You remember Donnie Brasco? It's the most notorious undercover movie ever; it's so street and so real. If you ever imagined yourself doing cop work, you imagined yourself getting pushed to that limit - seeing the furthest you can push yourself while still upholding the law.

Manny Montana

If I ever get the chance to do a football movie, that would be a dream come true.

Manny Montana

would-be dream football

You can't always be the jokester and the doormat.

Manny Montana

doormat

I'm quiet and introverted, and I like to just be by myself a lot. I like to read, and just get away and surf.

Manny Montana

surf get-away quiet

I get too involved with my job. If I was to do anything besides acting, I would be a fireman or a beat cop. I'd do a regular job.

Manny Montana

acting would-be jobs

The last thing a real cop wants to do is write a ticket. That's the truth.

Manny Montana

real want writing

I've only played gangsters and cops, and I always have to be serious.

Manny Montana

cop gangsters serious

A lot of people that are always trying to be funny and "on" and performing are just hiding. It's just a cover for what they really are and how they really feel.

Manny Montana

hiding always-trying people

Honestly, with me, as long as I have a park to play basketball in, I'm pretty cool.

Manny Montana

cool me basketball long

I grew up a really shy kid, but I always surrounded myself with a lot funny people. It depends on the day - if I feel like being quiet, I will be. I'm not a complete goofball, though.

Manny Montana

day myself funny people

I grew up in the hood, and I was raised to hate cops. But then, I started to realize that they're people, and they have lives, too.

Manny Montana

realize hood hate people

My friends told me that it's the hardest thing to separate the personal life from their work.

Manny Montana

me friends work life

People usually spend the first two months playing themselves up, not really being themselves. You waste those two months - and then they tell you, 'You're not who I was dating the first month!'

Manny Montana

being you dating people

I'm from Long Beach - not the best area in the world - and I had a lot of ghetto friends growing up.

Manny Montana

best friends long world

I come from an area where it's mostly, like, football and basketball, those are the sports. So my brother started surfing... I used to make fun of him for it, and then he challenged me to do it, and I'm a huge competitor, and I did it ,and I got hooked.

Manny Montana

me brother football sports

When you're young, it's all about the society of school and being cool, but they don't understand that somebody can be different and live a different lifestyle and still be a regular person. I was the same way when I was a kid.

Manny Montana

cool you society school

If you're driving, and a cop is behind you, you automatically think they're going to pull you over, but cops have so much more going on than to think about pulling you over. The last thing a real cop wants to do is write a ticket. That's the truth.

Manny Montana

think you driving truth

I'm quiet and introverted, and I like to just be by myself a lot. I like to read and just get away and surf. I have a lot of alone time.

Manny Montana

alone myself time quiet

I've done a lot of TV, but not film.

Manny Montana

lot tv film done

I'm first generation in the country - my family's Mexican.

Manny Montana

generation mexican family country

As an actor, you're always worried about getting stuck on a show that's not good because working actors need the paycheck. So being cast on a regular procedural, where everything gets wrapped up by the end of the episode, was always a fear of mine because that doesn't really test you as an actor.

Manny Montana

end good you fear