The elaborate plot to hunt for Diablo takes Vetter and Hicks from Los Angeles to Mexico, from the desert to the asphalt jungle of the ‘hood. Vetter also forms an unlikely alliance with former drug kingpin Lucero, as they both wish to attain the same goal of bringing down Diablo.
Though they’re on opposite sides of the law, both Lucero and Vetter find that they have much more in common than either of them thinks. "Memo grew up on the streets in poverty and through his own cunning, ambition and drive has become an enormously powerful figure," says acting veteran Geno Silva. "I think Sean and I both recognize our similarity, the nature and duality of what we do. I think he realizes that despite generalities about drug lords and drug dealers that first and foremost I am just a man, cut from the same cloth as him, and they are a lot alike. That creates a dynamic tension between the two."
Silva found A Man Apart to be a very powerful and truthful film, and was intrigued with the possibility to play the complex character of Memo Lucero. "Lucero is a powerful man," says Silva. "He’s a businessman who happens to be in a very ruthless and lethal business, not unlike any big corporation. And with the trappings of being in charge of a $50 billion dollar business, he commands a lot of respect."
Juan Fernandez, best known for his work opposite James Woods in Oliver Stone’s Salvador, plays Mateo Santos, Lucero’s brother-in-law, who attempts to fill the void left by Lucero’s arrest. Fernandez explains, "This film is a thriller, but a very different kind of a thriller, where the characters are real people that I feel the audience will identify with emotionally."
Heading the Los Angeles DEA unit where Vetter and Hicks are assigned is Ty Frost, played by Steve Eastin. "Frost isn’t a typical, bureaucratic kind of guy," comments Eastin, a veteran of films such as Field of Dreams and Con Air. "He was probably a good street cop when he was younger, so he can empathize and have affection for Sean and his wife, and Demetrius. However, Frost is concerned that Sean tends to lead with his chin sometimes, and when his family experiences the tragedy, it really complicates their relationship."
Director F. Gary Gray notes that each of the film’s main characters experience moments that delve into both the evil and the spiritual side: "From Demetrius’ character having the edge and also compassion, to Sean Vetter’s character being a hero, but also wrestling with his own demons. In a sense, he comes close to becoming the Devil and that in itself is a difficult and complex journey to go through."
The premise for A Man Apart originated six years ago from an idea by producers Joseph Nittolo of Nittolo Entertainment, and producing partners Tucker Tooley & Vincent Newman of Newman/Tooley Films, at a time long before the current and heated interest in films about the drug trade. Tooley notes that the frequent cover stories in The Los Angeles Times focusing on the drug cartels and ongoing corruption in Mexico gave the producers the backdrop they were seeking.
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