JAIME CAMIL Choose HAPPY

The Schmigadoon! and Jane the Virgin actor talks about his life, career and what he's learned

- Fortune Benatar

Jaime Camil recently splashed out on a new motorcycle. The actor and Broadway star, best known for his roles on television’s Schmigadoon! and Jane the Virgin and as the voice of Papá in Disney-Pixar’s 2017 hit Coco, debuted his new Triumph at the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, a benefit to raise funds and awareness for Movember. This charity has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world, including prostate cancer research and mental health initiatives specifically focused on first responders and military veterans in the United States. “Men’s mental health is a serious thing,” Jaime explains to Closer. “You know men, we don’t feel, we don’t cry, we don’t ask for help, we don’t complain. We man up and we toughen up.” One of Movember’s goals is to change that perception.

Jaime played Rogelio De La Vega on Jane the Virgin from 2014 to 2019.

So, did you always want to be an actor?

No, not always. My dad was a very successful businessman in Mexico, but my mom was always an artist and a singer. My mom is from Brazil, and she performed with Sérgio Mendes and other iconic Brazilian performers. I think I got the artistic blood through the umbilical cord, which is very difficult to deny. But, of course, my dad wanted me to pursue business. I was torn for a long time.

How did your father react when you decided to pursue acting?