\t\t\t\t\tOlivas, 28, plays Argentine president Juan Per\u00f3n.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarc Brenner<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tThis suave model of Per\u00f3n is achieved, in part, thanks to Olivas\u2019 impressive physique: broad, tall and strong, he towers over Zegler on stage, donning a crisp, uncreased shirt and braces with quiet authority. Eight West End<\/a> shows a week will get you in shape \u2014\u00a0there\u2019s no doubt about that \u2014\u00a0but Lloyd takes it up a notch by having his entire production set across a stage-spanning staircase. \u201cIt is beautifully brutal,\u201d Olivas tells THR<\/em>. \u201cFabian Aloise is such a visionary choreographer and it\u2019s some of the most amazing dancing I\u2019ve ever seen\u2026 [But] these platforms are unforgiving; people get injured, strain things and throw muscles out. You have to live like an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOlivas is well-trained, having graduated from UCLA with a degree in theater. But the stage hadn\u2019t always been the plan. His parents hoped he\u2019d follow in the footsteps of his father, who has a PhD in mechanical materials engineering. \u201cTo have a very reliable source of income was kind of the understanding,\u201d Olivas explains, \u201cas is [the tradition] in a Mexican American household.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tAfter continuous sports injuries, Olivas had to find something else to keep him busy. \u201cI\u2019d grown up playing guitar and trumpet, so I had a bit of a musical background, but being on stage was still very new to me,\u201d he says about his first foray into theater. \u201cAnd I ended up falling in love with the show and falling in love with performing. That\u2019s where the bug got me, and it was a snowball effect after that.\u201d (Luckily, his parents are \u201cextremely\u201d supportive.)<\/p>\n \n\tBefore landing a major role in Evita<\/em>, the actor had just finished a stint in L.A.\u2019s Deaf West Theatre company, a non-profit arts organization that hires deaf and hard-of-hearing people to make up half of their casts. Olivas starred in the Green Day-inspired rock show American Idiot<\/em>, the entire production performed in both American sign language and spoken English.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tJames Olivas had an \u201call-American\u201d upbringing.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotographer: Alex Johnson. Styling: Crystalle Cox<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tThough his parents\u2019 love story began at a production of Evita<\/em>, Olivas had only ever seen the 1996 film with Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce. Then, while casting, this show got some star power of its own: 24-year-old Zegler, who played Maria in Steven Spielberg\u2019s West Side Story<\/em> and recently led The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes<\/em> and Disney\u2019s live-action Snow White<\/em>, came aboard.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt was our [Olivas and Rodriguez] first time in the U.K., and she was taking us on tours through the city,\u201d Olivas says about his relationship with his on-stage wife. \u201cShe has been so warm and and welcoming. Rachel really came into this with the idea that she wanted to be stellar. And she has been that every step of the way, all throughout rehearsals. She\u2019s always the hardest worker in the room and I cannot be prouder of her for getting the response [she has]. It\u2019s so rightfully deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe conversation turns to backlash Zegler has received in recent months following the release of Snow White<\/em> and in her pro-Palestine activism. Even as Evita <\/em>kicked off, the Latina actress garnered criticism for a portion of the show<\/a> where Lloyd has her leave the stage to perform outside on the Palladium balcony for Londoners on the streets below (hundreds now gather on Soho\u2019s Argyll Street each night to see her sing showstopper \u201cDon\u2019t Cry For Me, Argentina\u201d). The audience inside the theater is left with a beautifully orchestrated livestream \u2014 but a small number of people still complained about paying hundreds of pounds only to miss out on the number.<\/p>\n \n\tOlivas rails against Zegler\u2019s haters. \u201cI think Rachel became very notorious prior to the show. In very similar ways to Eva Per\u00f3n, she was loved and hated,\u201d he says. \u201cPrior to coming to London, my understanding of her was that she was being dogpiled on a little bit by the media\u2026 I did some actual research, like, \u2018What is this scandal? What are the big controversies?\u2019 and found that there\u2019s nothing of merit. It\u2019s people just choosing to be angry at her because she is a woman of color, and she is young, an easy target.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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