'Ash Vs. Evil Dead’ Series: Latino Actor Ray Santiago Talks American Dream, Santeria And Bloody Role [INTERVIEW]

For Ray Santiago being covered in blood wasn't an obstacle to land the role of his dreams, "the director asked me if I was ready to be covered in blood, I told him that I wanted be covered in blood and run completely naked,” Santiago shared this anecdote as he discussed with Latin Times how he got involved in the “Ash vs. Evil Dead" series, the long-awaited follow-up to the classic horror film franchise The Evil Dead. "It was nice to know that the director and the creator of the genre believed in me and the rest was history," the actor said.

He plays Pablo Simon Bolivar, an idealistic immigrant who becomes Ash’s loyal sidekick and coworker. Pablo recognizes that fate has put Ash in the center of a battle of good vs. evil. and he feels that his destiny is to fight alongside Ash. "Is ultimately about a group of people who are trying to escape who they’re mean to be; they are running from the evil force and once they come in contact with their inner demons, they become this stronger ultimate monster fighting squad, ” Santiago added, “Pablo is the Latino sidekick for the genre and is a wonderful opportunity for me to play the Latino role and the Latin culture that sometimes is often saturated in the industry with a negative portrayal.”

In the show he's trained to follow his uncle’s footsteps to become a shaman, and in real life Santiago had a close experience with Santeria and fighting the evil force because his grandma was a Santera who taught him about "cleaning your own energy and your own power in whatever form that is." When we asked the actor about what can we expect for the upcoming season Santiago shared that "there’s definitely blood and you never know in the show you can live you can die but something happens to Pablo that will change him a little bit, you will definitely see an evolution with the character.”

The artist concluded the interview by saying that he's sort of living the American dream right now, but if he can add to it he wants "a house, a family and a dog," encouraging the audience to follow their dreams and sharing that much like his character "he wants to be a heroe and leave a mark on the world." Don't miss "Ash vs. Evil Dead" every Saturday on Starz at 9pm ET/PT and check out the trailer below.