We chatted with Hightown star Atkins Estimond about his role as Osito!
Tomorrow we’ll officially be treated to the highly-anticipated finale of Hightown. While we’re sad the show will soon be off the air for a while, at least we don’t have to stress about renewal since it was already given the green light for Hightown Season 2!
Plus, we’ve got this awesome interview with show star Atkins Estimond, who plays one of the central antagonists (and one of the show’s most compelling characters) Osito.
We chatted with him about his attraction to the project, his behind-the-scenes relationship with Shane Harper (Junior), his thoughts about Season 2, Black Lives Matter and much more!
Show Snob: Diving right in, what first got you attracted to Hightown as a project?
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Atkins Estimond: When I initially got the script, just seeing the character, it was completely different from all of the other roles I had.
I was super excited about the opportunity to show my range and to do something a little different — actually not a little different — really different from what I had been doing.
That opportunity really kind of drew me to the project. After reading about the character and the role and the story, that definitely pulled me in deeper.
Show Snob: Yeah, before this you kind of did more comedic roles, how did you kind of get into the headspace of a character like Osito?
AE: I had really had to start with him before all of the gangster [life], like literally before — you know how I talk in the show about “that first kill,” I had to think about the person who he was before that.
Because I think like a lot of people in that situation, had different opportunities been presented to him, he could have been a completely different person. I started there and thought about what would bring a person to the place we are currently with Osito. How does that inform how he interacts with the people around him and the decisions that he makes and how he carries himself?
Show Snob: When I first started the show I was a little unsure about seeing another Black character playing a drug dealer, especially in light of the Black Lives Matter protests. What are your thoughts on that, did you feel any hesitation in taking the part?
AE: Yeah, looking at the role, especially being that he is of Haitian and Dominican descent and Haitians have not had a really good run with representation in the media. That’s something that is important to me and something I would like to do in the future is to be able to have a hand in helping to tell more diverse stories about Haiti and its people and its culture.
The idea of playing a drug dealer and a gangster and a killer — initially there was definitely some hesitation on my part, but after seeing who the character was and seeing that he wasn’t just a stereotype or just this scary figure, but a complete person and the opportunity that I had to flesh that out even more, that put to rest a lot of my concerns as far as taking on the role.
Show Snob: I mentioned in my piece that Osito is such a layered character and you bring a lot of nuance to your portrayal, you don’t really know what he’s going to do next which makes him really fun to watch on-screen.
AE: Absolutely, and that was also on the page, the fact that he has a code, and he’s not a killer just for the fun of killing. This is very much a business for him. He doesn’t take it personally, he doesn’t take any joy in it, it’s just his job.
Those things, and also the fact, as you see in later episodes, he has some hesitation in carrying out some of these deeds that he’s tasked with. So many times when you see these characters, they’re just bad and there is no other motivation besides them just being bad. But with Osito, you see that he is a real person and he has thoughts, concerns, and decisions that have to be made and he’s doing the best he can with it.
And that person exists in the community as well. For me, I wasn’t just like “let’s not have them,” I think bringing some real, genuine, grounded representation to that person was important. We don’t want to think about them in society but they’re there.
Show Snob: Frankie is a great character, too, but I found myself more compelled by Osito’s character. He’s really the one on the frontlines that’s doing everything. If he sticks around for Hightown Season 2 is there any direction you’d like to see his character go in?
AE: If he is going to continue on to Season 2, I would like to see — I think you already begin to see the rift growing between Frankie and Osito — I think that, for me, looking at the story, it feels logical that he would try to take out on his own and set up his own operation. Because he’s not just a lackey, like you talked about in your piece, he’s definitely strong enough of a character to be his own boss.
A lot of times with the characters that Osito is, we find them just as a supporting character that is just supposed to be Frankie’s righthand man. But I think Osito is smart and cunning enough to be the head of his own operation. I’d like to see that happen.
Show Snob: So far we haven’t seen a lot of moments where he wasn’t in control. Even when the cops arrested him he was a few steps ahead of them, so it’d be interesting to see what challenges he faces if he branches out on his own.
AE: I think we’ve already seen him having to deal with difficult situations and really — as you said — being ahead of it, from all angles, like dealing with the cops, but then also having to navigate things with Frankie, and kind of playing that relationship and making sure that, for the time being, he’s staying on Frankie’s good side. I think it would be interesting to see that play out a little bit further next season.
Show Snob: I was bummed Junior died because I was hoping to see Osito and him working together in another season and it seemed like you guys had a lot of fun together behind-the-scenes.
AE: Yeah, I didn’t find out about Junior’s death until right before we were about to start shooting those episodes. We shot in blocks, two episodes at a time, I didn’t get my script until right before we were about to start working on that block.
When we were finishing up Episodes 5 & 6 that’s when we got the scripts for Episodes 7 & 8. I think Shane knew from the beginning but he never said anything. It was tough, man, because I’m also a fan of the show and I love the character.
“He doesn’t have many people he really considers to be a friend and I feel like Junior became that.”
Like you said, me and Shane, I worked with him the most on the show and I just had a blast hanging out with him. We’ve actually become really close friends outside of the show.
So, knowing that in the future this is potentially the end of me working with him, it was kind of sad. It was sad in real life and sad in the show as well.
Show Snob: I was wondering, too, and I’m not sure if you can even answer this, but how did you read Junior’s death. Did you see it as Osito ended up killing him or Junior killing himself?
AE: I read it as him killing himself. I’ve seen a lot of fan theories out there about me giving him a hotshot or something like that.
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In that last moment before [Junior] leaves, I think Osito — at least in the way that I read it and the way I portrayed it — wanted to give him a chance and give him an out. I pushed him to that place and I knew he wasn’t built for it.
But I was trying to make something out of him that he wasn’t and now I see what the result is and I think there is some guilt there, you know, because his whole life gets turned upside down and he has to flee and leave and I’m trying to give him a start.
But I know, deep down inside, that this is really of my doing. In that last moment, I think a lot of people are seeing that guilt and reading it as guilt for his death because I caused it.
I felt that it was guilt for bringing him to that point because he’s really kind of a wreck right now after the Krista thing and there’s so much that I pushed him to that brought him to this place where he relapsed, and now his whole life is a mess.
In a way, Junior, through the season, he and Osito have this friendship and to me, I feel like Osito sees Junior as his only friend, he’s not friends with Frankie, at all, and he definitely isn’t friends with Kizzle. For him, he doesn’t have many people he really considers to be a friend and I feel like Junior became that.
Show Snob: Right, I think people read the guilt and weren’t sure which way it went, but that’s kind of an interesting thing about the scene is people can get multiple readings out of it. I loved that final moment so much, but I was like, “ugh, I’m sad I might not get to see them together anymore!”
AE: Absolutely. [Laughs] Yeah, I felt like a lot of people wanted to see an Osito/Junior team taking on the streets next season. That was not in the cards.
Show Snob: Maybe he’ll come back as a ghost or something.
AE: That’ll work too!
Show Snob: Are there any other characters that you’d like to work with more going forward? I don’t think Osito and Jackie have had many interactions.
AE: Yeah! I would definitely love to work with Jackie more, Monica [Raymund, who plays Jackie] is not just a fantastic actor but a fantastic person. I would love to have some more time with her on-screen. Really, I feel like everybody.
“It’s a great finale, and I think people will definitely be shocked by what they see.”
I mean primarily it was just me and Junior, even with Frankie — who is my other big relationship, with him being in prison most of our contact was via phone. There was only one scene where you see us face-to-face.
I’d love to get more time with all the other characters. Definitely Badge, James Badge Dale [who plays Ray] is amazing. I love the interrogation scene that I had with him and that first scene where he comes to the autobody shop and kind of stumbles upon me. I love working with him and the result is something cool.
Show Snob: I’d like to see more between Osito and Kathleen, too, just based on his description of her is amusing.
AE: Oh yeah, absolutely, that’s bae! Definitely need to get her in there more, too.
Show Snob: Switching gears a little, did you guys get to film any of Hightown in Cape Cod at all?
AE: Yes, though I actually didn’t get to. Production went to Cape Cod for about nine days, I just didn’t have any scenes in Cape Cod. So, unfortunately, I didn’t get to go, although everybody was telling me [about it] and I had some serious FOMO.
Show Snob: Awe, hopefully next season!
AE: Hopefully! The whole production went so when they weren’t working, they got to kind of be tourists out there. From what I heard, everyone had a really good time. Hopefully next season I may get a shot at that. But we primarily shot on stages in Brooklyn, and all the exterior things that weren’t in Cape Cod, a lot of that was filmed in Long Island.
Show Snob: If there was anything you could tease about the finale or about Hightown Season 2, what would it be?
AE: Oh man, just, whatever you think is probably going to happen, you’re completely off. It was very much a surprise to me while reading it. It’s a great finale, and I think people will definitely be shocked by what they see.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The season finale of Hightown airs Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Starz, and will also be available via the Starz app and channel add-on.