West Side Story’s David Alvarez on working with Steven Spielberg, playing Bernardo, and the advice he got from Rita Moreno

The Canadian actor and Broadway star was thrilled to be a part of Spielberg’s West Side Story and calls the film a masterpiece.

West Side Story. It’s the iconic role of Maria’s older brother, who tries to stop her from pursuing her love with Tony, because he is not Puerto Rican. 

The story is a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but it takes the classic star-crossed lovers trope and changes the conflict to being about race instead of class. This was a radical thing back in 1957 when it first premiered on Broadway, but West Side Story’s themes are just as pertinent today. This new retelling keeps the story set in the 1950s, but that doesn’t really matter, because the times haven’t really changed.

Alvarez is a 27-year-old Broadway actor, and West Side Story is his first feature film. When he was younger, he starred as Billy Elliot, and then took a break from acting altogether. But when the casting call for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story came out, and Spielberg was specifically looking for Latin actors, the Cuban triple threat knew this was his chance to play Bernardo, a role he always envisioned himself playing. He spoke about how fateful it was that he would get this role, saying “I did see myself playing Bernardo. I saw the Broadway show in 2009 when I was doing Billy Elliot on Broadway, and when I saw that show I just knew that one day somehow, I would play Bernardo in West Side Story. And I just left it at that. And now 12 years later, here I am, being able to share this story with the world, with the greatest director of all time.”

He’s so proud to be a part of this new version that centers the Latin-American experience, going on to say “It’s just incredible to be a part of this process. I was so excited to do this because it’s giving us a voice. It’s giving the Puerto Rican community a voice, it’s giving the Latin community a voice, it’s opening the doors within the industry for us to create art and be able to share with the world.”

On the diversity of the film, Alvarez gives full credit to Steven Spielberg and his team, telling us “I think Steven Spielberg and the whole creative team, they were just so careful, and they really wanted to bring authenticity to this movie, and they were 100% set on finding Latin actors to play these characters, it was never even a question. They just knew they needed Latin actors. It’s just a beautiful thing to see that someone like Steven Spielberg is giving this kind of attention and care to this project and to the Latin community. It says a lot. He’s setting the example for the rest of the film industry, and it’s revolutionized what’s going to be happening from now on.”

With representation finally coming to the forefront in Hollywood, West Side Story is the perfect example of giving opportunities to new actors to play the parts they should be playing. This is the first time that a Latina actress is playing the role of Maria, the iconic lead, and a Puerto Rican character who was famously played by Natalie Wood in the 1961 movie. Alvarez told us about meeting Rachel Zegler, who already has Oscar buzz for her portrayal of Maria, saying “the first time I met Rachel, there was no doubt in my mind that she was going to be Maria. I told her that, I’m like ‘don’t stress out, you are Maria. You’re going to be Maria.’ She just is Maria. And that brotherly love that I have for her helped a lot because I also have a sister the same age who is named Maria. So, I understand, and I know what that’s like to be an older brother and to be protective and to really care about what happens to my little sister.” 

“It’s just incredible to be a part of this process. I was so excited to do this because it’s giving us a voice. It’s giving the Puerto Rican community a voice, it’s giving the Latin community a voice, it’s opening the doors within the industry for us to create art and be able to share with the world.”

The duo pair so well together, but what’s even more compelling is Alvarez’s on-screen chemistry with Ariana DeBose, who plays his girlfriend, in the role originated by EGOT winner Rita Moreno. On working with DeBose, Alvarez told us “It’s funny cause that chemistry, we felt it the first time we met each other. When I met Ariana I knew there was something special about her and there was something special about how we interacted with each other. There was just a lot of mutual respect, and just this real friendship between us.”

Alvarez was able to meet and work with Rita Moreno, who in this film takes on a new character named Valentina made just for this movie, and that was an incredible experience. Moreno won an Oscar for playing Anita in the 1961 film version, and it was screenwriter Tony Kushner and his husband who thought up the idea of replacing the character of Doc and making a new role so that the legendary actress could be in this new film. Alvarez spoke to us about meeting Moreno, saying “It was so incredible. I remember the first time we did the reading, we were all sitting around this huge table, reading the script and it gets to the part where she sings "Somewhere". And just from the reading people were crying from how she sang it because she’s a veteran, she’s a legend, she knows how to get these emotions out of people. And I learned so much from watching her do that, I learned so much from watching her work with everyone. The best advice she gave everyone was to lean into what makes you special, don’t try to be like anyone else. Search deeply within you and then bring that out for the world to see.”

That’s great advice, considering Alvarez and the mostly new cast of West Side Story are bound to be compared to previous iterations of the famous musical, in particular the 1961 movie that has long been hailed as one of the best movie musicals of all time. However, it’s been Steven Spielberg’s lifelong dream to make his own version of West Side Story, and there clearly is no better person to bring this story to a whole new generation.

Alvarez has a lot of love for the director, when asked about working with him he says, “It’s just jaw-dropping to be honest. And to work with such an incredible person who does everything he does out of love. It’s rare to find that and to be a part of this giant puzzle, a piece of this, it warms my heart so much. Because he gave us a voice, he gave us so much trust and the chance to really create something beautiful and bring it to the world. There are no words to describe Steven Spielberg, he’s just one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life. And you know, he’s really revolutionized a lot of different aspects within the film industry with this movie…. he’s prepared his whole life to do West Side Story.”

Because he gave us a voice, he gave us so much trust and the chance to really create something beautiful and bring it to the world. There are no words to describe Steven Spielberg, he’s just one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life.

There’s a reason this romance is so timeless – and unfortunately, it’s because the problems that were being experienced back in the 1950s haven’t changed in today’s world. Alvarez tells us what he hopes viewers will learn from the film, saying “I hope the audience takes away the power of love, and how important it is to really try and understand each other. Don’t fear what you don’t understand. Don’t hate on the differences or the cultural differences. You have to really come together cause we’re all in the same boat, we’re all on this planet together. The fear of something that you don’t understand can really cause tragedies around you. I would like people to take that from this story.”

West Side Story is now playing in theatres. Click here for tickets.