Roberto Sanchez guest starred in the recent episode Father + Bride + Betrayal on CBS’ MacGyver. Playing the father of the bride, Sanchez talks about the great lengths a parent goes to protect and witness the good moments in their child’s life.

ATM: One the episode, what did you notice about the influence a father could have on a bride?

RS: It is interesting because I do have two kids, but they are two boys. It is a big difference. For me as an actor, I still made the connection. I remembered moments when my sons graduated from high school. This was emotional for me because this was them moving onto another stage of their lives. They went to college, and now one of them is getting ready to graduate from college. As an actor, you try to find these things where you can make the connection.

I do not have any girls. So, I had to search with something in my life. I play this tough guy in the episode. I would never forget walking down the aisle with her. I got a little bit emotional. The feeling of someone moving onto another phase of their life that means so much to you. It was an interesting episode for me.

ATM: What was your character searching for as far as his identity in the episode?

 RS: My character lives outside of the country in South America. He is wanted by the FBI and everyone, but he wants to attend his daughter’s wedding, so he is willing to give everything up to walk her down the aisle. This also tied into the emotional thing I was talking about.  He is now himself moving into a different phase of his life. He has all this money, freedom, can do whatever he wants, but now is getting ready to lose this.

He does not mind doing it because his daughter is the most important thing in his life. The parallel right here is about moving on to the next phase. The next phase for my character was not going to be a pleasant one. It was emotional. These are things you can play that makes your character a little bit more interesting as an actor rather than the stereotypical bad guy. You have to find things that make you stand out from the other usual suspects.

ATM: What are the effects of a paternal figure or a parent who puts their love into materialistic things rather than love for their child?

RS: Hmm. I try not to judge situations like these. I try to understand why he did this. Why did he make these choices? In my character’s case, it was passed down by his father. As the character, it was my duty to continue this line of work. This was just as important for me to make sure my daughter was not involved in any of this. In a way, sending her to the U.S., away from me was my way of protecting her.

My way possible for the first time having someone in our family outside of this way of life. I try not to judge and try to let it make sense to me. This was my motivation, which was to save her. To let her have a regular life. I am not doing it to be in her life, but in this way, I am saving her.

ATM: What could you observe about his personality aside from his daughter?

RS: My objective was trying to get away from the stereotypical. He is someone who was very polite. He was quite friendly in a way. It is a little bit more intimidating when you are not trying to be intimidating. He is well mannered, well dressed, respectful of others, unless he decides to have his way with you. I always try to get away from these stereotypical characters and try to play them to be more refined and more intellectual. The thing that drives him is not what he does for a living. This can make him more interesting.

ATM: Describe how your acting skills would be if you did concentrate on the stereotypical views.

RS: Boring. Even when I go in for a meeting or audition – I will read something. The first thing that comes into my mind, I will do the opposite. The obvious things are probably what everyone else is going to choose when going into the room. I must stand out. It has worked out well for me, so I try to make the character a little different. I think some of these stereotypes are just boring and wrong. We are just more complex than that. It is my job to find these things in the character to set myself aside from the 25 other actors that walk into the room.