Many of our favorite stars and celebrities who’ve seen major success originally rose from humble roots. Most recently, “NCIS” star Wilmer Valderamma spoke out about hardships he faced growing up. He additionally detailed the transitions he encountered between life in the United States and life in Venezuela.
During his interview with Forbes, Valderamma shared his experience throughout his twenty-year-long career so far, his inspiration, and what it means to be an immigrated actor.
One of the first questions the actor receives surrounds his life in Venezuela. They further ask about his time growing up in the United States throughout his teens. “What perspective do you think living overseas gave you?” the interviewer asks Valderamma.
“I look back at the twenty years I’ve been in the game,” he begins, “and if I ask myself what was the thread that kept me together…I think it was coming from a world where none of this stuff is possible.”
He explains that because of his humble upbringing he and his family endured, he gained a drive to do better.
He shared that, where he grew up in Venezuela, “no one in the neighborhood could dream louder than the four-block radius we lived in.”
He added that coming to the United States was both an honor and a privilege. He emphasized that his parents sacrificed a lot to better provide for him and his family.
However, despite a lack of excess growing up, Valderamma stated that overall, “My culture also gave me the tools that I wouldn’t have had if I had grown up here.”
Wilmer Valderamma Ate Dinner Irregularly
Many of us may hear of Valderamma’s financial situation growing up and pity him. Although, it hasn’t seemed to negatively affect the actor. The next question Valderamma receives surrounds the “tools” his Venezuelan culture provided him. It further asks him to detail his way of living when he first arrived in the U.S.
In response, he said, “When we first got here, we were always two months late in rent. We used to eat dinner every other night.”
Obviously, the situation was not ideal and Valderamma further stated, “It was great pressure for a family.”
However, he and the rest of the family did not despair, regardless of the nonideal situation. “I feel like Latin people, through all that stress, instead of complaining, we ‘turn the music up a little louder.'”
Overall, we assume the actor simply means he and his family did their best to ignore the bad things they encountered. Further, they placed greater emphasis on the things that best fulfilled them.
Valderamma concluded with, “And that’s why I feel at the worst moments, when I could have fallen apart, I had the sound of my culture to kick back in gear.”
