'Mayans M.C.' Season 4 Edward James Olmos & Michael Olmos on Their Father-Son Dynamic on Set

From Elgin James Season 4 of the FX drama series, Mayans M. brought war straight to the Pope's doorstep forcing them not only to face revenge from other seasons spilled out in the blood after an attempt to line themselves up under the king's rule exploded in their faces but also to deal with Children of Chaos who seized every opportunity to take them out. EZ Reyes JD Pardo and brother Angel Clayton Cardenas are broken under the weight of it all as the club tries to figure out their next steps. During this Collider interview Edward James Olmos who plays Felipe Reyes father of EZ and Angel and his real-life son Michael D. . About working together to revive the show's original storytelling finding the emotional and psychological truth of each moment the changes in the father-son dynamic and Michaels desire to direct another episode of the series in the future.

Collider Michael, what's it likes to direct your father? He's a longtime veteran of his profession and he's also a representational icon but he's also a family member. How do you handle that and balance it in the group?

Michael Olmos Thank you its a blessing to have the opportunity to do that. When we're in the video village we only talk about my dad. And then well shift gears when the scene is ready and get to work and that's a lot of fun. I love watching it in action. I get emotional when I'm in directing mode. Watching it in action is magical. I don't have much to do except make sure the camera is in the right place then watch it come to life and watch the other actors feed on it. It's a pleasure.

Do you direct and collaborate with him differently than you do with other actors? Do you handle things the same way with everyone or is everyone different?

Michael The process is the same for everyone but each actor works a little differently and has a different process. Even in the Maya, each actor has a very specific way of working so I was just trying to understand them to be useful and do my work with them. With [my father] it's always about the story and finding the emotional truth from moment to moment. When he's doing the scene I always realize it's about his movement and finding the truth in what he's doing so I love being there and watching him. I'll know how I want to shoot it just to have a backup but then I watch it lock it up it always comes up with really amazing things when it's working. Every actor does that but I'm particularly amazed at what he's doing on set.

Edward, how does it feel to be led by your son? Do you approach things differently when the director is also familiar or do you find yourself working with all the directors on the show in a similar fashion?

Edward James Olmos, Everyone is different. Everyone has their own digital fingerprint. Michaels's fingerprint is unusual. He's a very good director and that's because he's a great writer. When you are a very good writer you are a great director. When you can direct very well but not write you would have been a much better director if you could write. It's about telling stories. By directing it you are using your sense of understanding and compassion your understanding of life and documenting the behavior you have in front of you. To me, that's her beauty and Mikey does it really well. I am so proud of him. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot force it to drink. I have it at the door because I'm at the door but he had to do everything he could to stay there. There is no way to survive if you can't do the job because it is really very difficult. The output is not easy. It's supposed to look very easy how you hold the camera the lighting the sound or where you put the microphone but it's only easy after you've got a lot of experience. He has a lot of experience. He has decades of experience and it took him a long time to get to a television. He is an independent film director. Now he did his first TV show and I think he had a great time.

Michael what specifically challenged you about the work of Mayans M. More specifically to make Episode 404? What did you learn from this experience that was new to you even after you pulled it off?

Michael This was my first TV job but the cool thing is that I spent a lot of time with the show's co-creator Elgin [James] for three weeks sitting with him before I started prep. I really got to grips with the show and internalize what he's been trying to do this season. What I liked about Elgin was that he said Bring me new ideas. If they worked they would become part of the language of the program. If they didn't they wouldn't appear in court. She gave me security. The challenge was trying to find something without being stylistic in its own right that would enhance the narrative. Writing is about depth and truth emotional truth and psychological truth so how do you do something interesting within that space without being forced? That was the challenge. We've all been directors trying to do that this season. this is very difficult.

Edward after all the craziness of the first few episodes what would a scene look like where you're sitting at the kitchen table and eating a cake? Does it sound like a completely different change of pace?

Edward, I was shocked and it's so true when I started the show in season one Izzy and I was at the table eating nothing. Now in Season 4 Finding EZ no longer exists and Angel is closer to his father than EZ. They have done a great job. The complexity of life is unbelievable and when you can picture that its fiction and we embody it but when you can make it real you're documenting human behavior. This is what Michael is very good at. I appreciate it because you'll be doing work that will stand the test of time which is really all you want to do even a hundred years from now someone can look at it and say wow that's really good.

I love that this is a show where there is a lot of action and high stakes but you can still show emotional vulnerability.

Edward, It's a very embarrassing sight. It's perfect. It turned out to be true which is interesting because it's fiction. We do it in different shots and different angles but all of a sudden it's just so candid.

How difficult is this tension with EZ in your opinion for Felipe?

Edward A complete understanding of the show is karma and how the things we do have an impact. It's really a very sad and tragic story a very Shakespearean story. Whatever you don't want to happen happens. People keep killing each other they know each other which is very difficult. The reasoning behind this is almost simplistic but you realize how deep the wound is to trigger something like that. I tell people Don't watch this show unless they really understand the darkness and want to go there. If you liked Sons of Anarchy you'll love this. But if you've seen Sons of Anarchy don't watch this because it will take you and make your head spin.

Michael, would you like to direct another episode of the show in the future?

Michael I'd like them to bring me back. I was going to do five episodes. This offer is amazing. The cast and crew are like a big family there. It's great energy. Everyone is excited about the show and the team is great. It was one of my best experiences on the set so I would like to do more. I would like to continue working on television. Take me back Elgin. I'm ready to do the fifth season of Mayan. Maya m. Broadcast Tuesday nights on forex.