Actor JD Pardo considered quit acting after Mayans MC audition

JD Pardo’s wheels are starting to roll but the star of hot new US bikie crime drama Mayans MC, set in the same world as Sons of Anarchy, is a very easy rider. He recalls the moment he considered quitting acting after one final audition

HIS wheels are starting to roll but the star of hot new US bikie crime drama Mayans MC is a very easy rider.

The day JD Pardo auditioned for the lead role in the Foxtel show, he ­recalls sitting in his car in tears, thinking it was time to give up acting.

“I had gotten to a point where I didn’t know where the next job was going to come from,” the 38-year-old, whose full name is Jorge Daniel Pardo, told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

JD Pardo broke down after Mayans MC audition and thought about quitting after not getting any roles. Picture: Richard Dobson

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“You can be the best actor in the room and study all you want but sometimes the opportunities don’t come.

“I threw all I had into that audition. I went to my car afterwards and cried because there was nothing left to give, I gave it all and the next day I got the offer.”

He plays EZ Reyes in the much-anticipated show. Picture: Prashant Gupta/FX

Pardo was a former model before he delved into acting. Picture: Prashant Gupta/FX

Mayans MC is set in the same fictional world as Sons of Anarchy and takes place two-and-a-half years after the events of that long-running drama.

It unfolds in the town of Santo Pedro and ­revolves around the lives of the Sons’ former rivals The Mayans Motorcycle Club.

Since its premiere this month the former model has — like Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam — been elevated to sex symbol status.

Mayans MC is set in the same world as Sons of Anarchy. Picture: Supplied

“I am thankful that the show is getting the response that it is getting,” he said.

“I think that what grounds me in all of this is knowing throughout this struggle of trying to make a career that it can just go at any minute.

“I am living a dream right now and like any dream, you have to wake up. I am just riding it day by day and just thankful to be here.”

Mayans MC, Foxtel’s Showcase, Wednesdays, 8.30pm