{"id":131345,"date":"2024-11-08T02:01:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T02:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/08\/9-1-1s-ryan-guzman-on-eddies-underwear-dance-finding-joy-more\/"},"modified":"2024-11-08T02:01:26","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T02:01:26","slug":"9-1-1s-ryan-guzman-on-eddies-underwear-dance-finding-joy-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/08\/9-1-1s-ryan-guzman-on-eddies-underwear-dance-finding-joy-more\/","title":{"rendered":"9-1-1’s Ryan Guzman on Eddie’s Underwear Dance, Finding Joy, More"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Ryan Guzman<\/span> Disney\/Christopher Willard<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ryan Guzman<\/strong> says his character, Eddie Diaz, is on a search for \u201cjoy\u201d in season 8 of 9-1-1<\/em><\/a> \u2014 and dancing in his underwear is just the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s stepping outside of his comfort zone, allowing himself to feel uncomfortable and awkward and put himself in positions that he\u2019d probably not want to be in previously and\u00a0 just taking on a new look at life, to be honest,\u201d Guzman, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em>. \u201cI mean, I think it\u2019s really a retransmission in the mind before anything physical or or environmental happens around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

9-1-1\u2019s Thursday, November 7, episode, titled \u201cConfessions\u201d saw Eddie, well, confessing his guilt over hurting son Christopher (Gavin McHugh<\/strong>) and ultimately causing him to move in? with his grandparents in Texas. But one or two discussions with a priest (Gavin Stenhouse<\/strong>) \u2014 and an assignment to recite a few Our Fathers \u2014 later, Eddie finds himself on a search for a life beyond taking care of others.<\/p>\n

Guzman told Us that viewers can expect to see Eddie leaning into a more \u201cchildlike behavior\u201d in the upcoming episodes of season 8, which will be filled with \u201cmore levity\u201d and \u201ca little bit more fun\u201d for the character than what they\u2019ve seen before. That doesn\u2019t, however, mean that everything will go smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily gonna be looking great or him looking perfect,\u201d Guzman explained. \u201cI think he\u2019s dispelling that idea of what was since season 1 or season 2. So I had a lot of fun with Eddie on the next couple of episodes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guzman stressed that so much of Eddie\u2019s journey has been centered around him taking care of others \u2014 personally and professionally \u2014 which has ultimately taken a toll on him over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s coming from being in the Army and having take care of his regimen, and literally being a medic, putting suturing people together to going to the 118 and taking care of other individuals or taking care of his ex-wife [Shannon], and then she passes away and now [he has his] son to take care of \u2014 It\u2019s always been about somebody else,\u201d he explained. \u201c It\u2019s always been about responsibilities, and I know that from a personal standpoint, too many responsibilities can weigh heavy on the soul, and then it kind of kills that childlike behavior, that mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Disney\/Mike Taing<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A \u201cbalance,\u201d Guzman said, is what Eddie is looking for moving forward. \u201cWhich opens the door to more space for him looking inside and just being, like, \u2018All right, let\u2019s just take this burden, this weight of the world, off my shoulders and allow myself to just live,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Where that story will take Eddie \u2014 and what \u201creally living\u201d actually means \u2014 remains to be seen, but the character kickstarted his journey by symbolically letting go of something some fans are certain to miss: his mustache.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Our showrunner], Tim [Minear],<\/strong> and I had a conversation about what the mustache was and how we were gonna work it into Eddie\u2019s character, and him really hiding from himself and really not wanting to see himself became the overall theme,\u201d Guzman told Us.<\/em> \u201cSo as much as he\u2019s been trying to do new things and trying to figure himself out this season, that mustache really solidified the fact that he\u2019s, like, \u2018No, I should be punished for what I\u2019ve gone through or what I\u2019ve done to my own son my ex-girlfriend [Marisol] and the doppelganger of my past wife.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Guzman noted that the guilt from hurting the people around him has been \u201cholding him down\u201d and \u201cconstricting him\u201d \u2014 and a \u201cmoment of acceptance\u201d came along with shaving his facial hair. \u201cHe has that moment where he looks at himself in the mirror and really just accepts himself,\u201d Guzman added, \u201cWhich is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/p>\n

Eddie didn\u2019t just stop at a fresh face. \u201cConfessions\u201d also sees Eddie channeling his inner Tom Cruise with an epic Risky Business<\/em>-style dance \u2014 complete with Bob Seger & The SIlver Bullet Band\u2019s \u201cOld Time Rock and Roll,\u201d the sock slide, and, yes, the tighty-whiteys. Guzman said he learned about the scene from Minear about \u201ca month and a half\u201d before shooting it, and the actor \u2014 who became known for his dance moves after 2014\u2019s Step Up All In \u2014 couldn\u2019t have been more ready to strip down and press play.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they told me my instant thought was, like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m gonna have so much fun with this. I haven\u2019t danced on camera in years upon years.\u2019 And then they kept on coming up to me like, \u2018Are you, are you sure you got this? Are you sure you want to do this?\u2019 But I embraced it,\u201d he said. \u201cI love the fact that this is an opportunity for Eddie to just really let loose in so many ways. Like, he\u2019s in his chonies just out there showing the world what he has and dancing around like Tom Cruise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guzman said that he and Minear discussed that while Risky Business was clearly an inspiration, they didn\u2019t want it to be \u201cshot for shot\u201d remake. Instead, they wanted Eddie\u2019s skills to reflect who he is as a character, not who Guzman is as a dancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to be too perfect! That was my concern,\u201d Guzman told Us<\/em> with a laugh. \u201cI was like, \u2018Eddie is not a professional dancer. Eddie is Eddie and he should just be showcasing how much fun he\u2019s having at that moment.\u2019 I think we did six or seven takes, and each time [our director] Chad Lowe would come up to me and like, \u2018This is awesome. I love this so much.\u2019 And that would get me amped up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best part for Guzman? There was really no way to mess it up. \u201cThere\u2019s no wrong answer, and you don\u2019t have to find the right answer,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I just kind of did my thing and had fun with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was, however, pressure in other areas, like making sure everything was \u2014ahem, well situated? \u2014 to keep Guzman comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel bad for [head costume designer] Alayna Bell-Price<\/strong>, oh man,\u201d Guzman said, laughing. \u201cI\u2019m sure there were so many notes of how much thigh I could show and what part of my underwear I could show. Because we did quite a few fittings. We did so many of the renditions of them, like, tying my shirt into my underwear, or one long, long shirt that looked like I was wearing Shaq\u2019s shirt. But luckily we found the perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

As much fun as Eddie is having in \u201cConfessions,\u201d his moment of joy is abruptly interrupted by a knock at the door, which ends up being a newly broken-hearted Buck (Oliver Stark<\/strong>) who has just been dumped by his boyfriend Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.<\/strong>) The two don\u2019t exchange a single word in the moment, but Guzman said Eddie will eventually hear the details of Buck\u2019s breakup and will be handling it differently than expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s another moment of growth for the character of Eddie, because previously Eddie would take on the task of trying to save Buck or help Buck,\u201d Guzman explained, noting that right now his character is focused on \u201cliving in the moment\u201d above anything else. \u201cThere could be some guilt found in there, some residual guilt from the past of Eddie being like, \u2018Ah, well I should still be there for my friend. Ah, I should still do this.\u2019 But I\u2019ve taken this character the opposite direction. I want him to lean in more towards giving to himself, and through that he\u2019s able to find a little bit more maturity and a little bit more of himself and ground himself in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Ryan Guzman Says It Would Be ‘Baby Steps’ to a Buck and Eddie Romance<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tOliver Stark and Ryan Guzman are very aware that 9-1-1 fans are hoping to see their characters, Buck and Eddie, get together \u2014 and they\u2019ve opened up about whether there\u2019s potential for a romance on multiple occasions. \u201cI\u2019m open to it. You know, there\u2019s obviously stuff there and there\u2019s a chemistry between us,\u201d Stark, who [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Guzman added that Eddie\u2019s newfound maturity will essentially be what Buck needs anyway. \u201cI think that that itself offers Buck what he\u2019s just asking for,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s not asking for answers, he\u2019s asking for an ear, he\u2019s asking for comfort, he\u2019s asking for space. So it\u2019s not so much Eddie coming to Buck\u2019s rescue or helping him out, it is just being there as a friend, being there as a brother, finding the right community.\u201d<\/p>\n

But will Buck \u2014 or anyone \u2014 be helping Eddie on his own journey to capture joy? The answer is a resounding \u201cno\u201d from Guzman, who said Eddie\u2019s arc will be all about discovering who he is on his own terms.<\/p>\n

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