"The trauma changes us. The violence changes us. The jail changes us. But we don't know it's changing us" said tearfully by Emmy nominated "American Crime" star Richard Cabral recalling his past upbringing, details from his recent interview of The Wrap in the set of his cover shoot for The Wrap Magazine.
He also said in the interview that, "The lifestyle that I grew up in, it was passed on to me." "I didn't know there was another world and we don't know anything different."
Before Richard Cabral was known as Hector Tontz in ABC crime drama series "American Crime," Cabral relays his defining traumatic life story growing up in a previous interview and article by etonline.
Cabral said "My family had been involved in gangs since the 1970s." "In this society you have to belong to something I feel, and all we have in the neighborhood is a gang. My father figures were all gang members."
Cabral at 13 joined the gang, at 15 he got hooked up with crack and he was put to jail at 20.
At that point when he was locked up, Cabral made the biggest choice in his life to change for the best.
"I ended up getting five years, and it was an attempted murder." "I got caught up in it and I believe that if I didn't change my life at that moment, or at least strive for something, that I could have just ended up dead on the streets." Cabral said still in the article of etonline.
The first change he did was working for Homeboy Industries, which is an organization that helps former gang members to be trained and have a job.
He recalls that Warner Bros. Studios came to Homeboy and was in need of "authentic guys from the street" for a role in "Southland" and luckily he got a part for the drama series.
Cabral had just been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor for the 67th Emmy Awards for "American Crime," from the article of Variety Cabral described hints of his character for the new season that viewers will see him as a "good guy" for the next episodes.
The 67th Emmy Award winners will be announced on Sept. 20, 2015.
