Before Episode 106 of Dutton Ranch premiered Friday, June 12, Miguel — played by Puerto Rican-born actor Berto Colón — came across as a secondary character, serving mostly to perform chores and open doors as bodyguard for Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening), owner of the Ten-Petal Ranch.
But in the episode titled “A Cowboy Saint,” Miguel wasn’t merely the right man in the right place at the right time. He was, quite literally, a life-saver. And a life-taker.
Warning: Spoiler Alert!
Late one night at Ten-Petal, Joaquin Jackson Reyes (Juan Pablo Raba), Beulah’s eldest son and fixer for the family, was seriously wounded in his hand by Chet Davis (Hart Davis), a former ranch employee who blamed Joaquin for his firing. But before he could finish the job, Miguel stepped out of the shadows and defused the situation — by terminating Chat with extreme prejudice.
And mind you, all of this occurred in full view of Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), who was seated nearby in his truck because Joaquin had invited him to drop by for a drink. Rip looked at Miguel, Miguel looked at Rip — and I swear, I couldn’t help thinking that, at that moment, both men immediately recognized each other as dangerously loyal dudes who took out the trash for their employers whenever necessary.
“Being on the other side of that at other times in my career,” he told us, “I believe that there was probably a [hint] or two prior … that maybe Miguel was going to get the X.
“But I have a lot of respect for Hart Denton. I think he’s a magnificent actor. We got on so well … You don’t really take relish in the demise of another character when it means another actor’s not going to be working any further. It’s not good energy and I don’t have anything like that.
“Again, being on the other side of that, I understand what that’s like and I felt for him. But I was just glad that, this time around it wasn’t me.”
Here is our full C&I Studio interview with Berto Colón.