CBS ‘Broke’ Star Jaime Camil Is Like A Boy With His Toys

Born Jaime Federico Said Camil Saldaña da Gama, the world knows him as Jaime Camil. 

The Mexican-born actor is best known to English-language fans for his role playing the title character’s father in Jane the Virgin. 

To Spanish-language viewers, however, Camil is a superstar, one of the world’s most influential Latin American talents. A veteran performer with over 27 years in front of the camera, he ranks among the top three most recognized faces in his home country. His social media platforms command over 12 million followers. 

Now, in Broke, he’s the first Latino to star in a CBS half-hour comedy since Desi Arnaz.

In his new role — his first as a lead for U.S. television audiences, Camil appears alongside Pauley Perrette of NCIS fame. The sitcom deals with a single mom (Perrette) who’s shocked when her snooty sister asks to move into the family home with her once-loaded-but-now-broke Latinx husband, Javier (Camil). 

In its debut earlier this month, Broke, which airs on CBS Thursdays from 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT,  drew an impressive audience of 7.05 million viewers.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

How are you and your family doing during this pandemic?

We’re good. It was a shock for all of us — this new normal life, this quarantine and the social distancing. The homeschooling is hard. Teachers should get paid 500 million percent more than what they get paid. They are heroes, along with the doctors and nurses. 

You’ve been raising money for a COVID-19 nonprofit?

Cameo, the platform where you send shout outs and you get paid — they have been after me for like three years, but whenever a fan asked me for a video, I’d just send it.

Now I have an excuse to join Cameo. Unfortunately I couldn’t convince Cameo to surrender their 20 percent commission — but at least 100 percent of my profits are going to Global Giving, a worldwide coronavirus relief fund. We have raised close to $18,000.

What did you want to be when you were a kid? 

A performer. I had a study lamp in my desk. I’d always grab it. That lamp was my microphone when I sang out loud. 

Did you perform as a child? 

Zero. Just in my house. You know the sounds of Men at Work, Billy Joel and Quiet Riot — super eighties music? I love to sing them. My mom is a performer, so I got it through the umbilical cord. When you get it through the umbilical cord, it’s really difficult to not listen to the call. 

Did you study acting or singing? 

My dad wanted me to be a businessman and study business administration. I wanted to pursue acting or be in entertainment. My dad wasn’t happy with that. I had to go to a university to study, to prove to him I was doing something worthy of him. 

Eventually I built up the courage to talk to him and say, ‘Listen, I don’t want to do this.’ And he was very nice. He gave me his support — never his money. That’s a huge misconception some Mexican people have. They think my dad paid for my career. He never pulled out a dime of his money. 

He was not happy I was pursuing the entertainment business. He wanted me to be a businessman like him. But he did make sure I never missed a meal and always had a roof above my head.

For an emerging actor, food and shelter are a tremendous gift.

If you will ask me about coming from privilege, that’s a privilege. The privilege is being able to concentrate on the creative and artistic side of the business and not worry about food on your table.

On your new CBS television series Broke, you play Javier, a charming, handsome Mexican born into a wealthy family. How much alike are you and the character?

We are alike because we like to see the positive side of life. I love Javier because he’s very goodhearted. I’m not at all reckless when it comes to spending. He’s reckless. 

I don’t have this in common with him, but I love that if he goes on a commercial airplane, he will be all, ‘Oh my God, this plane has more than 50 seats!’ He comes from old money. He’s genuinely impressed by how beautiful and simple life can be. 

You’re the first Latino lead actor on a CBS 30-minute comedy since I Love Lucy went off the air over 60 years ago. With Broke, you’re not just an actor but also an executive producer. How did your team convince CBS to accept a show with a bilingual character? 

We started having full-on Spanish conversations on Jane the Virgin because when you try to implement a language as a gimmick like, ‘Let’s throw the word ‘tacos’ or ‘fiesta’ in order to tap into that demographic,’ that demographic will laugh at you. They will see that it’s fake. 

But, immigrants from these countries, such as myself, we speak with our friends in Spanish and then we turn to our co-workers or American friends and we speak in English. If you’re an immigrant from Italy, for example, you’ll go back and forth from your languages. That’s totally normally and organic for immigrants living in this country. 

At the Upfronts [the yearly network showcase of new TV shows for advertisers] last year, every single CBS president said, ‘We’re going to embrace diversity.’ And they have kept their word.

CBS has the oldest average age of any U.S. broadcast network, so it may be among the most politically conservative. Is it a sign of progress your character appears on the small screen there?

This is not a political show. We’re not trying to educate anyone. We’re not trying to make a political point. We’re just living life as every other American in this country. 

We’re not PBS. We are not MSNBC. We’re a 30-minute multi-cam comedy sitcom on CBS. So, if you concentrate on delivering a great show, delivering joy to families during these difficult times, and if it’s a well written show, I think people will understand we’re not pushing a narrative. We are just doing a comedic show. 

And doing it well. Congratulations, Broke is the top-rated new comedy debut of the season. What’s the show’s secret for success?

For every movie or TV show, the backbone is writing. We have brilliant writers. It’s also the delivery and chemistry between the actors. We don’t have these Hollywood horror stories, where the leads hate each other, or they fight over who has the biggest dressing room. We truly love each other. 

What’s the worst day of your career?

There have been very difficult days, but every single thing happens for a reason and it creates the character that you are. The positive things and the negative things, the struggles, the challenges and the joys. 

I was really sad when they canceled The Mambo Kings [on Broadway] in New York. I saw myself as the Phantom of the Opera. I’m like, ‘This show is going to go on for 20 years. Forget Chicago, this is going to be America’s longest running musical.’ And then they pulled the plug.

Then, they called me from [top-rated Mexican TV company] Televisa, saying, ‘Listen, don’t even get excited. You are our fourth option for the Mexican version of La fea más bella [Ugly Betty]. 

You were fourth? 

Nobody wanted to do this series because it’s was scheduled at three o’clock in the afternoon, the worst times slot in Mexican television. 

Then, it became so successful. Every month, the programmers moved the hour more and more into primetime. At the end, 75 million people watched our finale. 

A very important door closed. I wasn’t going to be the lead of an original Broadway show. Imagine this frustration. And then I got a project that changed my life. 

La fea más bella is the most watched telenovela [TV drama] in Mexico’s history.

Up until a couple of months ago, we had the number one program in Mexican television history. Recently, by one or two decimals points, the World Cup game of Mexico vs Germany beat us. That became the number one show, but we held the position for 13 years.

What’s the best day of your career?

There are many. Probably when I was playing Bernardo in West Side Story. I’m athletic and do karate, but I struggled with the dancing because I’m not a dancer. In West Side Story, you have to be a dancer. So that was beautiful. Jane the Virgin was beautiful. La fea más bella. When the Broke pilot was picked up. 

What’s your business philosophy? 

You have a positive outlook, both on the good and the bad. When I was younger, the bad things had more weight, right? Because you don’t have the wisdom or the knowledge or the maturity to process. But I do like to see the positive in things. 

To give you a specific example, I don’t do Broke expecting or waiting for the ratings results. That’s the last thing in my mind. The first thing is ‘Let’s have fun. Let’s put our hearts and soul into every scene. Let’s do this with a smile. Let’s do this happy.’ 

Sigmund Freud used to say that men should feel the same ecstasy and happiness they felt with their toys with their job. Not many people have the privilege of working in a field they love. They have to work to survive. I really feel a lot of empathy for people that need to work under those circumstances. But if you can feel the same amount of joy you felt when you were a little kid with your toys in your current job, I just think that positive things will happen.