CP Interviews Carlos Ponce at the Johnnie Walker Black Label 100th Anniversary
by Jenna Goldfarb & Taryn Haight
11.20.2009
Carlos Ponce is the type of guy whose smile lights up a room. That is, without a doubt, one of the many reasons why he was chosen to host the “Johnnie Walker Black Label 100th Anniversary,” which took place last Wednesday at the Broad Street Ballroom.
Once we found the venue, we noticed that the room was decorated in sleek black and gold in a way that made us feel like we were at a classy New Year’s Eve soirée. At around 10:30 p.m., the crowded room full of top hats and tiaras went silent and Carlos Ponce took the stage. Although he wasn’t in his speedo, like he was when we last saw him in Couples Retreat, the crowd still went wild.
Lucky for us, we got to meet Carlos earlier in the evening. From the moment he greeted us with a kiss on the cheek, we knew that the interview and the party were going to be a success.
ClubPlanet: How did you come to be the host of this event?
Carlos Ponce: When I see a good thing coming, I always pounce on it. Last year was the 99th anniversary and I started joining forces with them. No really, I did, we had a big party in Miami. It's a good brand, it's a responsible brand, which, you know, to me is very important. You know, you sell alcohol to people and you've got to find a way to do it so that we can embrace it and have fun and enjoy it, especially in our culture and in the Latino way, but also to make sure that the messages are: we can do this, and we can do this in the right way, you know have fun, but as long as you have a nice balance - and these people do and I think it's nice, and it's classy and it's elegant.
ClubPlanet: Do you have a favorite Johnnie Walker drink?
Carlos Ponce: It's black. It's just black for me. I’m a blue man. I gotta throw that tag there (laughs), but you know it is black, a lot of people do love the blue but I'm sticking with the black.
ClubPlanet: So as far as your film career goes, I just saw Couples Retreat and I thought your role was hilarious. Tell me, what was it like working on that film?
Carlos Ponce: It was fun, it really was. It was a thrill. You know, these are great, great people. They're funny people, they're people with a solid career and they've been around forever so it's definitely like a university – the university of Bora Bora (laughs). We had a blast and I learned a lot from these guys.
ClubPlanet: So how long were you filming for?
Carlos Ponce: I was there for about a month and a half.
ClubPlanet: Is that where you got such a nice tan?
Carlos Ponce: Maybe...maybe I'm just blushing cause you guys are here.
ClubPlanet: As far as future plans go, what do you have in the works?
Carlos Ponce: I am going back to my language and I'll be doing a telenovela in Spanish for a little bit called “Perro Amor” and this guy is a dog. This guy is a dog. You're gonna hate him and you're going to learn to love him because he is pretty sexy but, um, he's kind of going to be one of those guys you love to hate, kind of like Dr. House. Like that guy is a jerk, but we love him. You know, this guy is a womanizer and he's kind of excessive in his lifestyle and overall and so that's my immediate project and then I have three animated flicks, two with Fox and one with an independent studio and I can say – I can mention two of the names – one is Marmaduke and the other one is Rio. Smaller roles, bigger roles and I love doing voice-overs, and funny accents.
ClubPlanet: Are those in Spanish also?
Carlos Ponce: No, all three are in English.
ClubPlanet: So I guess we will have to go review them then.
Carlos Ponce: Yes, I guess so.