"Napoleon Dynamite" and a Nissan Xterra
After the success of the sleeper "Napoleon Dynamite" in 2004, Ramirez bought a used 2003 Nissan Xterra. He loved it so much, when it came time to buy a new car, he bought a 2008 Xterra, which he rates a perfect 10.
"I have the Xterra to travel and go off-roading and if I want a sports car then I'll get the Tesla," he says. "My father used to own a truck and I wanted to get a truck. I have tons of friends who have SUVs and I didn't want to get one of those ginormous cars. I wanted something simple and practical."
Favorite road trip
When he's not on a movie set, Ramirez throws his mountain bike on the back of Xterra and just drives. He's driven to San Francisco, Utah, Arizona and Texas. "You get a clarity," he explains. "For actors, you do a film and you have that piece of material for about three months of your life. Once that's done, you want to be able to escape out of that and come back to the world you actually live in. I'm able to hop in my truck and put my bike on the bike rack and just go away."
Sometimes he'll go off road in his Xterra with his brothers in the Mohave Desert and by Edwards Air Force Base, "which was always funny because Eddie gets car sick so he'll probably drive his Mustang," he laughs. "My next endeavor is to go to the Grand Canyon with my brothers and go white water rafting," he says. "I've never driven to the Grand Canyon so I'll be able to go ride my bike and go in my Nissan Xterra and go off-roading there, it's going to be awesome."
His favorite road trip is going mountain biking in St. George, Ogden and Provo in Utah. "You have to go through San Bernardino, Victorville, Hesperia, you get to see a lot of the western part of the U.S.," Ramirez said. "I really love red rock because it has its own vibe. You go to ride your bike to disappear. Another place I want to check out is Sedona."
Automakers
Ramirez is considering buying a Tesla and he's excited about what automakers will come up with in the way of green offerings. "I'm anxious to see what's going to happen with cars in the next 10 years," he says. "I want to see more green without losing the power and torque a car can have."
"Crank: High Voltage"
Ramirez returns to the action flick "Crank: High Voltage" with actors Jason Statham and Dwight Yoakam, who were also in 2006's "Crank." In this sequel Ramirez plays Venus, the twin brother to Kaylo, who he played in the last film. "He's darker and he's out there wanting to avenge his brother's death," Ramirez says. Growing up, he practiced Tae Kwon Do and learned to use nunchucks. That helped him in this movie, in which Ramirez studied kung fu and weapons training for three months. "I'm pretty badass," Ramirez laughs, referring to his movie character.