AP Breakthrough Entertainer: Danny Ramirez's entrance into Hollywood began on the soccer field

LOS ANGELES – When Danny Ramirez looks back at the starting point of his acting career, it feels as if the universe, in its own unique way, had chosen a soccer field to mark the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next.

“I always say that the universe is the best writer, the most efficient writer,” says Ramirez.

He was a freshman in college, sitting on the bench during practice with a sprained ankle, when a production assistant walked over and asked if he wanted to be an extra on Mira Nair’s 2012 film “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” starring Riz Ahmed. The cast and crew were filming at a nearby soccer field.

Ramirez, 33, who is of Mexican and Colombian descent, immediately saw himself in the British Pakistani actor playing on the field.

As a young Latino, Ramirez thought that Hollywood only had space for white leads in big budget feature films — until he saw Ahmed front and center.

“I knew the next thing I wanted to do in my life was craft-based, something that I could just put hours into and be able to see my improvement and be able to have a goal to get to,” he says.

Ramirez went to a bookstore the next day and bought as many acting books as he could. He took on work as an extra to get comfortable on set and transferred to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

“I just fell in love,” said Ramirez.

Today, the actor is best known as Marvel's new Falcon, in “Captain America: Brave New World” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and Lt. Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia in “Top Gun: Maverick.” This year alone, he's had a memorable turn in “The Last of Us,” recently wrapped filming on the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” and is at work on a “Scarface” reboot and the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic “Samo Lives,” earning him a spot among The Associated Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of 2025. And that was even before he served as co-host, last week, for the FIFA World Cup draw.

From ‘Reluctant Fundamentalist’ to enthusiastic actor

Seeing Ahmed on the soccer field was the cosmic confirmation he needed before going all in. Ramirez remembers admiring fellow Miami-raised actor and NYU alum Danny Pino while in high school, but felt he needed more proof that acting was attainable. “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” was the green light.

“It’s something that just doesn’t happen,” Ramirez says. “I needed to be able to see myself in someone as that lead, as someone that has the responsibility and the privilege to tell a story.”

Shortly after graduating from NYU, Ramirez booked roles on “Orange is the New Black” and “On My Block.” His first feature film was Sam Levinson’s “Assassination Nation.”

“It like set the tone for how I was going to approach the next batch of work,” says Ramirez. “I just want to be creatively fulfilled.”

When he looks back on his career and on what he’s accomplished this year, it feels like a dream. At one point during the press tour for the latest “Captain America,” he looked over at his tablemates: Harrison Ford and Anthony Mackie.

“OK, I'm in it. I'm in it now,” he remembers thinking.

Ramirez is currently set to produce, write, direct and star in his own film, “Baton.” The project — about a soccer player with dreams of playing professionally — was spawned out of Ramirez realizing that many of the roles he craved weren't written with him in mind.

“I looked at myself in the mirror, and I was like, well, I could easily complain about this and be mad that there is no opportunity. And before doing that, I was like, well, let me figure out if I could, in the same way that I learned acting and this craft, and approached it and attacked it like a madman,” said Ramirez.

Once again, he bought a ton of books on screenwriting, created “Baton” and recently launched a production company, Pinstripes.

The mentee becomes the mentor

Ramirez’s athletic background plays into his discipline for growing his craft and breaking down the barriers that Latino actors face in Hollywood.

“We’ve always had to work harder and be more thorough and go above and beyond that I think, its to me, been connected with, like, all right, ‘I’ve got to prove people wrong, that I’m going to go above and beyond, and that I am going to be better than what they expect, but also better than they are doing,’” he said.

This mindset is one that he wants to pass down to those who look up to him and see themselves in him, the same way he saw himself in Ahmed all those years ago.

“I’ve seen people who are given the chance, they’re like, ‘You know what, I’m not ready for it.’ And then I’ve been able to see so many people that are like, ‘Screw it, I’m going to take the reins, and we’ll figure it out,’” he said. “I think there’s just something to like that leap of faith, that we’re all human, there’s going to be mistakes anyway, then why not just have it be you.”

Ahmed told the AP in an email that he was moved when Ramirez approached him recently on a set.

“Danny is a huge talent. I can’t take any credit for his journey but it’s a reminder of how even a small opportunity can change someone’s life. I’m sure Danny will be creating those for many people for years to come,” Ahmed wrote.

A long list of mentors and collaborators helped Ramirez pave his way, including Mackie, Ford and Tom Cruise.

He says Cruise in particular gave him the advice to always have two skills on rotation that he's actively learning: “Whether it’s dance or whether it is a different craft or learning about a specific time period, there’s always something that you could do, and I think having the confidence that you’re going to learn is the other part that I find incredibly exciting.”

___

For more on AP’s 2025 class of Breakthrough Entertainers, visit https://apnews.com/hub/ap-breakthrough-entertainers.