Édgar Ramírez is urging others to get vaccinated against COVID-19 following a tragedy within his own family.
On Saturday, July 25, the actor talked to Entertainment Tonight at the Jungle Cruise premiere, where he revealed the sad news that his grandmother passed away just a few days prior.
“I brought my entire family, my mom is here, my dad is here,” he told the publication before breaking the news. “I’m very happy that my mom is here, I mean it’s been a very hard week for my family, a lot of deaths from COVID. My grandmother died this week.”
While his family is in the process of mourning their loss and the pandemic continues to take lives throughout the United States and the rest of the world, Ramírez explained why this is the right time for Jungle Cruise to hit theaters.
“I think it‘s the perfect movie for this time. We all want to escape a little bit,” he said. “We all want to be able to dream of fantastic places, and adventure and fun and humor.”
After commending the film on its ability to give people an escape, Édgar went on to speak more thoroughly about the coronavirus and the importance of getting vaccinated.
“I have to take every opportunity to invite people to get vaccinated, to trust science, to follow recommendations. This is not over, you know?” he continued.
“A lot of people made a huge effort for us to be here in a safe way. But we‘re not there yet,” Ramírez said of the premiere. “This is a huge effort just for us to be here, for you to be here, for me to be here, and be safe.”
“So, I just want everyone to think about others, and also to protect themselves, and to protect others,” the actor concluded. “We’re going to get through this, and it will be a bad and horrible memory and we’re going to learn from this, but we’re not at the end of this yet, so we need to be careful.”
Jungle Cruise is in theaters and available to stream via Disney+ Premier Access on July 30.
