Marty Castillo or Lou Rodriguez?

[Detective_Crockett]

I loved Castillo, he was a dark man and he does have a soft side on occasion, I'm glad he stuck around for the time he did, but what did you all think of Lou? I mean, a lot of people seem to say he was the typical New York 70's detective, in the episode he dies..I was actually truly shocked he did die, I mean this is a lighthearted show (at the time of Season 1) you would expect him to recover right? but no I was SHOCKED! he had died, then obviously then comes along our memorable Castillo, I don't know..I did like Lou but Castillo is more memorable in a sense.

 

P.S. Did Castillo and Crockett seem to not get along? In The Home Invaders, it seems as if Crockett has really gained respect for the man. 

[Matt5]

both great and great actors - over the years Ive gained more respect for Lou !?!

[alleycat]

I liked Lou its to bad he did not stay longer and was surprised he died instantly in the episode.I do like Castillo.He's a hard man but gained respect from everyone even Crockett and I think needed him in a few instants also.

[viceystyle]

I really liked Rodriguez and wish the actor had stayed on the show. Too bad that he wanted out, especially so early. I was kind of shocked that he died, because it was only after three episodes. I don't feel that MV was a lighthearted show at all, it was perfect mix of light and dark, and got especially dark later on with the Burnett arc. It was what neo-noir is all about, it's supposed to be both sweet and bitter, most notably mixing beautiful setting and surrounding with crime, and of course, great music. The characters have an easy rapport and there's the good times and the sad and you get a lot of insight into the characters, their dimensions and personalities. I love that technique, and I think the addition of Castillo helped them with that a lot with his more intense character. Now the show would have still been great if Sierra had decided to stay on as Rodriguez, I just keep wondering what happened to make him hate working on the show so much that he would go so far as to tell the writers to kill off his character. 

[Detective_Crockett]

I did hear that Rodriguez's actor was fed up with the heat and climate in Miami, and that's why he wanted out of the show...but I mean, that can't be just it can it? there needs to be more than a reason than that?

 

And also an interesting fact....On my Season 1 DVD of Vice, when I turn on the subtitles on, on the Bruce Willis episode? Whenever Castillo is talking the name when he is speaking, actually says ''Lou:'' instead of ''Castillo:'' Or ''Martin:''

 

Was Lou supposed to stay on longer than thought? or could it be a simple mistake from the editors? 

[viceystyle]

I think Rodriguez fit the easygoing style of Miami more, because he was the type of boss who's a friend to you, just another cop on the force, while with Castillo, he made it a point to show that he was in charge, and had the final say in what the cops under him did. He fits the darker side of the show, not that he's a dark character as in bad guy, but that he's so quiet and intense and solemn, which counteracted the flashy and always emotionally-involved-in-the-work Crockett and Tubbs. A character like that worked as piece of the show, but Rodriguez would have worked as well, just in a different way. But it really is unfortunate that Sierra chose to leave, I didn't know it's because he found the weather unbearable, I did read that at least part of the reason had to do with him not liking to work with DJ and PMT. Something they did apparently irked him a lot and he found them difficult for him to work with. But I keep thinking how bad could it really have been that he wanted to quit and make it so clear, that he chose to do it in the fashion of killing the character, so that there would be no chance of Sierra ever reprising the role at all. That's not something I've ever heard of any actor doing, wanting out of a show he'd signed on for so early. I wonder if he ever regretted his decision. 

[James]

Castillo is a badass though. I doubt Lou would've known Taekwondo.

I actually prefer Castillo myself, although Lou was fun and playful, Castillo brought in some seriousness to the show. And he was a total badass.

I think that killing off the old Lt was great for the story also, it gave Crockett a reason to go after Calderone, so it wasn't only Tubbs' vendetta.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

Detective_Crockett, sounds like the subtitle editors made the error for the DVD. Interesting observation! 

Edited March 9, 2015 by COOPER&BURNETT

[Vincent Hanna]

Castillo was the perfect choice for the show to compliment Crockett and Tubbs. He's a badass. Lou is just a generic LT. that you see in every show

[Jerry B.]

Eddie Olmos brought the character into the 80s.

 

Though Sierra is a valuable actor, MV wouldn't have been the show we all know without EJO. The way he portrayed Lt. Castillo added an incredible strength to it. He was deeper, much more personal, charismatic, mysterious than his predecessor. The show simply "needed" him.

 

Just my view, guys ;-)

[Susanna Girl]

I don't think Rodriguez was on the show long enough to give a fair opinion.  I liked both of them, but I do feel Castillo's character was so powerful, EJO brought a presence to the show that probably wouldn't have been accomplished with anyone else.  

[viceystyle]

It's true Rodriguez wasn't there long enough to really give a fair assessment. But I do agree that having a character like Castillo fit very well with them theme of the show. He was always calm and never emotionally involved like Crockett and Tubbs who always were, but it doesn't mean that Castillo wasn't a good person who didn't care. He did, but he didn't wear it on his sleeve like Sonny and Rico. He was like a zen master.  I agree, Jerry, he brought the character into the 80s, because he was a necessary piece of the puzzle for the neo-noir theme of the time. When you have a characters like Sonny and Rico you need one like Castillo. It just worked really well but that doesn't mean that if Sierra had stayed on the show it wouldn't have still been a good show.

[Joey Hardin]

I liked and love both of them, Both of them totaly opposite characters like Crockett and Tubbs.If Sierra had chosen to stay maybe the producers could bring Castillo to the show but as Lou's police academy pal or something. And they should bring both of them to the show as partners like Crockett and Tubbs as. Or they should have started with both of them on pilot episode.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Knight&Crockett

[Vicefan7777]

I like both actors.  I remember Lou from the 70s show Barney Miller.  He had a lighthearted way with his character.  However I really enjoyed the way EJO turned Castillo into the tough as nails supervisor who cared for the cops he commanded.  

[Vincent Hanna]

I don't know how anyone could like Lou more than a badass with a moustache who worked in the Golden Triangle for 5 years and who can beat trained martial artists in back alley brawls like their nothing.

[Spyder]

Castillo by a long shot. I would argue that part of his strength was his iconoclasm as a character. He was the most un-Miami of any of the Vice squad. EJO's creative control over Castillo allowed him to make the lieutenant a darker character, which influenced the darkening tone of the series as a whole. It allowed for so many opportunities to explore his back story, and provided a nice presentation of Vietnam experiences that differed so much from Crockett's, even though both men fought in the same war.

 

Lou was a good, gruff, if not standard police procedural character, and I'm sure Michael Mann would have given him his own "Lou-centric" episodes -- even in the pilot ep, it's alluded that he may be on the take. But he'd have had none of the Golden Triangle/DEA/badass ninja/Thai-speaking/estranged wife stories we came to know with Marty Castillo.

 

Castillo was Zen whilst being internally conflicted all at once. To be honest, he really deserved his own spinoff after MV went off the air. I'd love to revisit his character now.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Spyder

[sdiegolo78]

On 3/8/2015 at 10:58 PM, Detective_Crockett said:

Was Lou supposed to stay on longer than thought? or could it be a simple mistake from the editors? 

Interesting...

[sdiegolo78]

On 3/8/2015 at 11:29 PM, viceystyle said:

I think Rodriguez fit the easygoing style of Miami more, because he was the type of boss who's a friend to you, just another cop on the force, while with Castillo, he made it a point to show that he was in charge, and had the final say in what the cops under him did. He fits the darker side of the show, not that he's a dark character as in bad guy, but that he's so quiet and intense and solemn, which counteracted the flashy and always emotionally-involved-in-the-work Crockett and Tubbs. A character like that worked as piece of the show, but Rodriguez would have worked as well, just in a different way. But it really is unfortunate that Sierra chose to leave, I didn't know it's because he found the weather unbearable, I did read that at least part of the reason had to do with him not liking to work with DJ and PMT. Something they did apparently irked him a lot and he found them difficult for him to work with. But I keep thinking how bad could it really have been that he wanted to quit and make it so clear, that he chose to do it in the fashion of killing the character, so that there would be no chance of Sierra ever reprising the role at all. That's not something I've ever heard of any actor doing, wanting out of a show he'd signed on for so early. I wonder if he ever regretted his decision. 

I couldn't have put it better myself. I explained why I liked this character on another dedicated post. As with G.Sierra not liking to work with DJ and PMT, where did you find that info? Perhaps they ran a prank on him or stole his cuban cigars ....

[sdiegolo78]

On 3/9/2015 at 7:32 PM, Joey Hardin said:

I liked and love both of them, Both of them totaly opposite characters like Crockett and Tubbs.If Sierra had chosen to stay maybe the producers could bring Castillo to the show but as Lou's police academy pal or something. And they should bring both of them to the show as partners like Crockett and Tubbs as. Or they should have started with both of them on pilot episode.

Had G.Sierra stayed longer, I'm sure EJO would have been a great villain, the most badass could have ever been in the show.