Lou Diamond Phillips has had an impressive career that spans decades, which includes being inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The 61-year-old actor spoke to Fox News Digital about why not every actor is “cut out” to play roles in Western films.
“It’s interesting. I mean, growing up in Texas, but also, being a big fan of Westerns my whole life, you’re making a movie when you’re making a Western,” Phillips said. “I mean, it’s not contemporary. You’re not in streets. You’re in these clothes. You’re in this entirely other world.
“I will say not every actor is cut out to be in Westerns. Many of them feel too contemporary, they’re not able to project their personas into the bygone years. And then there’s the writing and all the other stuff that’s required.”
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Lou Diamond Phillips shared his history of starring in Western films. (Dominik Bindl)
The “Young Guns” cast from 1988. Top row: Lou Diamond Phillips, Casey Siemaszko and Dermot Mulroney Bottom row: Kiefer Sutherland, Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen. (20th Century Fox/Fotos International)
The Filipino-American actor has appeared in Western movies and television series, including “Longmire,” the 1988 film, “Young Guns” and it’s sequel two years later, “Young Guns II.”
He was also recently inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in the National Western Heritage Museum.
“That certainly made my dad proud,” Phillips shared with a smile.
Lou Diamond Phillips has been in Western films since the 1980s. (Unique Nicole/WireImage)
When it comes to his personal life, the actor doesn’t embody the “cowboy” persona.
“People think I walk around in cowboy boots and [a] plaid shirt. I don’t,” Phillips joked. “I can play that, that’s certainly in my wheelhouse as far as characters go, but it’s not my lifestyle.”
He is probably best known for his role in the 1987 film “La Bamba,” which helped jumpstart his acting career.
Lou Diamond Phillips performs in a scene from “La Bamba,” 1987. (Columbia Pictures)
“I was an unknown kid from Texas. I was happy to have a job,” Phillips explained when asked if he knew he was signing on to one of the most popular films of all time.
“I could not believe that I had been cast as the lead in this Hollywood film. That was beyond my conception of what could possibly happen. I don’t think anybody thought it would be the success that it was on an international scale.
Lou Diamond Phillips attended the “La Bamba” preview party in July 1987. (Ron Galella)
“To this day, I say, ‘I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that film.'”
Phillips was recently unmasked on “The Masked Singer.” During his reveal, he was asked to sing “La Bamba” which he was thrilled to do.
“It’s iconic to my career, and it brings people a lot of joy. You can’t hear that song or watch that film without smiling,” he added.
On Wednesday night, Phillips was unmasked as the “Mantis” on the FOX reality series.
He shared that the experience was “out of the box.”
“I tend to like the genre of employment most of all,” Phillips quipped. “I’ve done theater. I’ve done film and television, obviously. I was in a glorified garage band back in the early ’90s. I’ve done stand-up, I’ve done sketch comedy. I try to hit a lot of different branches of the same creative treat. ‘The Masked Singer’ is just such a hybrid. It’s like this concert television show mixed with live performance and like bizarre karaoke. It was amazing.”
Addressing his insect costume, Phillips said it was “great” because “it gave me my body, which is better than some of the characters who have, I don’t know, been watermelons or whatever.”
“At least I can move,” he continued. “At least I can use my arms, but the head is two feet bigger than my head and there are the wings and the tail. So, it became about figuring out how to maneuver with it. Plus, it was heavy.”
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He was “pretty good” at keeping his role on the show a secret to the world, but it was “impossible” to hide it from his family. He married his third wife, Yvonne, in 2007, and he has four daughters — Isabella, 25, Gracie, 25, Lili, 23, and Indigo, 15.
Lou Diamond said it was “impossible” keeping his “Masked Singer” appearance a secret from wife, Yvonne Boismier Phillips, and daughter Indigo. (Bryan Bedder)
“My daughter, Indigo, this is her favorite show,” he said. “It had come up a time or two before, but the schedules never worked. Indigo was always like, ‘Dad, don’t ruin my show.’
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Yvonne Phillips is Lou Diamond’s third wife, and daughter Indigo Phillips, 15, is his youngest child. (Dia Dipasupil)
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“So, the nice thing is, is that both my wife, Yvonne, and Indigo were in on the joke, and I was able to sort of text them and share the process, which was, it’s a bit jaw-dropping. I mean, the fittings and the rehearsals and the secrecy and the hoodies and the whole nine yards. It’s just crazy.”
