Román Zaragoza shares details on his "Ghosts" character's love life and incorporating Lenape culture into the series
Actor Román Zaragoza, who stars as the character Sass in the CBS comedy "Ghosts," is sharing details about his character's struggling love life and how the show has approached incorporating Lenape culture.
"He's a hopeless romantic. He wants to be loved. He wants to feel that love, and I think because he died so young that he still has that young heart. He's an old soul, but young heart," Zaragoza said in an interview with "CBS Mornings" about Sass.
Zaragoza revealed it was partially his idea for his character to be a virgin.
"We talked about it for awhile, and I pitched it because I was curious, because they were leading up to the fact that I feel like he was going to be a virgin, and then I think that something came out that he wasn't, and I was like, 'I think it's funnier if he is.'"
In this week's episode, another ghost brings back Joan, a potential love interest for Sass, who is a Lenape ghost.
"As a Native actor, it's hard. A lot of the time, you get cast as an actor and as a consultant and you're like, you know, I'm not Lenape. I'm not an expert on Lenape history or culture."
Zaragoza credits the "Ghosts" showrunners for bringing someone in who is Lenape and an expert on its culture.
"Not every set does that, and I just gotta really thank Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, but we brought in
Joe Baker
who is the executive director of the Lenape Center … and he's been just an incredible asset to our show," Zaragoza said. Baker is also an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, according to the
Lenape Center.
Beyond his character, Zaragoza joked about his height. While he stands at 5'10," a Google search claims he's 5'3," but he said that it doesn't bother him.
"I think it's so funny. I did this Instagram post about it and we shot some really cute photos on set where I made it look like I was really short compared to everyone else," Zaragoza said, laughing.
"Ghosts" airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. EST on CBS.
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