ADA Rafael Barba: Suspenders and Snark, Socks and Sass

[RafaelBarbas]

I figured we needed our own thread to spread the Barba love, so here we are.

 

Where to start? I love him so much. I love his snark and one-liners, his calling the detectives out on their shit, his legal skill. I love how easy he is on the eyes. I love his backstory.

 

Most of all I love how Raul Esparza portrays him. It's like he was born for this role.

 

I can't wait for December Solstice- and it is RARE for me to say that about an SVU episode these days. Anything with Barba in the spotlight is good for me!

[Dot Com]

Thank you for starting this thread!! I love the title of it! May I just say "Amen!" And "Ditto." to everything you just wrote. Because of this show and "Hannibal" plus the numerous videos on YouTube I have become a HUGE Raúl Esparza fan.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Dot Com

[Lebanna]

Thanks for reviving this thread with the same title. There really couldn't be a better one.

All the reasons you've described are exactly why Barba is so utterly awesome. If I were to add something, it would be that he also brings a tiny bit of bilingual bonus to the show (along with Amaro - even better when they interact) and I like how he tends to bring out the more rough and ready confrontational tough-guy side of his character when he speaks his childhood language. He's slightly less the sophisticated Harvard lawyer he is in English and more the kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks speaking Spanish with his friends and probably in his abusive home.

A lot of bilingual and second-language-speaking people would say that they're not quite the same person in each language, like sometimes you revert to an earlier or different aspect of your personality in your other language - to the point where it can be uncomfortable to speak your other language to someone you know well only in one of them. I certainly feel like that sometimes. I like that it comes out here really well and adds some depth.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Lebanna

[RafaelBarbas]

Thanks for reviving this thread with the same title. There really couldn't be a better one.

I was actually the one to make the thread over on TWOP so I am glad you guys like it! ;)

 

 

All the reasons you've described are exactly why Barba is so utterly awesome. If I were to add something, it would be that he also brings a tiny bit of bilingual bonus to the show (along with Amaro - even better when they interact) and I like how he tends to bring out the more rough and ready confrontational tough-guy side of his character when he speaks his childhood language. He's slightly less the sophisticated Harvard lawyer he is in English and more the kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks speaking Spanish with his friends and probably in his abusive home.

A lot of bilingual and second-language-speaking people would say that they're not quite the same person in each language, like sometimes you revert to an earlier or different aspect of your personality in your other language - to the point where it can be uncomfortable to speak your other language to someone you know well only in one of them. I certainly feel like that sometimes. I like that it comes out here really well and adds some depth.

Hmm, interesting! As a person who grew up with only one language I hadn't considered this before. But you are right. Even though his scenes where he does speak Spanish call for a bit of anger, you can also see a bit of rawness there.

 

I really do hope they follow up on the hints that his father was abusive. For them not to would be so... lazy.

[CleoCaesar]

If I weren't so attached to my username, I would change it to MrsRafaelBarba. I absolutely love him. I only just got into SVU, and didn't know Barba was going to be a regular. I'd seen on another forum some comments that "ADA Barba" was annoying, but from the first episode he was in, he was anything but annoying.

 

I'd never heard of Raul Esparza but he's...magnetic in the role. His line delivery has never felt "off" and he reacts so naturally to the dialogue around him that you can't see him "acting" at all.

 

Also, best fashion sense on the show. Okay, I'm done gushing. For now.

[Dot Com]

Cleo you MUST go to YouTube and search on Raúl Esparza's name. He's a big star on Broadway and was nominated for four Tony awards. The last few years he's been doing TV being a regular on this show and having a recurring role on 'Hannibal'. He has an amazing singing voice as you will learn from the numerous YouTube videos. You will fall in love with Raúl even more.

[CleoCaesar]

Dot Com, oh my God. I just spent an hour on YouTube. Raúl Esparza, you perfect, perfect man.

[RafaelBarbas]

Other fantastic things Raul has done:

 

Pushing Daisies, where he played the adorable Alfredo Aladarisio

Company, where he managed to become THE Bobby despite being born in the year the musical originally debuted

Trouble In The Heights, where he plays an evil drug lord

 

IMO I think his best role was Ned in The Normal Heart simply because of the raw emotion he brings to it. Anyone who saw the play knows how emotional it is but Raul just took it to the next level. Two standouts are "the grocery scene" and the very end. He brought me to tears- and fiction NEVER makes me cry.

[Dot Com]

Dot Com, oh my God. I just spent an hour on YouTube. Raúl Esparza, you perfect, perfect man.

LOL Cleo. Well I didn't lie when I said you'd fall in love with him even more after watching YouTube videos. And Raúl Esparza now has another superfan.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Dot Com

[Lebanna]

Look up some of the audio books he's done too, if you want to hear the guy's range. In 'Under The Dome' he does all the voices of the entire town and every single one of them is different. It is unbelievable.

[RafaelBarbas]

One thing that amazes me is that with everything Esparza has done- SVU and Hannibal and Criminal Intent and the Mothership and countless musicals and plays and Pushing Daises and more- not any of his characters are alike. Some share a few similarities but overall, each is so different from each other that they could be played by a different actor. It's incredible.

[CelticBlackCat]

Barba is a great ADA!  He's sharp, snappy and attractive.  I love his one-liners.  "Check please!"  He seems like he cares about the law and it being applied fairly and justly.  I like him calling out the faults of Benson & Co. and trying to keep it real, without the emotional attachment and turmoil that comes with the SVU squad's daily dealings with sex crime vics.

[RafaelBarbas]

You know, Barba really is one of the saddest characters but most of the time his story is so understated the pieces don’t get put together.
He grew up in the barrio in a really scary area. He got bullied and his dad was abusive in some way and his mom believed in his best friend more than him. He was dirt poor and wanted so badly to go to a nice school but couldn’t get a scholarship. Then he finally got out of the barrio but a lot of people judged him for it. Then his dad died but his dad’s abuse still haunts him. Then his best friend gets kidnapped, tortured and sexually assaulted which he blames himself for wholeheartedly. Then one of his two childhood best friends turns on him. And then

his grandma dies and he tells his mom to blame him and presumably blames himself.

[LittleIggy]

I love him in Hannibal, too. Mads Mickelsen and Raul Esparza! Yum!

[Dot Com]

You know, Barba really is one of the saddest characters but most of the time his story is so understated the pieces don’t get put together.

He grew up in the barrio in a really scary area. He got bullied and his dad was abusive in some way and his mom believed in his best friend more than him. He was dirt poor and wanted so badly to go to a nice school but couldn’t get a scholarship. Then he finally got out of the barrio but a lot of people judged him for it. Then his dad died but his dad’s abuse still haunts him. Then his best friend gets kidnapped, tortured and sexually assaulted which he blames himself for wholeheartedly. Then one of his two childhood best friends turns on him. And then

his grandma dies and he tells his mom to blame him and presumably blames himself.

We can't really say that his father was abusive. There was something about his father that made Barba upset when he thought of him but nothing says that it was abuse for sure. His father could have done any number of things

He might not have gotten a scholarship to a good high school but he sure did get a (full) scholarship to a good college. That man definitely worked hard to get where he's at.

[RafaelBarbas]

We can't really say that his father was abusive. There was something about his father that made Barba upset when he thought of him but nothing says that it was abuse for sure. His father could have done any number of things

 

The thing is though, in the context he brought it up- Amaro dealing with an abusive father- I think that kind of had to be it. Barba wouldn't compare his dad "just" being a raging asshole to domestic violence.

[mtmjr]

Can we also talk about his chemistry with the other characters?  Especially with Liv, but he has had moments with all the detectives.  The clashes with Amaro over their shared heritage and different responses to it.  The moment at the end of the Cybill Sheppard as Paula Dean episode, when he apologized and Fin was like, it's just the way it is.  The times when he has had to put Rollins through hell on the witness stand and she still understood that it was not on him.  And mostly, of course, his relationship with Liv.  As much as I found Liv and Elliot fascinating, in a kinda sick and dysfunctional way, I adore Liv and Barba.  They really get one another.  It's the thing I like most about the show at this point.

[RafaelBarbas]

Oh, I just keep falling more and more in love with Raul! This isn't fair- look what Jenna Stern (AKA Judge Barth) posted!

Edited March 7, 2015 by RafaelBarbas

[WendyCR72]

I call Jenna Stern the Unofficial Franchise Utility Player. She has been all over SVU and CI (not sure of the Mothership, but I'd guess yes) and still keeps popping up. Pretty cool. And Raul Esparza seems like a sweet guy!

[Lizzing]

Count me in on the Esparza/Barba love.  I saw Esparza in Cabaret on Broadway (he was the Emcee and Molly Ringwald was Sally) and I one of my most prized collectables is the poster of him from that show.  When he first came on SVU, it kinda threw me for a loop because such a different genre, but that died completely about two minutes in to his SVU performance.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Barba is in my top five, of my Tv Husband list.

[wrlord]

A lot of posts here talk about what a great husband he'd be (to a woman) ...  he is  gay, isn't he?

[MrsRafaelBarba]

A lot of posts here talk about what a great husband he'd be (to a woman) ...  he is  gay, isn't he?

So far, it appears Barba is straight or possibly bisexual.

I'm shipping him and Olivia, aka BarSon.

[RafaelBarbas]

A lot of posts here talk about what a great husband he'd be (to a woman) ...  he is  gay, isn't he?

In Funny Valentine he mentions having had a crush on a girl; October Surprise makes it clear he used to have a relationship with Yelina Muñoz. So he is either straight or bisexual.

[RafaelBarbas]

This article was written regarding introducing a gay character to SVU (naturally the possibility of a bi character was never brought up :/). Both Peter and Raul said they would be willing to play around with that for their characters. I personally hope if they DO "go there" it's with Barba. It fits his character way better and as Raul said, it's always nice for it to be a POC instead of a white guy as always. I could see being bi as having been a huge issue for Barba growing up, and it could be an issue for him politically as well which seems to be the focus of his character for this season.

[Gigi43]

Seems like the best topic to share this while I'm waiting for my food to cook; this morning I flipped on the TV and a Christmas Mass from a church on the Upper East Side, aired on a local NY channel and Raul was doing some of the singing. He looked great. Jim Caviezel (Person Of Interest) was doing readings too, so I've never felt so awkward before, watching Mass and trying not to "fan" over them.

Edited December 25, 2015 by Gigi43

[WendyCR72]

For the Raul Esparza fans, his L&O: CI episode, "Lady's Man", just began on the WE network.

[pfk505]

I think SVU is a pretty terrible show on the whole (my wife loves it), but Barba is an absolutely magnificent character.  Big Hannibal fan so I already loved Esparza, but he just kills it in every scene he's in.  I just had occasion to watch his first appearance the other day (ironically enough the very day the Ghomeshi trial ended) and I was literally pounding the arm of my chair and hollering at how Barba just demolished the shitty defendant.  He is just the best.

 

I'd put him in the top 3 L&O characters of all time alongside McCoy and Goren.

Edited March 26, 2016 by pfk505

[WendyCR72]

I'd put him in the top 3 L&O characters of all time alongside McCoy and Goren.

 

Make it four with Lennie Briscoe and I'm down with this!

[WendyCR72]

Raul Esparza's L&O: CI episode, "Lady's Man" from S8 is on WE now.

[Barbalicious]

On 2/26/2015 at 0:18 AM, mtmjr said:

Can we also talk about his chemistry with the other characters?  Especially with Liv, but he has had moments with all the detectives.  The clashes with Amaro over their shared heritage and different responses to it.  The moment at the end of the Cybill Sheppard as Paula Dean episode, when he apologized and Fin was like, it's just the way it is.  The times when he has had to put Rollins through hell on the witness stand and she still understood that it was not on him.  And mostly, of course, his relationship with Liv.  As much as I found Liv and Elliot fascinating, in a kinda sick and dysfunctional way, I adore Liv and Barba.  They really get one another.  It's the thing I like most about the show at this point.

I'm #Barson all the way! They have for real chemistry (kinda like Mariska & Meloni do)...

[ForeverAlone]

I'm doing a SVU rewatch of older seasons, and I just rewatched Barba's first episode. Now THAT is the Barba I love. Smart, snarky, arrogant and oh so screwable. 

[Jaded]

I'm watching Raul Esparza's mothership L&O episode "Blackmailed" on TNT right now. It's still funny seeing him and Samantha Bee as a baddies in it.

[WendyCR72]

6 hours ago, Jaded said:

I'm watching Raul Esparza's mothership L&O episode "Blackmailed" on TNT right now. It's still funny seeing him and Samantha Bee as a baddies in it.

His CI stint as a baddie aired again the other night, too. That one continues to be a really kind of warped episode.  :-)

[Nettie55]

 He has a helluva singing voice, Love him!

Edited February 12, 2017 by Nettie55
changing post

[angel1008]

Just watched Raul's first episode of SVU, with his sass, and cutting off Benson.  What a difference a few seasons, and changes in power behind the scenes, makes.  Now he seems like a neutered animal doing whatever she wants!  I want to see the snark and sass back, and put Benson in her place!

[RafaelBarba35]

On 4/2/2017 at 6:06 AM, angel1008 said:

Just watched Raul's first episode of SVU, with his sass, and cutting off Benson.  What a difference a few seasons, and changes in power behind the scenes, makes.  Now he seems like a neutered animal doing whatever she wants!  I want to see the snark and sass back, and put Benson in her place!

I completely agree. 

[Snappy]

I miss seeing RE. Other than a quick shot here and there he has disappeared. The show really isn't Law and Order; SVU anymore. Its now just Law; SVU.

[angel1008]

2 hours ago, Snappy said:

I miss seeing RE. Other than a quick shot here and there he has disappeared. The show really isn't Law and Order; SVU anymore. Its now just Law; SVU.

The only time he is in any scenes is when he is with Olivia.  It is as if he cannot do any scenes without her.  Maybe she rides on his talented coattails?  She needs HIM to seem like she is better.

[Xeliou66]

I hate how Barba has become Benson's bitch in a lot of episodes. Barba is the best ADA the show has ever had, and Raul is the best actor on SVU now, and I feel like they waste him because Barba isn't even in every episode and he frequently gets underused or just acts as Benson's lapdog. I hope Barba gets more to do in future episodes and more courtroom scenes and doesn't let Benson boss him around, I hope to see more of the Barba that we saw in the season 18 premiere that stood up to Benson and less of the Barba from Imposter that takes a case that isn't a crime to court to please St Olivia. I certainly want more courtroom scenes in the future and bring back Buchanan and Calhoun to battle with Barba

[WendyCR72]

I don't think the courtroom on SVU has been well used since Novak. For some reason, both SVU and CI, especially, had the "Order" side wane as the shows went on. Only the Mothership (and the failed Trial By Jury) knew how to incorporate both sides as they should have.

But then SVU and CI seemed to be more character-driven parts of the franchise, so maybe that makes/made a difference, too.

[Xeliou66]

The mothership was always great at balancing the investigation and prosecution sides, it remained great for 20 years. SVU has had issues with the courtroom stuff for a while, but none worse than the time between Casey Novak leaving and Barba coming on, or at least Novak returning. They had a revolving door of ADA's, none of which lasted long at all or were memorable, Cabot returned for a few episodes, then left again, at least in season 13 we had Cabot, Novak and Cutter who we were familiar with, but it was a huge improvement in season 14 when Barba came on board. The last couple of years though they don't really know how to use him and letting Barba prosecute takes screen time away from St Olivia and Mariska can't handle that and so they have Benson acting as Barba's boss. 

Please give us more of Barba, and stop letting Benson push him around. Let Barba stand up to St Olivia instead of being her bitch

[angel1008]

When watching older episodes, the detectives were not even in the courtroom unless needed to testify.  Now, with EVERY single one, Olivia is in the courtroom!  Or the whole squad is there.  I thought they were so shorthanded?  Or is it so Barba can glance at Olivia and she can nod whether or not she wants him to proceed? 

Why don't they make her the Police Commissioner?  Oh, because THEN she would not be able to investigate, interview and practically try the cases.  And I guess they don't need an ME or psychiatrist anymore since she seems to know everything.  I REALLY do not want her paired with Barba romantically.  Their scenes together are cringeworthy.

[Xeliou66]

It was very frustrating how in the last episode they went to the morgue and talked a lot about an ME's report but we never saw Warner. I miss Dr Huang as well, he was extremely unbiased and intelligent. I wish there were more recurring characters and less of St Olivia, and I really wish we got Barba in every episode instead of about 75% of them. I like how Barba hasn't been Benson's bitch quite as much this year with the exception of Imposter but I'm sick of St Olivia in the courtroom nodding with overdramatic expressions after bullying a witness.

[tobeyoungagain]

I almost felt like (in the last episode), it was a farewells to Barba, especially with the long scene of him walking into the courtroom and the look goodbye.  It was like when the cute cop (what's his name ... Amanda's partner) left the show.

The show has become "TOO" Benson-orientated if that makes sense ...

[angel1008]

I REALLY hope they do not go "there" with Benson and Barba.  I feel they do not have the right chemistry  to make it believable.

[QueenMab]

If they go " there" with Benson and Barba then Barba WOULD lose his job and possibly his Bar License and Benson would lose her precious job. But that would have the show being realistic and this show hasn't been close to that for years. She's too damn BIG and OLD for Barba and it would make him a pathetic loser if that's all a hotshot good looking lawyer in NYC can find to bang. But this show is all about making us believe Benson is every man's sexual desire so.....

[Lebanna]

Frankly I think both Benson and Barba are gorgeous, of course they are because they're played by actors who are more attractive and charismatic than 99.9% of people in the same age group and in their characters' current supposed wealth bracket and with the characters' tough backgrounds.

It's kind of unrealistic to try to pretend that they're not more attractive than the average - this is TV after all. We all know the rules of TV. 

And frankly I also love that Benson is a strong older woman in a command role because not that long ago that was rare on TV. And I think that it's fine that Barba is weaker and gives in sometimes when it comes to Benson, because if he didn't try to take care of his friends' interests he'd be kind of an asshole, and not in a likable way.

And should the show runners want to hook them up, I am totally here for it.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Lebanna

[ForeverAlone]

I can take Olivia with anyone on the show, AS LONG as the writers keep her away from Barba. That is just an oh hell no for me. But thankfully I can't see the show going there ever, because it would destroy what credibility they have by hooking up the SVU Lieutenant and the sex crimes ADA. 

I like it when Barba looks out for Olivia on a personal level like a good friend, but I do get sick of him fighting Olivia's battles and taking up her crusades for her, especially on extremely dubious cases. Some of the things she has pushed has just made me roll my eyes, and I think it weakens Barba's professional credibility when he takes some of these on. I prefer independent Barba who will push back against her when it is needed. 

Edited April 25, 2017 by ForeverAlone

[RafaelBarba35]

On 4/25/2017 at 0:31 PM, Lebanna said:

 And I think that it's fine that Barba is weaker and gives in sometimes when it comes to Benson, because if he didn't try to take care of his friends' interests he'd be kind of an asshole, and not in a likable way.

 

Uh he isn't there to look out for Benson's interests. He's there to get justice for the victims. That's his job. Benson is not his boss. Why the hell does he have to be weaker? Why can't they both have strong personalities? They worked together fine in season 14. Barba did his own thing and won cases on his own merit. That's who he is, not Benson's lapdog. I love Barba, he's my fave, and seeing him just go along with everything Benson says pisses me off. The episode Imposter is a very good example of that. Give me season 14 Barba back.