In Season 3, we welcome someone new into the driver’s seat of The Lincoln Lawyer’s titular vehicles — Eddie Rojas (Allyn Moriyon), a super buff blast from Mickey Haller’s (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) past. 

When Mickey gets Eddie off the hook in a carjacking case, the family friend and former babysitter of Mickey’s daughter, Hayley (Krista Warner), takes the chauffeur gig as a means to pay off his legal debts. (Déjà vu, anyone?) But alongside Eddie’s adorable antics — the green juices, his enthusiasm for crocheting, a blind allegiance to a LeBron James life coaching app — is a wholesome, undeniable wisdom. And by the end of their time together, it might just be Mickey who owes Eddie.

To learn more about the character, Tudum called up the man behind the man behind the wheel. Keep reading for Moriyon’s thoughts on everything from fitness routines to on-screen driving to Eddie’s shocking fate. 

Lara Solanki/Netflix

Tell us a bit about how you became part of the show.

When I first saw the script I was like, “The Lincoln Lawyer?! Let’s go! Huge fan.” And for Eddie specifically, I was like, “Oh man. They want the beefiest dude there is.” But what was fun about the audition was that it was a really meaty scene for Eddie. When you’re a Latino male, you often get these strong, buff characters, and it’s easy to go into that stereotype. But I was like, “Wait a second. Let me throw myself into it.” Because I still fit the character. I still fit the description. This situation could happen to me. So, let’s see if I can bring myself to it and switch my own expectations. And it paid off in a really big way.

Do you relate to Eddie, then? Growing up, did you know anybody like him?

Oh yeah. He reminds me of my brother, myself, and a lot of guys I grew up with. You see Eddie more often than you don’t. When I think of the scenes we worked on, he seems like such a puppy dog — what everyone calls a “golden retriever boyfriend.” He has that vibe of friendly, loyal, quick to be your homie, and then also quick to defend his people and be there for them. 

You mentioned Eddie is a pretty swole dude. What were your workouts and diet like?

I love this question. Thank you for asking because, yes, I worked out like crazy. As soon as we got the audition I was like let’s go as hard as we can. Two times a day, five days a week.

Sometimes call times are 4 in the morning, so if I showed up to set and hadn’t worked out at home, I’d work out in my trailer or during lunch. I’d go get hair and makeup done, come back, do another workout. Get some push-ups in, go film in between. It was constantly trying to get as yoked as possible.

And I decided to go on a strict diet. I’ve always worked out, but I’ve never dieted because I work out so I can eat whatever I want. It was no fun. I did zero processed food, no sugars, intermittent fasting. I didn’t eat after 8 p.m. 

When we meet Eddie, he’s been arrested for carjacking, but we soon find out he was racially profiled. A man assumed he was a valet and threw over Lamborghini keys without bothering to verify, so Eddie took the car for a quick spin before parking it down the street. What would you have done in that situation? 

The same thing. I was like, “100% justified, brother.” So often you get these microaggressions or huge disrespectful moments in real life, and you’re like, “Ugh, I wish I would’ve thought of this or done that.” So it was exciting to be like, “Dude, you did it.” 

Did you really drive any of the cars?

Yeah! That was a fun day. The AD comes up to me like, “You have your license, right? Probably should’ve checked that before.” Then he threw me the actual keys, and I got to drive the big Lincoln. [laughs]

That first day, you learn how to hit your marks. There’s tape on the floor, and you rehearse everything. But when you’re in this boat of an SUV on a tiny street, and you have to do a 20-point turn, and Manuel’s in the back seat (no pressure), it’s a little more high stakes than a monologue in front of the camera. You don’t want to ding the car, and you want to make sure you do it all right. But once you rip the Band-Aid off, I was comfortable driving every time I could, and we did a lot of the driving ourselves.

What about the Lambo?

I did get in the Lamborghini, and I was like, “Ooh, this is nice. This is real nice. Your boy likes this, but as long as we don’t go anywhere.” I feel this way about people with Lamborghinis in LA to begin with. LA has a lot of potholes. I don’t want anybody to trust me with a Lamborghini to evade those things.  

Speaking of trust, Mickey believes a lot in second chances. What did he see in Eddie that made him want to take his case? Was it just because Hayley asked him?

I want to believe that it wasn’t just because of Mickey’s daughter. Eddie admires Mr. Haller as a role model, someone he aspires to grow up to be like, and you have that same kind of hope that Mickey might see Eddie as a younger version of himself. And he’s shocked by some of the wisdom that comes from Eddie. 

What do you think Eddie learned from Mickey while he was driving for him?

What it takes to do Mickey’s job. I think Eddie spent all day picking up tricks of the trade from Mr. Haller. It opened his eyes to, “Oh, this guy I’ve known for a while does some really important stuff and is in a lot of really difficult situations on a daily basis.” I think Eddie’s also learning what it means to be a Latino man and a professional who’s taking on people’s cases who deserve to be treated with respect. Mickey’s upset because of what happened to Eddie, but he’s able to harness that frustration and anger to seek justice for Latinos or any marginalized person in a situation like that. Eddie’s like, “That’s who I want to follow. That’s what I want to be like.” 

What do you think Mickey learned from Eddie?

That wisdom can come from anywhere, at any time. All you have to do is be still and listen. And being open to other people is important. It’s easy to write off Eddie, but turns out this big dork could come up with some truths and really break it down to hit you with some deep wisdom. Mickey learns he doesn’t have all the answers and sometimes solutions come from the oddest places.

Lara Solanki/Netflix

We saw that you recently became a father — congrats! Any parenting tips you think Mickey would give you?

To take a moment and step back a little bit. (I guess Mickey would remind me that he learned that from Eddie.) Understand that everything and every second is brand new to this person. It’s easy to get frustrated because you can’t fix everything, but I think Mickey would be like, “It’s in the figuring it out. It’s in the being there and trying that you succeed.” He’d make the case that as long as you’re trying, that’s the most important thing. You see that legal jargon I put in there?

Nice. What did you think when you were reading the script and you got to Eddie’s death? Tell us what that was like for you.

I was heartbroken. I hope everybody falls in love with Eddie the same way I did. He’s written in such a lovable and easy-to-care-for way. As a fan and an actor, I was like, “No!” But I understand how important it is, and I think it’s going to be powerful. So it’s like, “How dare you!” But also, “Thank you.”

What effect do you think Eddie’s death had on Mickey?

I think Eddie’s death is a huge, huge scar on Mickey. We were able to accomplish this wonderful connection between them, and for Mickey to feel so blatantly responsible after feeling responsible for another death? All of that is starting to pile up. He has so much going on, but at some point it’s going to hit him hard because you’ve got to grieve it. I think it’s going to stay with him for quite some time. And it’s going to stay with the audience for quite some time, I hope, as they reflect on it.

Do you think there was justice for Eddie in the way everything wrapped up?

Yes and no. I do because I understand structurally how it does pay off, but I don’t think you’re ever going to feel fully satisfied. You see endless possibilities for Eddie, and it’s the same with Glory Days — for anyone who Mickey feels responsible for having lost. A big question is if Mickey hadn’t made certain choices, if people would still be alive. I don’t know if he could get over that. I’m not over it. 

To end things on a lighter note, are there any fun behind-the-scenes moments from set you can share?

It’s interesting that this show has so many moments of comedy in such a heavy shell. It is a thriller drama that keeps your heart racing, but when we’re holding, we’re just cracking jokes and laughing. We’re having a good time and talking about laundry machines and things that are so normal.

For me — being obsessive about staying in shape — I found out there was a gym on the lot where a bunch of crew members worked out during lunch. I was like, “Yes! We’re a team. We’re doing this together.” Everyone was so kind and generous and friendly. We’d be making jokes to each other like, “Oooh, that shirt’s tight!” — in a good way. It was fun to keep lifting each other up in that way. The Eddie in me found that so encouraging.

Stream all episodes of The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 now.