West Side Story | David Alvarez: from Montreal to Hollywood via Broadway

Born in Montreal to Cuban immigrant parents, David Alvarez found himself on a Broadway stage at the age of 14 to take the title role in Billy Elliot – The Musical. A dozen years later, the young man shines in the new film adaptation of West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, where he plays the role of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks gang. Interview with an actor whose career is not trivial.

Marc-André Lussier
Press

David Alvarez lived the first nine years of his existence in Montreal. With his parents of Cuban origin, who fled their country to start a new life in our land, the child spoke Spanish while learning French at school. “But I forgot my French a little”, modestly launches in the language of Molière the one who has lived in the United States since his father, a biochemist who found a job in the field of scientific research in San Diego, settled there. down the little family. David Alvarez was then in his third year of primary school.

“I took my first dance lessons in Montreal when I was a child,” he confides during a videoconference interview with Press. My mother was an actress in Cuba and she really wanted art to be a part of my life. I couldn’t be happier for it! ”

A scholarship and a Tony Award!

Soon after arriving in Southern California, the child took to dancing even more seriously and one day enrolled in the American Ballet Theater school. His skills earned him a scholarship from the venerable institution. At age 11, David Alvarez moved to New York to follow the prestigious company’s training program. A dance magazine proclaims him a “rising star”. This is where the distribution director of Billy Elliot – The Musical, then in search of three boys who could play the title role alternately.

In 2009, his performance earned him the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, along with Kiril Kulish and Trent Kowalik, the two other performers in the same role. Despite obtaining the trophy symbolizing the highest degree of excellence on Broadway, the teenager nevertheless decides to drop everything soon after. For years, neither the world of musical theater nor that of showbiz heard from David Alvarez.

“I needed to get out of this bubble, to go see the world a bit,” he emphasizes. As I have always been interested in the military world, I served in the army for three years. Then I lived in Mexico for three more years, very inspired by the book – and the movie – Into the Wild [le récit de Jon Krakauer a été porté à l’écran par Sean Penn]. I had to see what I wanted to do with my life. Steven Spielberg brought me back from this adventure in such a stimulating way that it rekindled the spark of artistry in me. I can no longer see myself living without doing this job. ”

A proposal that came out of nowhere

David Alvarez wasn’t expecting anything when he got an email from a distribution manager, who remembered him in Billy Elliot – The Musical, evoking the crazy project of Steven Spielberg. The director ofAND intended to introduce himself to the musical genre by directing a new film adaptation of West Side Story, 60 years after that of Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins.

“It was so strange,” recalls the actor. It is as if this proposal came out of nowhere. Something inside me was telling me to record a home video anyway and send it. I was then brought to New York for a tryout with Ariana [DeBose, interprète d’Anita]. When I got the call from Steven I panicked a little but I still wanted to look professional.

– Mr. Spielberg, how are you?

– Oh ! Call me Steven because I’m going to call you Bernardo now.

“That’s how I knew I had the role,” he continues. It makes you dizzy because you wonder then how to be up to it. When I saw the 1961 film, I loved what George Chakiris had done. He was a perfect Bernardo and I was wondering what to do to be able to approach him. My only option was to suggest something completely different, to follow my own voice. Steven wanted our characters to be our own creations. ”

A loop is thus closed. When he was playing Billy Elliot on Broadway, David Alvarez had gone to see, one spring break, a revival of West Side Story in a nearby theater. This very first contact with the work of Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein was a revelation for him.

“I remember coming out of the room telling myself that I had to play in that musical one day, be part of that show. I didn’t know when or how, but I had fallen in love with every aspect of this show. The fact that it draws its source from Romeo and Juliet – I also really like Shakespeare – has only further fueled my passion for this work. ”

Heart filled with gratitude

David Alvarez has seen Steven Spielberg’s film at least five times so far. If the first viewing was difficult, because of his critical outlook on himself, the young man considers the accomplishment of all the craftsmen to be exceptional.

“I’m here for good now,” he said. I needed to have some crazy experiences, but they all helped prepare me for what I am going through right now. I don’t know what to expect and I welcome whatever happens to me one day at a time. I don’t mind waiting years, if need be, to find a project as inspiring as this one. ”

Still having family in the Quebec metropolis, uncles, aunts, cousins, David Alvarez returns to his hometown from time to time, although his life is now elsewhere.

“When my parents left Cuba, several other family members followed them to rebuild their lives in Montreal. They were able to raise their children there and give them a real chance in life. For that, I will be eternally grateful to the country that welcomed them. ”

West Side Story is playing indoors.