Watch San Juan actor this Thursday on CBS show 'The Mentalist'

David Barrera has had roles in CSI: Miami, The West Wing, Veronica Mars, Nip/Tuck, ER, NYPB Blue and 24, just to name a few. If you haven’t caught the Valley’s most prolific television actor in one of his many appearances on primetime, be sure to flip on CBS at 9 p.m. this Thursday: Barrera has a guest role on the The Mentalist, a supernatural crime series starring Simon Baker (The Devil Wears Prada). The San Juan actor spoke with Festiva earlier this week about his upcoming appearance.

THE MENTALIST
San Juan actor David Barrera will appear on the hit TV show
WHEN: 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11
WHERE: CBS, channel 4
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT BARRERA

Tell us about your character on The Mentalist. Why do you think you were picked for the role?

My role is Frank Rodriguez, the owner of a janitorial service. The individual that was murdered used to work for my company. I think that they picked me because they need someone who could come off as nice and intelligent and also someone that you might suspect as a criminal.

What’s Simon Baker like in person?

Simon Baker is a great guy. I had worked with him on a series called Smit" with Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen a few years back. He was a great guy then and was fantastic to work with this time around as well. He’s a very smart and instinctive actor who is truthful in his acting 100 percent of the time. Off the set, he likes to have fun and was a joy to work with. Also, my buddy Owain Yeoman from Generation Kill is a regular on the show. He plays Rigsby, so it was wonderful to work with him again as well. He is a riot and had me laughing every break we got.

What’s it like on the set of The Mentalist? Any different from the many other TV shows you’ve worked on?
It’s always nice when you work on show that is a hit like The Mentalist. On these types of shows people are relaxed and having fun. No one is stressed that their job might come to an end. That kind of looseness is wonderful and creates an atmosphere of freedom, and subsequently, outstanding fresh work. Really wonderful time that I had. I was sad when it ended.

Tell us about some other projects you’ve got in the works.

Right now is the beginning of pilot season. This is when all the new shows are casting people to be regulars. I am hoping to get one of these pilots and become a regular on a show. Pilot season is always very exciting, because one audition could change your life. I’m also reading scripts for feature films that could start shooting in the near future. These I am not going to talk about yet because nothing is set in stone.

Brandon R. Garcia is editor of Festiva. You can reach him at (956) 683-4461 or at bgarcia@themonitor.com.