Wilmer Valderrama has been working consistently in Hollywood over the past two decades. He’s portrayed some of the most memorable characters on TV, from the hilariously unique Fez in “That ‘70s Show”, to Nick Torres, a fixture of the long running procedural drama “NCIS”.
Over the course of his career, Valderrama has also been involved in multiple partnerships and organizations that put a spotlight on various issues, among them, the Latino community.
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Valderrama’s latest partnership is with PepsiCo’s “Juntos Crecemos”, an initiative that’s providing aid to Hispanic small businesses over Super Bowl weekend. Restaurants and small businesses have been greatly impacted by the pandemic, a shift that shook up their business model and continues to have an impact to this day. With the Super Bowl hosted this year in Phoenix, plenty of restaurants will receive a new influx of customers, a great yet intimidating experience; PepsiCo’s “Juntos Crecemos” will provide two restautants (Phoenix Coqui and Rosita’s Place) with financial and digital support that will help them get more customers and address the incoming flux of attention that is heading their way.
We spoke to Valderrama about his partnership with “Juntos Crecemos”, supporting Latino communities, and his career, which recently saw the return of Fez in “That ‘90s Show”.
Valderrama and PepsiCo will be helping small businesses over the course of SuperBowl weekend
I have a few questions about your partnership with Pepsi. I know that the restaurant industry has been impacted by the pandemic. How will this partnership provide support to small businesses?
Well, this partnership has been supporting the small business for a couple of years now. They’ve been doing a lot of incredible programs that have given small businesses tools not only to grow but to find new customers and a new wave of interest in what their offering. That’s been really beautiful in this Hispanic digital and delivery program, one that’s been proven to increase not just the visibility, but the capabilities for restaurants. I’m someone who’s had a lot of experience with the restaurant industry. I started as a bus boy when I was a teenager and spent all day getting dishes from one side of the room to the other and fixing the butter on the table, you know? (laughs).
And then eventually I was able to launch restaurants myself in Los Angeles. And I understand how difficult it is to open one and then to continue to keep the door open. Because you gotta keep people coming in and you gotta keep up the good work! So imagine you get thrown into a global pandemic and now you not only are told that you have to stay open, because people need food and they’re gonna want to alleviate that stress. You become essential, right? And all of a sudden this industry is deemed critical. These businesses have been through a lot. Especially those that are not a part of a big chain and have advertisements everywhere.
These small businesses are neighborhood restaurants. So how do you step up? Programs like “Juntos Crecemos” have been incredible because they’ve given new life to these businesses. I encourage small businesses to subscribe to this program, which you can apply to at PepsiCoJuntosCrecemos.com. I highly recommend it to everyone. And for me, it’s really fulfilling. Just today, I got to visit two restaurants. I went to Phoenix Coqui and Rosita’s Place, and we were able to give them a big surprise. I went in there and we gave them $10,000 to support them. The restaurants are located in Phoenix and the Super Bowl’s coming next week, right? So we’re excited for this opportunity, which represents the perfect storm of new customers, who’ll soon be discovering these new restaurants. PepsiCo and I have worked together multiple times before and I really respect how the company shows up for the Latino community since that’s where my heart lives.
As a Latino, do you feel a sense of responsibility to use your voice to help out the community and increase representation?
I think as a human being I feel responsible to be there for fellow humans. And as a Latino, I think that in this country we have to continue to program and reteach ourselves, and learn that we have to wave the same flag. No matter where you come from, whether you’re Puerto Rican or Cuban or Mexican or Salvadorian, in this country, we have to stand beside one another. We have to help eachother.
That’s something that I’m hoping that I can do with the stuff that I produce and create, and that’s the example I’m trying to lead with. I certainly hope that my daughter grows up with those values and with the knowledge that we have to lift eachother up. Because that means that we lifted our culture into a place of not only visibility but respect. I love the responsibility of it. I think a few of us should absolutely make these projects as an organic extension of our careers. It should be something that we do just as we entertain people. Very few of us have an opportunity to create awareness while having a platform. And for me, it’s not about me anymore. It’s about the people I can talk about and the people that I can put at the forefront of these conversations.
That’s where my passion has been in the last 10 years of activism and everything that I’ve done in getting involved with these organizations. That’s something that I’m very proud of doing.
Are there any partnerships or projects that are coming up that you’re excited about?
First and foremost, I have a great deal of gratitude for all my supporters and fans around the world. These people that have supported every project that I’ve been a part of. I’ve been on “NCIS” for the past seven years and have been very proud of the work we’ve done there. The show is still number one and that’s all thanks to the fans.
We also just released “That ‘90s Show” on Netflix, which also did really well, and we were very happy about that. Next year, I have a bunch of other really exciting projects. So I’m hoping to continue this partnership with PepsiCo and figure out how else we can amplify and help our culture.
I did wanna ask about “That 90s show”. Did you feel a difference in playing Fez in the 2000s, back when the series ended, and now in 2023 when it’s a totally different world?
I feel like if there was ever a character that was kind of frozen in time, it was probably Fez. It felt oddly like a “The Twilight Zone” episode, where you’re somehow sent back in time (laughs). Playing him is kind of like riding a bike, it came to me so quickly. And the crew did a great job of building the sets, you know the basement and the kitchen and the living room.
So I immediately was transported into my 18, 19, and 20-year-old self. It was so easy to go back to being the guy who was trying really hard to make this character the weirdest and funniest he could be. But I gotta tell you, the fact that this many years later I could portray him again and have him be received with the most overwhelming amount of love from fans and the supporters and anybody who discovered him, and that I was able to make people laugh again was probably one of the most fulfilling experiences my career so far.
What are your plans for the Super Bowl and who are you rooting for?
I think I’m gonna be home for the Super Bowl. It’s my daughter’s birthday. Well, her birthday is on the 15th, but I’ll do a little birthday party on Saturday. And who I’m rooting for? Man, I’m rooting for small businesses (laughs).
I’m not kidding about that. But this year, I don’t have a team in the fight, so I’m just gonna watch as a sports fan.
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