One morning, while working as an intern at a film office in Orlando, Vincent Gonzales was delivering a permit to a TV-movie producer and handed the producer his resume, telling him that he would like to work on his show. The producer told him to call his office. Gonzales did and they told him to come in to Universal Studios the next day at 9AM. When Gonzales arrived, the coordinator began asking him to make copies and coffee, then pick up someone’s dry cleaning. Confused, but persistent, he completed his tasks and then asked when his interview was. The coordinator told him that he had been doing the job for the last three hours. Thus was the beginning of Gonzales’ 25 year career in the film industry.

Today, he is a well-established and respected first assistant director with credits ranging from ‘The Sandlot’ to ‘The Walking Dead.’ He is known for his knack for working with children and animals, which are usually difficult aspects of film. When he first joined a film crew as a production assistant, Gonzalez was the only Latino on the team aside from the security guards and caterers.

“It was unusual to have a Latino in that field at the time and many people thought I was lost,” Gonzales said. Even now, Latino first assistant directors are rare in the mainstream industry. Why? Because “the film industry does not have Latino heroes,” Gonzales says. Whether in front or behind the camera, prominent Latinos are scarce within Hollywood.

Gonzales, a long-time NALIP member, has always perpetuated himself within the film industry, but he says now is the time to give back and support more Latinos trying to do the same, which is what #WeAreInclusion means to him.

“When I finished college and said I was going to make movies, all of my friends laughed at me and thought it was silly and such a dream,” he said. Nevertheless, Gonzales followed his dream and loves his job and every film he has worked on. He describes being a first assistant director as “almost a chess game,” because he has to have foresight and flexibility to work on the “biggest collaborative effort that there is,” which is making movies.