Detective Bobby Reyes (Rick Gonzalez) has been through a lot since we first met him in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3. Recently, the task force even lost Jet. But while Bell and Stabler both had some on-screen closure, Reyes — who’d ended an affair with her not long before her departure — didn’t. So, to kick off our interview with Rick Gonzalez, we asked for his take on how his character deals with that major change in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5.
“Jet was a relationship that…helped him to deal with loss,” he told us. (As viewers may remember from early Season 4, the affair began in the aftermath of Detective Whelan’s death in the Season 3 finale.) Additionally, the actor told us, the relationship with Jet helped Reyes “deal with a lot of the trauma and turmoil that he’s felt inside for a very long time,” and “she was sort of a safety net for him.”
So, now what? “I think that, with her leaving, there’s really nothing there for him to latch on to.” At least…nothing other than the job. “Obviously, work is there…I definitely feel as though Reyes is now, you know, forcing himself to sort of dive in deeper in the work.” Aside from that, Gonzalez shared, “he’s working hard at home to just try to push things down. I think that’s something that Reyes has always done is push away his emotions, which isn’t really healthy, but also allows him to be a really good cop in a way. Which is fascinating to me because he just elevates himself so well on the team, regardless of what he’s feeling.”
MORE: Read our Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 3 review for our reaction to the Jet news.
Rick Gonzalez on authentic representation in Reyes’ undercover work
We see evidence of Reyes’ stronger focus on work pretty much immediately after Jet’s Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 departure, beginning with an undercover stint with Los Santos in Episode 4. We asked Rick Gonzalez about his approach to arcs like this one, where Reyes uses being a latino to get “in” with either suspects or — as we see in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 6 — witnesses. Noting he’s “very aware” of TV’s “latino stereotypes and characters,” Gonzalez told us, “I can only control what I bring to the table for characters.” So, to go back to the example of Reyes’ work with Los Santos, “going undercover for Los Santos, a Dominican gang, I’m half Dominican. I know Dominicans…I have access to information, and people, and…just ideas that I know can make it as authentic as possible.”
He continued: “So, for me, this is always about just being as real as possible, being truthful…And it all comes down to the energy, and the tone, and the inflection, and the speech.” He told us he feels “blessed” to be someone in this role who’s “able to understand certain things” about being Dominican. And, “if I weren’t, I hope that I would do the work to learn and then bridge the gap…I take these moments seriously.” Besides, “even when I play characters that are not close to me…I try to do the very best I can to…be as honest about it as possible because…the character’s undercover, and if he can’t convince [whoever he’s undercover with], then he’s dead.”
MORE: We enjoyed seeing Reyes undercover in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 4, but we just wish there was more.
On tensions between Reyes and Stabler in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 6
After joking about how someone recognized Reyes earlier this season, whereas Stabler still manages to go undercover without getting made — even after his face was all over the news that one time — we moved the conversation to Stabler’s old pal McKenna. More specifically, learning about the type of cop McKenna is, and the things he’s willing to do to manipulate a witness — with Elliot’s help — how does this knowledge affect the way Reyes views and/or works with Stabler? “I think as cops, you make connections with different types of people from all walks of life,” Gonzalez told us, “and you cannot control…the decisions that certain friends make.” So, “Reyes is smart enough…not to completely judge.”
On the other hand, “it definitely crosses Reyes’s mind, like, ‘that’s your friend?'” Pointing out that Bobby’s “a very perceptive human being — obviously,” the actor explained that Reyes is “sort of saying, ‘there’s definitely something wrong with this guy, and everything that he stands for, and how he goes about his work.'” After all, he’s “seen it all,” in terms of the full spectrum of “crooked cops, and good cops…and complicated cops.” So, with all of that knowledge, instinct kicks in. Which means that, “for Reyes…there’s something about McKenna that he doesn’t like at all.”
And a warning: “This won’t be the last time we see Reyes…confront McKenna.” On that front, Gonzalez “can’t tease much. But I can say that they connect again.”
Watch our Rick Gonzalez interview here
Don’t miss Rick Gonzalez as Detective Bobby Reyes in Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5. New episodes stream Thursdays on Peacock.
