Henri Esteve is a Cuban-American actor who recently joined the cast of the Freeform series “grown-ish.”

He got his start in the entertainment industry by making connections with people within the field and remaining resilient until his opportunity came knocking. His process of cold calling agents and showing up at auditions finally paid off one day; eventually leading to theatre in New York City, which lead to securing a manager in Los Angeles, which lead to his first job on television — starring in the ABC hit drama series “Revenge.”

Henri currently portrays Javier on the Freeform series “grown-ish.” The series is a spin-off of the ABC hit “black-ish,” as it follows the Johnsons’ eldest daughter, Zoey, along her journey to college and beyond. The show tackles a lot of current issues and showcases a cast of young adults who are adjusting to this new phase of life in adulthood. Javier was introduced in season 3 as a grad student who Ana (portrayed by Francia Raisa) interns with at Cal U.

He shared the details of what had initially drew him in to pursue the role of Javi, the methods he took to prepare for the role, and gave some insight into the character’s struggles:

“First and foremost, I just wanted to be a part of the show. I think years from now, we will look back at ‘grown-ish’ as a sort of ‘Freaks and Geeks’ incubator for talent. And then bringing life to a Cuban character from my hometown was really exciting for me; Just being a part of moving the needle forward as far as representation goes. Preparation wise- I’m spiritual, but I don’t subscribe to a particular religion, so the biggest thing for me was to understand his church life and what his faith was giving him. I started going to Hillsong Church in DTLA on Sundays. The vibe kind of reminded me of Javi’s church on the show…. That, and a bunch of script work!
Javi is a son of political refugees who is trying to make a difference in politics in his new world. I think when we meet him, he is really starting to find the pieces of the puzzle to figure out who he is.”

Henri has been confirmed for season 4 of the show, but he couldn’t give away any details about what’s next for Javi and company — you’ll just have to stay tuned in to “grown-ish” to discover what transpires next! The new season is set to premiere on Freeform this upcoming summer 2021.

Prior to COVID, the cast enjoyed partaking in Slam Ball Tournaments by the trailers. That experience became a huge part of killing time in between filming. Unfortunately, at this time, the actors don’t really get to interact very much on set outside of their scenes due to the ongoing circumstances of the pandemic.

Henri talked about his childhood, what life was like growing up in Miami, and how he discovered his love for acting:

“There’s a sort of lawlessness that is in the DNA of the city, so you grow up quick down there. Maybe too quick, but I wouldn’t change growing up in Miami for anything. Childhood consisted of a lot of movies and a lot of basketball. Growing up, the basketball court near my house was basically my second home.
So, I had actually gotten kicked out of high school in Miami, and got sent to an all-boys school in the Northeast. I always knew I wanted to act, but I hadn’t actually given it a shot till I was up there. I fell in love. Even after that, I was still planning on going to college for communications and giving acting a shot after. Then, the summer after high school, I was watching Sean Penn in ‘Dead Man Walking’ and realized that I didn’t really want to do anything else, and I decided to go to theatre school instead.”

So what’s next for Henri? In regards to his future aspirations, he just seeks to work with great filmmakers and storytellers. The roles are secondary to him. He simply wants to be a part of great cinema. However, Henri states, “if I could follow in the footsteps of the Benicio Del Toro’s and the Gary Oldman’s of the world, I think I would be pretty fulfilled.”

He would also love to take on more Latin cinema projects and bring more representation to the community. Telenovelas are out of the question though! — “No shade to Telenovelas, just not my wheelhouse.” *laughs*

For Henri, the most challenging aspect of being an actor today is how fast-paced the industry has become. “I think finding a character can be a slower process and TV moves so fast, you don’t really get as much time to experiment anymore.” He finds the most rewarding part is the time between action and cut.

Through all of his experience, the most important thing he’s learned about himself is that he is better at life when he approaches with empathy first. He’s a strong advocate for many causes, which include mental health, Alzheimer’s, and social justice. And if he wasn’t an actor, he said the profession he’d most likely consider to pursue instead would probably be an anthropologist.

There’s a really long list of actors and actresses who have greatly inspired Henri along his journey. He also mentioned a film and television series that made him fall in love with the art of acting and consider pursuing a creative career path in the future:

“Gary Oldman, Al Pacino, Benicio, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Tom Hardy, John Leguizamo. I didn’t really watch TV series until I was already acting. But as far as movies go, ‘Fight Club’ was huge for me. ‘Sin Nombre’ was like my intro into indie film and is still one of my favorites of all time. John Leguizamo did a HBO special for his one man show entitled ‘Sexaholix’; that is the first time I remember having the “I think I want to do that” feeling. I must have been like 12. My mom came into the room and made me shut it off!”

He also cited some of the artists who he would love to collaborate with in the future:

Cary Fukunaga, David Fincher, The Borderline E.N.T. crew.

Henri geeks out over his dog, movies, books, watches, and motorcycles. He states that COVID has made any free time an isolating experience.

He shared a list of favorites:

Books -

“The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway

“The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand

“High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby

“A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway

Music genres -

Hip Hop, Blues, Folk. Favorite music artists change all the time!

Films & shows -

“Breaking Bad” is an all time favorite.

Favorite comedy is “In Bruges” or “Punch Drunk Love” Favorite drama “Fight Club”

Guilty pleasure movie is “Top Gun”

Henri shared with us that he gets nostalgic whenever he thinks about his grandmother, and he finds his inspiration in the expression of raw emotions. “I’m inspired by rawness, whatever it is. I think seeing someone be raw and honest and vulnerable.”

The top three items on Henri’s bucket list:

1) Fly a plane.

2) Take my mom to the Oscars (I don’t even care if I ever get nominated, I just want to take her.)

3) Ride my motorcycle across the US

Henri concluded our chat with advice he has for aspiring artists:

“More than anything, protect your ability to be open-hearted. I think the business of art can be really discouraging for artists and makes us want to close off to protect ourselves and I think that kills our art. So, protect your ability to be open-hearted at all costs.”

Follow Henri on his socials to keep up with his creative journey: https://instagram.com/henrijesteve

And be sure to check out “grown-ish” on Freeform & streaming on Hulu!

Meet the Author

Bri Rodriguez is a writer and photographer from Tallahassee, Florida. Always passionate about the arts - she’s been an avid reader and writer ever since she was a young girl - finding solace in books, exploring literary worlds, and the ability to express herself and tell stories through the written word. Her education in Commercial Photography Technology opened new doors for her artistry; she is currently in pursuit of her bachelors in English to further her studies in literature and creative writing and hone her craft. She aspires to forge her own path as a content creator and delve deeper into the entertainment industry. Bri contributes her writing to multiple publications and actively seeks out new opportunities, which led to her joining the Rival team.
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Henri Esteve talks “grown-ish,” growing up in Miami, and future aspirations

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