Michael Pena has become more cautious since he became a father.
The 42-year-old actor and his wife Brie Shaffer have a son called Ramon, who was born in 2008, and Michael has admitted that fatherhood has transformed his approach to life.
The actor – who stars in ‘Narcos: Mexico’ – shared: "It makes you more cautious. Like, even the way that I drive now is a little more cautious."
Michael plays DEA agent Kiki Camarena in the Netflix series, and the actor admitted he particularly identified with his on-screen character’s parental responsibilities.
Camarena had three sons with his wife Mika before he was killed in 1985.
Asked how the role affected him as a parent, Michael told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "You get the feeling of potential loss, like you don’t want your kids to grow up without a parent.
"So, you sort of take that into consideration whenever you’re close to danger or what not.
"That’s what I would think of when I was playing certain parts or certain scenes is that think of the big picture and is it worth it."
Michael revealed he actually spoke to Mika prior to taking on the role.
He explained: "I wanted to be totally respectful because obviously she had to deal with a lot … so I had to be very sensitive. But she gave me the impression that she was a very strong woman and that she supported him all the way.
"He kind of had resentment about injustices that were happening, especially when no one was doing anything about them…
"That’s what motivated him, especially when people didn’t believe him that there was a centralisation of this organisation, [which] was the formation of a cartel. Nobody would believe him.
"She’s the one that told me that he was the kind of guy that had to do something about it. If not, it would just keep him up at night."
Michael Pena: Fatherhood has made me cautious
