Ramirez opened up to ET about the loss of his grandmother and the impact it had on him ahead of the film's premiere.
Édgar Ramirez is opening up about losing his grandmother to COVID-19 days ahead of the Jungle Cruise premiere. Ramirez told ET's Matt Cohen that despite the excitement surrounding the Disney film, it's been a hard week for his family.
"I brought my entire family, my mom is here, my dad is here. I'm very happy that my mom is here, I mean it's been a very hard week for my family, a lot of deaths from COVID. My grandmother died this week," Ramirez shared.
The Yes Day star used the moment to urge fans to get vaccinated, telling ET that while a huge effort was made for the cast, crew, fans and media to attend the premiere in a "safe way," it's not quite over yet.
"I have to take every opportunity to invite people to get vaccinated, to trust science, to follow recommendations. This is not over, you know?," he stressed.
Ramirez continued, "A lot of people made a huge effort for us to be here in a safe way. But we're not there yet. This is a huge effort just for us to be here, for you to be here, for me to be here, and be safe. So, I just want everyone to think about others, and also to protect themselves, and to protect others. We're going to get through this, and it will be a bad and horrible memory and we're going to learn from this, but we're not at the end of this yet, so we need to be careful."
Despite the harsh realities of the coronavirus pandemic, Ramirez hopes this fantastical film provides viewers with a much-needed escape.
"I think it's the perfect movie for this time. We all want to escape a little bit. We all want to be able to dream of fantastic places, and adventure and fun and humor. So, I think that this a movie for that," he shared. "I mean I'm part of it, but as a member of the audience, as a very active member of the audience, I'm very excited to see it."
The 44-year-old actor added that the ride his character goes on in the film is just as exciting as the twists and turns Jungle Cruise takes itself.
"It was so much fun, because the character transits all the way from the most noble intentions to the bitter darkness. And that as an actor, is always something that you're grateful for. And all of it within the context of an amazing ride, with all of the twists and turns, easter eggs and surprises, and a lot of action and a lot of humor. I grew up watching big, adventure Disney movies and as a member of the audience, as an actor, I'm so grateful to always find the humanity in all of these characters.
Jungle Cruise hits theaters and Disney+ July 30.
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