Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo star as Lily and Bob in Bob Trevino Likes It. The film is currently playing in theaters. I recently spoke with the actors about their outlook on social media and which character moment helped them unlock something new in their performances.
Often playing the role of caretaker to people like her father, who should be caring for her, Lily Trevino longs for familial connection. When her father, Robert, finally checks out of her life, Lily looks for him on the internet. She tries to “friend” a man she believes is her father on Facebook. But instead of finding Robert Trevino, she finds Bob Trevino instead. Bob Trevino works long, hours at a construction company to support his wife Jeanie’s elaborate scrapbooking habit. The couple has endured a lot in the past decade, and Bob has prioritized his wife’s healing to the point of ignoring his feelings and sense of loneliness. When Bob gets an unexpected Facebook message from a stranger named Lily Trevino, he discerns she needs a friend as much as he does. Lily and Bob’s blossoming friendship becomes a vital source of connection and healing for both, holding the power to change each of their lives forever.
“That [puppy] scene, in particular, in the whole movie, in the whole script always really hit something in me, and I think it just had something to do [with] my own personal issues of like, oh everything I touch is gonna be bad, I do everything wrong. I think that that is something that we ignore, and then, it can just pop up, like it bubbles up in so many ways in our life, so I think that that scene changed the way I thought of Lily and where the points of real understanding happen,” Ferreira shared. “Crafting the story in that way, I think that really was a good anchor for me.”
Leguizamo agreed, adding, “Yeah, [it’s] the catalyst for so much change. I mean, the beautiful thing that Tracie Laymon, the director and writer, wrote, the scene where this guy, Bob Trevino, understands intuitively that Lily needs this healing moment and brings her to the pet shop, you meet this cute little puppy, and this one gesture of this guy can heal this young woman and change her life — it’s such a beautiful, generous moment.”
Watch my interview below:
