9-1-1: Lone Star alum Ronen Rubinstein revealed which former costar from a past project he would love to bring over to S.W.A.T: Exiles.
During an exclusive interview with Us, Rubinstein, 31, reflected on his memorable roles in projects such as the 9-1-1 spinoff and Freeform’s Dead of Summer, saying, “He’s become truly like a brother to me in the last 10 years. Alberto [Frezza] played Deputy Sykes. Me and him have gotten so close since that show. We kind of instantly became brothers on that show.”
He continued: “But if I can make a wish, it would be to bring Alberto Frezza to S.W.A.T. Please put that out there into the world. It also would be so exciting and ridiculous to work with him again. They would have to separate us and never give us scenes together. We have way too much fun together. But yeah, I would say Alberto, no question.”
Dead of Summer, which aired for one season, focused on a haunted summer camp and it marked Rubinstein’s first lead TV role. Since then, he has played TK on 9-1-1: Lone Star before booking Jude on S.W.A.T. Exiles.
“Jude has been such an exhilarating character to play because he has so many layers and so many secrets. One of the greatest gifts an actor can receive is a secret. And I was fortunate enough to get multiple secrets with this guy,” he shared with Us. “I think when we first meet him in episode 1, he’s very closed off, kind of brash. He definitely has his guard up with everyone, especially authority a.k.a Hondo and he challenges him, which is very risky.”
Rubinstein loved the reveal of Jude’s past undercover work.
“That world is a whole other monster to tackle and we will luckily later in the season. We’ll find out exactly what he went through and why he is the way he is and he’s been through a lot in his career and his short career so far as a police officer,” he continued. “It’s interesting because in the first few episodes he feels like he can kind of speak to Sammy about it, which has been a beautiful dynamic to explore and then he also has this really sort of interesting and kind of a older brother, younger brother vibe with Ethan.”
He added: “Jude finds some comfort in him as well and feels like he’s able to confide in him a little bit. So it’s nice to have some people that he can lean on and speak to because I think he is holding a lot in. I’ve always referred to him as sort of a simmering pot and at any moment he could he could explode. We see little moments of that.”
Rubinstein wanted Jude to address the “trauma and grief,” saying, “It’s just too much for a person to hold on to. It’s been absolutely fascinating playing that. He’s very layered to say the least and it’s been such a dream to play him. I can’t thank the writers enough for Jude and the direction they want to go with him.”
Looking ahead, Rubinstein is excited to see where Jude’s story goes as he shines a light on the profession.
“I really kept him in mind and all the people in mind that I studied and try to find some emotional truth in this because it’s so foreign to me and it’s such a scary scary job, especially when you’re involved with the bad guys that Jude was involved with,” he teased. “It’s a terrifying world, so I hope I can make them proud.”
He concluded: “I’ve always had such an admiration for first responders. Stepping into the shoes of a firefighter and then a paramedic and now a police officer, I’m kind of checking off all the first responder boxes, which is really funny. Actually, that was not planned at all. I’ve always called them the real life superheroes because they are and when you have the worst day of your life, that’s who shows up. It’s just been an honor, to say the least, to continue to portray them. And there’s such a responsibility playing these people. I’m glad that S.W.A.T. is doing it correctly and authentically and showing the true colors of these people and giving them the flowers, and also challenging them when needed to be challenged. Our writers have handled it beautifully.”
S.W.A.T.: Exiles airs on Starz Fridays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on the Starz app.
