ATHLEISURE MAG #104 AUG ISSUE | BAD MONKEY Natalie Martinez

We're always looking at what will be our next movie or show to watch whether we're taking a break between one project or another or are taking significant time off for a proper binge! Bad Monkey premiered on Aug 14th and is streaming on Apple TV+ with its season finale dropping on Oct 9th. This series is an adaptation of the Carl Hiassen's New York Times bestselling novel of the same name.

We follow former Miami Police Department office Andrew Yang (Vince Vaughn) as he becomes a health inspector in the Keys. When he stumbles upon a case due to a human arm being fished out by a tourist, he believes that if he can solve the murder, he will be able to go back to MPD!

He works alongside an interesting cast of characters which includes the coroner, Dr Rosa Campesino which is played by Natalie Martinez (Under the Dome, Kingdom, Ordinary Joe). We sat down with her to find out about the show and why she wanted to be involvedin this comedy drama series!

ATHLEISURE MAG: What do you love about storytelling?

NATALIE MARTINEZ: I mean, everything! Storytelling goes on before our time I feel! It’s how traditions are passed through. It’s a great form of entertainment and it starts from the beginning. I have a 1 and a half month year old and he doesn’t even know how to speak, but he loves reading books and it really shows you that it is kind of in us and it’s just in our nature to love storytelling! Especially when you have an ensemble cast such as this with an amazing writing and creator with a book to adapt from, it just makes for a really good story!

AM: We love that!

What drew you to Bad Monkey and how did you prepare to play your character, Dr. Rosa?

NM: I got a call from Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Scrubs) actually who asked me to be part of Bad Monkey and telling me about the character. It’s crazy because the character and I have so much in common. I mean, she’s Cuban American, she’s born and raised in Miami as am I. Just having Bill Lawrence as the Creator, Executive Producer, and writer for the show as I am a huge fan of his. Seeing this ensemble cast with Vince Vaughn (Swingers, Anchorman franchise, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story), Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible franchise, True Detective, MaXXXine), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim, Anne Boleyn, The Acolyte) as well – everyone is so talented and they bring so much to it that it was something that sounded like a really fun project and I love a murder mystery! I had never really done comedy before so to be able to go head-to-head with Vince Vaughn on a comedy – come on, how was I going to pass that up?

AM: 100%

What can you tell us about the character that you play as well as the show?

NM: I play Dr. Rosa Campesino, she is the coroner. When you have her in the script, she’s not fulfilled in her job being a coroner. She loves what she does and there is so much value to it and people are able to find closure and it helps solve cases. It’s a very important job to do, but it also weighs on you after awhile! The things that are coming through those doors can be a little taxing! So I think that she is in a point in her life where she doesn’t know what she wants and is a kind of a little stuck and then Andrew Yancy who is played by Vince Vaughn comes along with this arm that they found in the ocean. The case intrigues her, he intrigues her because he is this quirky big kind of personality. They both get what I would say is obsessed with this case. They want to figure it out and she finds this kind of perspective in life and a new energy that kind of gives her the motivation to find out what she wants to do.

AM: What do you hope that viewers will walk away with in watching this series?

NM: All I can hope for is when people walk away from this series is that they just had a good time! I think that that is one of the most beautiful things about storytelling and one of the beautiful things of creating these shows is that sometimes we just need an escape. We need a story to be able to sink our teeth into it and to dive in. This story gives you a hell of a ride, it’s so much fun, and you have twist and turns. You have a cliffhanger in every episode and then you get that satisfaction of the case at the end and you meet a lot of funny characters along the way!

IG @iamnataliemartinez

PHOTOS COURTESY | Bad Monkey/Apple TV+