Exclusive Interview: Alberto Rosende Talks Shadowhunters Season 3

Every fantasy hero needs a best friend to come along on their journey, but what happens when that best friend gets thrown into an extraordinary quest of their own? If that best friend is Simon Lewis, that character becomes a fan-favorite day-walking vampire, and if he’s played by Alberto Rosende, the character is portrayed with enthusiastic, inspired, and honest performances from the heart. We had the chance to chat with Alberto ahead of the Season 3 premiere about his insights on Simon’s relationships, working out his mind and body, and – of course – being a Florida kid.

(Echale un vistazo a nuestra traduccion al español de esta entrevista aqui.)

You know your character really well by this point, what do you think are Simon’s core defining characteristics?

I think one of the things that I’m kind of discovering this season is Simon’s empathy and compassion. His deep understanding and, really, his ability to connect with people, I think is something that’s really cool, and that is interesting about him.

I also think he’s very strong-willed. He’s had many opportunities to be brave, and you can define him as brave, but it’s because he’s taken those opportunities when he could have run away, but instead, he decided to keep moving forward. And I think that’s his main characteristic, that he is continuously moving forward. Like that famous Abraham Lincoln quote [“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward” ].

Simon (John Medland/Freeform)

Is there anything in particular that you channel when playing Simon?

It’s actually interesting that you ask that because in the first season I had a very cool character idea that Simon was an amalgamation of two of my best friends and myself – in terms of music, I saw my friend Dave; and in terms of personality, and compassion, and empathy, and all that great stuff, I saw my friend James; and in terms of other things, it was how I’d like to see myself. And that’s changed a little bit now, just because Simon’s grown so much; he’s been faced with so many trials and tribulations. Now it’s just going from that version of who I thought he was to letting it grow organically. But I don’t know that I have something specific I channel. It’s just always trying to be the best version of Simon that I can be. And where I might get angry, Simon is considerate and understanding; where I might want to stop and say, ‘No, this isn’t worth it,’ Simon will always be a man of his word. So, there are certain characteristics like that I try to bring in.

Shadowhunters addresses some tough stuff using its fantasy setting, and it parallels a lot of real-world issues like extremism and racism. What have been some of your favorite arcs or plots so far, and what would you like to see the characters face in the future?

We’ve handled things like the loss of a parent – Simon lost his father and then Clary loses her mother in Season 2 – and we have the whole ‘becoming comfortable with yourself and owning who you are’ through Alec’s journey and Malec’s relationship. That was something that I thought was awesome. Alec just completely destroys stereotypes, [but also] has the fears and insecurities, and all the other things that are true for someone who hadn’t yet been able to accept that part of himself, or has been afraid of what people are going to say. So I love the journey both by Harry and Matt and by the showrunners writing it; I think it’s been very well done. But I don’t want to give anything away!

One of the beautiful things about fantasy is we don’t have to attack things head-on and say, ‘This is exactly what we’re talking about’; there are other ways to do it. We can say, ‘Look at the contentious relationship between vampires and werewolves in the Downworld,’ yet the newer generation is really working to say we’re all the same; there’s no reason for us to have these differences. I think that’s something I’d love to see the show do more of, to just talk about our differences and how it actually makes us more alike than different. It makes us more human, more unique in that sense, and it’s what really brings us together…not tears us apart.

I also think that the show has done really well with character development. Like with Izzy – which is where I first understood this idea – she is, I think, one of the strongest characters on the show. Why? Because she has this gigantic opportunity to be weak and she chose to be strong. With her addiction she chose to keep moving forward, she chose to take it step-by-step and day by day. And that’s something that I think is super important.

Sizzy (Illustration by @BBMonarch)

Are we going to see more of Izzy and Simon this season?

Someone asked me the other day about Sizzy and I said, ‘Don’t worry; we’re taking care of it.’ I always say that when it’s time for both of them to come together, it’ll be when they’ve grown into people who are ready for each other. I think one of the things that people forget is that every relationship you’re in is just as valid because they’re teaching you how to be a better person in a relationship. Izzy and Simon having their own journeys romantically with whomever will teach them how to be better for each other. And I’m not saying that it’s soon; I’m just saying when the time comes. And when the time comes, Emeraude and I really want to make sure that it’s the right time for Simon and Izzy to get together.

I mean, in Season 2, the whole thing with Clary happened; now he has something with Maia…that’s where Simon is. And Izzy is focusing on recovering from her addiction, and her relationship with Raphael as well. So we want to make sure that they come together right…[but] you can tell the fans that I said not to worry.

You mentioned Maia; we are really loving Simon and Maia and we love your chemistry with Alisha…

I think it’s a Florida thing! I don’t know if you know this, but Alisha went to a rival high school of mine in Florida. When we were exchanging phone numbers – it was her first day on set, and I was like, ‘Yo, we’re all going to get dinner tonight, you should come join the cast’ – I saw [her area code] and went, ‘Whoa, where are you from? Where’d you go to high school?’ And we did that whole thing. So that’s the Florida thing.

Is there anything that you miss while you’re working so far from home?

The warmth. It’s so freaking cold here – I worked outside today, and it’s like snowing. There was snow on the ground and it’s 18 degrees. And I look at the temperature in Miami and it’s, ugh, 92 degrees, or whatever, so I miss that. But I’ve also come to really enjoy the cold. But there are times that I wake up and I’m like, ‘I need to go back to Miami; I need to be able to go to my Colombian place and go to the beach.’

So, what can you tease about Simon and Maia?

I think this is true of most anyone in the Shadow World, but they will be put to the test. They are in a relationship which is considered ‘not normal’ in the Shadow World – a vampire and a werewolf – so there’s a lot of things that come along with that. And I think that fans can look forward to seeing that journey of what it means for them to be together.

Also, they each have their own lives and their own experiences, so they also have that coming into their relationship. People forget that everyone brings things from their past and it’s something that you have to work through together. So like in any relationship, they have to. But I really love the way they kind of work together and I’m excited to see how the fans feel when they see how they do.

The relationship that Luke and Simon have is really layered and nuanced. What do you think makes their relationship so special, and is there anything coming up with those two that we can look forward to?

They do have a really cool close relationship. Luke was essentially Simon’s dad and Simon says that to Maia when they first meet, that he practically raised him and they’re really close. And it’s cool that there is someone to tie him to the Downworld that has known him for so long. They know that they can always trust each other. As far as what’s coming up for them, I think I can leave it at that – they know they can always trust each other when they need help.

What can you say about what’s coming up for Simon in Season 3? And what parts of your character have you enjoyed exploring?

I can say that once again, Simon does not escape the ringer that is the Shadow World. He’s going to have to go through it again. So this season I think fans are really going to go on a journey with him that might not be the most pleasant. I will also say that he’s learned a lot. In Season 1, he started off having no idea what was happening and ended up settling in and saying, ‘Okay, I can live in the Shadow World as a vampire.’ Then the whole Daylighter thing happened, and he kind of got kicked out of that, and he’s trying to still just be Simon. And this season, it continues in that direction where he has to kind of continuously fight for his place – both for himself and for the others in the Shadow World. But it’s a very exciting journey this year for sure; I had a lot of fun and I’m excited for the fans to go on that ride.

We love what you’ve been doing with Rosende Reads. How has that unique experience with your fans been for you?

It’s funny because I started the book club because I said that I needed to read more and I know our fans are avid readers. So if there’s anyone that can keep me accountable for my reading, it’d be them.

I also wanted to kind of create the understanding that you can create a community with people all over the world these days; you can just find something that you’re passionate about. And that’s what we’ve done, we have 20,000 followers and we have averaged between 120 and 200 people per [Instagram] Live. And they’ve been reading, and learning, and asking questions. It’s been amazing to read the comments from fans sharing the different perspectives from their lives with me. We read Slaughterhouse 5 – and it was one of my favorite books and I was very excited about reading it – and after reading it with these fans, I gained a whole new perspective on the book. And while it’s still one of my favorites, I don’t love it in the same way that I did before, and I can see it as a novel that teaches things. It’s just been a super amazing experience and the fans have made it such a great community; just reading, and asking questions, and trying to restore literature as something that is actually fun and not just something that happens in school or that is required.

It’s been an experience. It even makes me want to get up and out of bed on Saturday mornings because I want to go, and I can’t wait to talk about this book.

We really admire the commitment to fitness that the whole cast has. Other than getting in shape for awesome scenes, what do you enjoy most about working out, and how do you stay motivated?

It’s something that I took from [ The Mortal Instruments ] books, there’s a part where [Simon’s] mom talks about the pillars in his life. So, I’ve actually taken this idea about these pillars – the mind, body, and spirit connection. As much as I like exercising the mind, you also have to do the same with your body. You only get one and you should have a connection – a beautiful, positive connection – and I feel that. There’s this quote that I’m going to paraphrase, but it’s: ‘It’s a shame for a person to die without knowing the true strength of their body.’ The human body is capable of incredible things. So, not only have I had the amazing opportunity with Shadowhunters to work out with a trainer – and learn more about fitness, and nutrition, and stunt training, all of these things – it is also tying it in with something really spiritual, which is the connection with your body. When you’re on a run or when you’re at the gym, and it’s just you with no music, you connect to yourself and I think that’s super important. It can almost be a meditation. You’re not competing against anyone else, just yourself. You’re there to make yourself better than you were yesterday, and I think you should try to do that with each pillar of your life – your mind, your body, and your spirit.

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Shadowhunters is available for streaming via Freeform for U.S. residents and internationally on Netflix. Shadowhunters returns with Season 3 on March 20th, 2018.