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HOMETOWN HOLLYWOOD: Eric Salazar

September 28th, 2011, 4:40 pm · 21 Comments · posted by

In April, Eric Salazar packed his bags and headed west in search of his dreams.

Two months later, Salazar landed a gig as a bartender on the weekends but he has kept his focus during the week on auditions in Los Angeles and Hollywood.

“They kind of want me to work more days there, but no, I didn’t move out here to bartend,” he said.

Recently, his tenacity paid off in the form of roles as an extra on popular television series and an upcoming film.

Two weeks ago, during the “Grey’s Anatomy” season premiere, viewers may have caught a glimpse of Salazar covered in blood and bruises.

“I was an accident victim,” he said. “It was a normal day and we’re just walking around, drinking coffee, and this huge sinkhole opens up.”

The 14-hour day was full of multiple takes, hair and make-up, and Salazar loved it, he said.

Salazar discovered his acting somewhere in between learning the alphabet and basic mathematics.

“I think I did my first play in pre-K. I was a purple crayon, and I still remember it,” he said. “After that, I pretty much got involved in plays all throughout high school.”

Though he loved being on stage, Salazar didn’t really take acting seriously until he won “Best Actor” for a UIL performance one year.

Initially, Salazar wanted to focus on comedy.

“They used to call me ‘Ace’ because I was always doing my Jim Carrey impressions, and I had a rubber face and I’d just go around making people laugh,” he said.

When he started doing film, though, he took more dramatic roles.

“I remember when I had to cry for the first time on film,” he said. “It was for a CineSol commercial. Oh man, that was a workout.”

Instead of drawing on a sad moment in his past, Salazar put himself in the shoes of his character — kneeling at the deathbed of his girlfriend — and the tears fell.

Salazar also scored a role as a cartel member in a dramatization for the National Geographic channel’s show “Lockdown.”

Catch Salazar as an extra in the season premiere of “Private Practice” on ABC Channel 5, at 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. He’s also been tapped to appear in the film “The Dark Knight Rises,” that is, if the assumption that “Magnus Rex” is the working title.

Eric Salazar

AGE: 29

HIGH SCHOOL: Edinburg High School; Class of 2000

HOMETOWN: Edinburg

UNIVERSITY: University of Texas-Pan American

FAVORITE RASPA: “There was a stand on the corner of Sugar Road and University.

They had a cinnamon milk flavor — and it was just the best flavor ever.”

FAVORITE VALLEY EATERY: “I always hit up Taqueria El Zarape because no one else has tacos like them, and Whataburger. Once you leave Texas, there is no Whataburger.”

FAVORITE THING TO DO IN THE VALLEY: “A lot of it was really house parties … you know, we’d go out to Fast Eddie’s, shoot some pool; we’d go bowling, but for the most part, we’d go to either my house or one of the friends’ houses.”

FAVORITE VALLEY SLANG: “They make fun of me for saying ‘y’all.’”

Watch the season premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” at Hulu.com.

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