Ramón Rodríguez's dedication to authentic storytelling means physically putting himself in harm's way — a stunt gone gloriously wrong that his mother called him 'Loco' for, all in service of bringing Puerto Rican culture to mainstream television.
Sources say Rodríguez is actively pursuing Bad Bunny for a guest role, and he's not subtle about it. The 'Will Trent' star has already dropped Bad Bunny music in the show this season — consider it a warm-up act for getting the reggaetón king on screen.
In Season 4, Episode 11 'He Lives!' Rodríguez performed his own stunt diving off a cliff edge and 'smashed my face so hard,' he told Variety. The show earned its first-ever Emmy nomination for Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming last year.
Rodríguez is playing all the angles — star, EP, director, and now stuntman — to prove 'Will Trent' isn't your average network procedural. And if he lands Bad Bunny? That's the kind of crossover that changes a show's entire trajectory.
Ramón Rodríguez doesn't do things by half. The 'Will Trent' star literally threw himself into the deep end for Season 4, Episode 11 — and paid the price with his face.
In what he calls the biggest episode the show has ever produced, Rodríguez directed and starred in 'He Lives!,' a wild ride that sends Will Trent racing to Puerto Rico after a murdered man shares the name of his uncle Antonio. The installment required filming in actual rainforest conditions, complete with wire rigging and some 'pretty brutal moments,' according to Rodríguez. But nothing quite compared to the stunt where someone falls off a ravine at the edge of a cliff and Will dives to save them.
'I smashed my face so hard,' Rodríguez told Variety with a laugh. He even sent the footage to his mom, who responded simply: 'Loco. What are you doing?' That's the kind of commitment that doesn't fly under the radar — even the stunt coordinator reportedly said, 'Man, that looked good.'
For Rodríguez, this episode was more than just a stunt showcase — it was a full-circle homecoming. The line producer introduced him to the local crew as 'your director — your local Boricua, Ramón Rodríguez,' and Rodríguez admits he got emotional. He made sure to play salsa and Puerto Rican music on set, calling it 'nothing like hearing your native language being spoken around you by the crew.' The man is building an empire, and he's doing it with his roots planted firmly in Puerto Rican soil.
But here's where it gets interesting: Rodríguez is now actively hunting the biggest fish in Latinx entertainment. When asked how we get Bad Bunny to guest star on 'Will Trent,' he didn't hedge. 'We've already started the process,' he said. 'We even included a Bad Bunny song this season.' He's also hoping to get Benito [Bad Bunny's real name] involved in his upcoming feature — a father-son story set in New York and Puerto Rico that Rodríguez will direct this summer during the show's hiatus.
The Emmy-nominated star has a multi-year first-look deal with 20th Television through Altura Productions, and he's not interested in being pigeonholed into 'only Latino stories.' Still, if he can land Bad Bunny for a guest spot — after already landing Gina Rodriguez, Yul Vázquez and John Ortiz — that's the kind of get that signals 'Will Trent' has officially graduated from solid procedural to must-watch television.
As Rodríguez teases, 'People are going to be shocked as we get deeper into this season.' With a face-smashing stunt, a Bad Bunny pursuit, and a personal feature in the works, he's making sure we're all paying attention.
