In the fourth season of Netflix‘s hit drama, The Lincoln Lawyer, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo‘s titular defense attorney has his most challenging client to date: himself.
In the interest of sparing the uninitiated any spoilers, I’ll avoid the specifics around this abrupt left turn for the show — but it’s worth bringing up if only to acknowledge the darker shift in material for Garcia-Rulfo. (And since the actor recently found out he’d be getting a fifth season, it’s safe to assume things will probably work one way or another.)
Speaking the morning after the premiere party, Garcia-Rulfo explains why his day job has been a game changer. “It only takes me five months of the year to make this show,” he says. “And I’ve been lucky enough to use that time in between to do little projects that I love, small movies, whatever.”
Garcia-Rulfo’s idea of “small movies” is amusing. In summer 2025, he was part of the Jurassic World Rebirth ensemble, anchoring one of the blockbuster’s two storylines on a collision course with one another — and, you know, dinosaurs. He also produced and starred in the 2024 adaptation of seminal Mexican novel Pedro Páramo and, this past fall, he shot Andrew Haigh’s upcoming adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s A Long Winter.
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You have now starred in several seasons of a very successful Netflix drama and been in the ensemble for a major blockbuster. Which do you think has moved the dial the most in your career as far as opportunities?
Being the lead in the show that’s in its fourth season with the reach that Netflix, that gets you a lot of exposure. With Jurassic World, there are so many characters. And I guess the main character there is the dinosaurs. (Laughs) — and Scarlett Johansson.
Do you hear anecdotally about the countries where The Lincoln Lawyer does particularly well?
They send me the list every time it comes out, and what I’ve noticed is that it’s very popular in countries where the legal system works. (Laughs.) Europe is very big. The United States. Canada. But everywhere in Europe, it’s very, very big. I was there in the the summer — Spain, France, England, Sweden — and I could see people react when I walked on the street.
So the most recent season, which aired over a year ago, ended in a big cliffhanger. How much are you told about what happens next?
I’m told the basics of what’s going to be the next season — but very vaguely. I don’t know how the writers room works, but they always give me an idea of where it’s going.
And where it’s going is… very dark this year.
Definitely, which I really loved. I’ve been hearing from people that have seen the whole thing that it’s the best season yet. I believe it. Because every time I was reading the scripts, there was one that got me in tears. It’s more emotional. It’s always better as an actor for me to play that darker side. And this really feels heavier and darker. With my character, Mickey Haller, you can see that he is [carrying] the world — the heaviness of in his shoulders and his life is on the line.
I should point out that this season is about a Mexican man being unjustly targeted by law enforcement. It’s a timely and depressing theme to explore.
That’s true, man. That’s just where it went. The show is based on the books, so that story is part of the books.
Still, it’s wild how often these subjects in films and movies run alongside current events — whether its conscious choice or not.
Yeah, you see it watching One Battle After Another from Paul Thomas Anderson. It is so current. It’s the current energy. Artists, we’re analyzing what’s going on in the world and I guess this is where we show it.
You starred in the 2024 adaptation of Pedro Paramo. It’s a famous book and a famously challenging read. Did you have a relationship with that text before you took the role?
Every Mexican reads Pedro Paramo!
Well, that’s the thing! Most people in America don’t know about that book, let alone its importance to Mexico.
I don’t know what would be the equal here. Maybe Huckleberry Finn? Or Catcher in the Rye? It’s a novel that every Mexican has to read. But you read it when you’re very young, and nobody understands it. It’s such a small book, but it’s so complex. And I’m related to the author, so I’ve known about the novel since I was a kid.
You’re related to Juan Rulfo?
He was the second cousin of my father. And he was very close to my grandfather. So the memories and the stories about him, he was always there. So, it was beautiful to be part of that film.
I read the most recent English translation a few years back, and I cannot imagine digesting that material as a child.
Everybody has a different read on it, and that’s the beauty about literature. It’s always alive. You reread it and it becomes another thing. But once you get the notion of it, it’s just gorgeous. I always say that in that small book, he managed to put everything of what Mexico is — the blood, the tears, the happiness, the relevance of Mexico. It’s beautiful.
Did your interpretation of it change once you made the movie?
Definitely. I went with an [academic] that specialized in Juan Rulfo. And I took classes and really immersed in everything. It was a life-changing experience.
Who are filmmakers who you still really want to work with?
I have a huge list. Huge. But from Mexico, the three amigos, of course: Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. There are so many people that I would love to work with in Mexico.
You recently shot the new Andrew Haigh film, right?
What a guy. It’s a very small role that I have. But of course the script is so beautiful and I did it to work with Andrew. I had to do it. It really reminded me of why I love doing this. He is so sensible and compassionate and he brings this energy that just tells you he knows what he’s doing.
Ok, before I let you go, have you learned anything useful about the legal system in your time making The Lincoln Lawyer?
Don’t get in trouble, man. It’s a pain. (Laughs.) And it’s not like I became knowledgeable, but I now have a sense of how complex it all is. Especially in the States, it’s like a theater. If you go to trial and have a jury, it depends on the charm of a lawyer, the charm of the accuser and the charm of the defendant.
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Season four of The Lincoln Lawyer is now streaming on Netflix.
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