirt decorated with unusual artsy design (he loves buying unique T-shirts), body-forming Wrangler jeans, black square-toed boots complimented by two diamond chips in each of his pierced ears, Rudy cozies himself into the cinnabar sofa, making it his own space by slipping between the throw pillows. I sense this is his natural modus operandi: making himself comfortable in any situation because he’s comfortable with himself. Rudy tells me why he agreed to be interviewed. “I feel blessed that I’m in this position, because now I can give back and make a difference, like doing this interview for A&U,” he explains. “It’s a good cause.” Rudy has participated in several AIDS Walks, he has visited HIV-positive kids in hospitals, and he had a family member diagnosed with HIV, who later died of AIDS-related complications.
“After they [Rudy’s very protective of his family hence the pronoun] were diagnosed, I said, ‘Instead of panicking about it, let’s go to the next step. The answers are right there. How can you better yourself and your situation?’ We can all die when we step into the car and drive down the road. That’s life. If you don’t mess up or make a mistake you won’t learn,” Rudy contends. “If something is too perfect I feel really uncomfortable.” He chuckles. “I need to feel pain. It’s an awakening. You’re alive. You become more aware of the things that you don’t normally appreciate in life.”
What irks Rudy most is the lack of AIDS awareness. “America has a big ego,” he balks sternly. “There’s not enough media coverage about AIDS. Some still think it’s a gay disease. People need to be more knowledgeable, not only about HIV and AIDS, but about alcoholism, drug abuse, and child abuse. Many people are so ignorant,” he says, then repeats the word by hyphenating it slowly and loudly, “ig-nor-ant! I say it like it is. I don’t sugarcoat it. What for? Why make it beautiful? You watch TV and they’re running down some beach and they’re talking about a disease. They glorify it! Hell no, why don’t you just show it? Be real about it. The kids watch this and they don’t pay attention to it. It’s a mindset. People are just not communicating. Stop and listen, man. Slow down.”
Being twenty-five years-old, AIDS has always been a part of Youngblood’s world. What do his peers say about AIDS? Are they protecting themselves? “I think they know the word, but I don’t think they really care. It’s because they’re not listening. The ways that HIV can infect need to be addressed more. Some still think it’s only through gay sex,” he laments, momentarily looking over my shoulder out the window onto the balcony. “I’m big on condom use, of course, though I’m not going to say I’m an angel.
Nobody is. It’s all about the choices we make,” he says, scratching his arm that hikes up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a wolf, which represents his grandparents. “You may feel on top of the world cause you’re drunk and ya get some chick and do your thing. Then you look back and probably don’t even remember what you did that night. But guess what? She may come to you [later] and say ‘I’m pregnant’ or ‘I’ve got HIV.’ I’ve heard guys say, ‘Well, it’s not going to happen to me.’ ‘What ya think, you’re invincible?! You’re laughin’ about it, dude.’ C’mon!” he pleads with a smirk, his voice escalating to a high pitch. He’s fired up at full throttle. “I’ve been through the drugs, the alcohol, the cigarettes. It’s like, what the hell am I doing. Why? I hate weakness. I’m not weak. Addiction is a disease, yes, but disease is a weakness. It changes your perception.” He takes a sip of sparkling water.
Unlike others I’ve interviewed, Rudy answers most of my questions through insightful introspection about who he is. At times, I feel I’m listening to one of those noted cognitive gurus like Dr. Wayne Dyer or Dr. David Burns. Youngblood tackles problems based in a rational, logical approach to life; no bullshit. He has a live-and-let-live spirit and is a sit-under-the-stars-and-watch kind of guy.
“I don’t accept failure,” declares Rudy, placing the tumbler filled with sparkling water back down on the coffee table. “I hate the word, ‘can’t.’ [In my vocabulary] there’s no ‘ifs,’ ‘ands,’ ‘buts,’ ‘maybes,’ or ‘can’ts.’ HIV/AIDS is a strong and powerful word like ‘can’t.’ Make another word for it. It scares people off from being tested. Taking the HIV test should simply be a part of maintaining one’s health. Get rid of the stigma. Normalize it,” suggests Rudy. “I have no fear. You gotta be able to step outside of your box and not be in that little comfort zone. Many people are afraid of the unknown, but I’m curious.”
Rudy’s firm foundation, solid beliefs, and value system come from not only his culture, but out of the necessity to grow up fast. He had an alcoholic mother (they have a close relationship today) and no father. Consequently, he had to take charge of his two younger sisters. “Unfortunately, nobody taught me about a lot of things. I learned on my own,” he states with conviction. “I never had a childhood. You play the cards that you’re dealt and you don’t always get a strong hand. It’s up to you to take charge. I had a lot of anger which got me into a lot of trouble. That was my release. Every child needs parents.” His father is a sensitive subject and he’s very private about it. “That’s a whole other issue,” says Youngblood cautiously. “I don’t really consider him a dad. He’s a person. I think you’ve got to earn respect and the right to be able to call yourself a father.” He takes his index finger and lightly grazes his lips then continues. “I’m a man because I made myself this way. I wouldn’t change…,” he let’s out a sigh that sounds like ‘phew’ then continues, “anything, because I wouldn’t be as strong as
I am.”
As a child he never aspired to be an actor. In high school, he was a champion boxer and was on the high school track team. “I love being competitive! I would run twenty miles at a time. People ask what I think about while I run. Nothing. Nothing,” he says quietly, shaking his head gently. Running helped Youngblood escape from his problems, as did watching movies in his local theater. He’d watch as many as five films a day. “I’d get lost in the story and leave all my shit outside the doors,” he recounts. “I would buy a jumbo popcorn, but I’d only eat one kernel at a time. A girlfriend once brought this to my attention.” Rudy apparently uses that same principle for living, savoring every morsel of life.
One aspect is danger. It gives Rudy a rush. “That’s why I did all my own stunts [in Apocalypto],” he enthuses, like falling out of a fifteen-story building for ten takes that was digitally placed in front of the thundering waterfall scene. “It’s fun. I’m a rough kinda individual. I don’t mind takin’ a hit. It’s a dance. If ya get hurt, so what? A little pain is just weakness leaving the body. Like I tell ’em, ‘I’m from Texas.’” Making the film was challenging, a learning process, and maybe life-changing, but he remains humbled. “At the end of the day I’m still Rudy,” he persists. “They label me an actor. I don’t consider myself an actor. I consider myself an artist. Once I get to that level where I am a champion at it, then I’ll say I’m an actor.”
He folds one leg under the other while the other leg dangles over the sofa. “I’m proud of my heritage, but being Native American does not make me who I am. I am who I am because of the things I’ve dealt with in my life. I worked with grown men at the age of ten. I heard a lot of stories! I learned and applied them,” attests Youngblood, delicately twirling the large silver ring he wears on his little finger. Rudy is disturbed that many people are not aware of the issues that bombard the Native American community. Not long ago he encountered racism in a restaurant in Rapid City, South Dakota. “They said, ‘We don’t allow Indians in here.’” He looks at me intensely with those brown puppy eyes and notes matter-of-factly, “Racism happens. You can be racist toward someone who has HIV. It’s the unknown that they’re afraid of.”
HIV infection is on the rise in the Native American community. According to 2005 stats, when population size is taken into account, this population has the third highest infection rate among ethnicities in the nation, and that figure is highly underreported. Of those who were diagnosed during 1997–2004, American Indians and Alaska Natives were found to have survived for a shorter time than had Asians and Pacific Islanders, whites, or Hispanics. Rick Haverkate, the director of the Health Services Division of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc., has fought hard to promote access to HIV testing and counseling in this community: “We have long battled over issues of confidentiality and culturally appropriate counseling, especially for those living in rural areas, as American Indians and Alaska Natives in close-knit communities—because of concerns about confidentiality—may be less likely to seek testing for fear of encountering a friend, a relative, or an acquaintance at the local healthcare facility.” Rick’s philosophy of “waging war on HIV” has been replaced by one that centers on wellness, being, peace, and a caring for each other. “I want to promote the understanding that difference is good. I want to promote our ancestors’ original teachings that we all belong to the whole community.”
Not too long ago, a close relative of Rudy’s was killed in Iraq while serving in the military. “That’s the reason my hair is short. I’m mourning. The warriors do that where I’m from. I love having long hair. It’s life. It’s my strong point. [But, it’s all about] the journey; it’s the experience,” Rudy clarifies, laying his outstretched arm across one of the crimson pillows. “I don’t think about death. In my culture we don’t talk about it. We honor the dead and celebrate their life. Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they’re gone. I don’t think of it like that. When I get there, I’ll get there. Why concern yourself about it now? It seems people always wanna know. They want answers. They ask, ‘Why?’ My reply is, ‘Why ask why?’,” he asserts boldly. “Death just is what it is. You can’t change it. What you can do is fix your life or help someone else to fix their life. That’s the key. I wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for Mel. He helped me out, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Now I make it a point to give back. It’s important to step outside your ego and help somebody. Just a little help can change a person’s life forever.”
Rudy doesn’t analyze, he utilizes. He not only focuses on the solution, but “believes.” “If you believe you can do it, then everything else falls into place. Have faith in what you’re doing. Do it. Apply yourself. Then you become driven. Like Mel said [to me], ‘Dude, at your age I wish I had your focus and your drive.’” He takes a breath. “I apply everything that I’ve been through and everything that I’ve done into life. I tap into that channel,” he says. “Apocalypto is not a movie. It’s a dance, and I love movement. Even if it’s a leaf blowing in the wind, there’s a tick-tock rhythm to it. Everything has its own music and own sound. Then if you can project that and apply it to everyday life you can find that everything isn’t as difficult as it seems. Whether you’re battling a foreign enemy or a virus like HIV, the answer is right there.” He chuckles a moment. “I’m a pretty hardcore kind of guy. Jaguar Paw is who I am; and I am who he is.”
Blood Lines
Do you have any tattoos?
Yes. On my back is a wolf. On my chest is rain which means new beginnings. On my arm there is an eagle [he shows it] that represents my grandparents—I like getting tattooed because it’s an awakening for me.
Would you ever date anyone who was HIV-infected?
Yeah, why not? [He questions in a quizzical lilt.]
Name one word to describe Mel Gibson.
Constantly. He's constantly thinking, he’s constantly moving. His wheels turn all the time. It makes him great at what he does. He’s smart. That’s another word to describe him.
What kind of underwear do you usually wear? Brief , boxers, or thong?
[He cracks a big grin and chuckles] Whatever makes me feel sexy. I like a variety.
Finish this sentence. I’ve always regretted….
Not having a childhood.
Who would you like to work with that you haven’t yet?
[No hesitation.] Johnny Depp. I appreciate his creativity.
Where do you carry your condoms if you’re on a date?
If I’m going to dinner, I don’t carry them since that’s not the plan.
Who do you look up to?
Steve Prefontaine. Because he overcame obstacles; his one leg was shorter than the other. He’s a gut-runner like I am. He had that determination which I like. He would not accept failure.
If you had a choice to have a dinner date with anyone--dead or alive--who would it be?
[He pauses. He sighs.] That’s a tough one. [Shakes his head.]
Give up to three words to describe how you feel right now.
Open, emotional, and focused.
Do you have a motto?
Believe.
Any city begging you to visit?
Rome.
Name one word to describe Rudy Youngblood.
Passionate.
RUDY’S REVERED
Rudy names his favorite:
Color: I’m a ‘blue’ guy, but I like all colors.
Sport: I have no favorite. I like all sports.
Clothing to wear: T-shirts.
TV sitcom: Sanford and Son
Movie of all time: Wow. There’s so many movies. John Q, Legend, Eating Gilbert Grape, and Pan's Labyrinth
Food: Chicken! [he says enthusiastically]
City: I don’t like the cities. I’m a country boy.
Landscape: Colorado.
Actor: Johnny Depp.
Actress: Meryl Streep.
CD: George Strait.
Moment: Night, when it’s quiet and dark.
Physical asset above the waist: [he laughs] I don’t think that way.
Physical asset below the waist: [he laughs] Of course!
Thanks to Geeta Dastyar for makeup and hair (www.MUArtist.com) and Sherri Lewis for her watchful eye.
Dann Dulin interviewed actress Valerie Harper for the October issue.
November 2007
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