When Ghosts returns, there will be major story developments for everyone’s favorite sarcastic, pizza-smelling, hopeless romantic ghost, Sasappis.
Now in its fourth season, Ghosts has continued to be a ratings stalwart and a beloved sitcom. Audiences continue to enjoy the misadventures of Sam and Jay Arondekar and their band of wily ghosts.
We were lucky to catch up with Román Zaragoza to talk about Sasappis, which is always a treat. The brilliant actor is always incredibly warm and candid when talking about such a beloved character.
With a two-season pickup, Ghosts will be on the air for years to come, which means ample opportunities to continue learning about Sasappis.
Lucky for us, as the series winds down its season, we will see much more from Sass, something that Zaragoza is extremely excited about.
We chatted with Zaragoza about his appreciation for the series’ wonderful fans, which things about Sass he’d love to see more of, and what ghost power he’d love to have for a day.
Hint: hint: it’s potentially the coolest one.
Check out our interview with the lovely Zaragoza below!
Hi, Román. How are you?
I’m good. Yeah, we are in hiatus mode. Life is very different right now. I’m currently in Tokyo, Japan, and yeah, life is so funny to think about.
Talking about Ghosts, I’m like, “Oh, right, yeah. What happened in that episode? Oh, that’s right. Yeah, that happened. Okay, cool.”Yeah, but it’s exciting. I’m very grateful to be in this position in this show and two more seasons. I’m feeling very good.
That was the first thing I wanted to say. I wanted to congratulate you on that. Ghosts is as popular as ever at this point. How appreciative are you of the series and the fans for continuing to make it such a success?
Oh, man, I’m so grateful. It is beyond what I can even comprehend. Right before I booked Ghosts in 2020, I was so lost. I’d just finished doing theater in Oregon, which was so much fun for three years. And to be here is blowing my mind a bit. I’m just so grateful, and our fans are incredible.
It’s been wild to see that Ghosts is now on Netflix in various countries around the world. It’s in so many different languages, and that’s been a really wild and recent new development. And I’m like, “Oh, Portuguese!” There’s so much Portuguese in my DMs now that I have to translate everything. But I’m like, “Oh, the people are so nice.”
So, that’s been cool. And I’m even getting spam in Portuguese, which is pretty funny. It’s been really cool and just wild to think about how wide of an audience and how big of a reach we’re now having. It’s beautiful.
Isn’t that such a cool thing with social media? And even with the fact that there are so many different ways to see things now, you can touch so many parts of the world and people that, 20 years ago, may have never gotten a chance to see the show.
Exactly. I just started listening to the How I Met Your Mother Rewatch podcast with Josh Radnor. It’s one of my favorite shows. I grew up with it and always dreamed about honestly being on a sitcom, like an ensemble sitcom.
It was interesting to hear him talk about traveling abroad and seeing people recognize him and things. And I’m like, that’s so wild to think about.
I’ve traveled abroad a bit and been recognized, but always by Americans traveling abroad. It’s going to be interesting if I go to Brazil or something, and I’m curious to see if people recognize me and if people watch the show.
We are now four seasons in, and we’ve learned a lot about Sass at this point. But what do you feel you learned about him this season that maybe you didn’t know about him before?
Oh, man. This season is a big one for Sass, especially this later part of the season that we will be coming into. We’re going to find out a lot about him. But that’s a good question.
I think we’re seeing how strong-willed he is and how when he wants something, he is going to fight for it. We hadn’t seen too much of that for him. We’ve seen the mischievous side, the hopeless romantic side, and him dipping his toe into different areas of things that bring him joy. But we haven’t seen him fight for anything too much.
So, that’s been a really beautiful new color to play for me. Because it’s like when you have a character that’s really passionate and just pushing the edge a bit, it’s exciting as an actor. Especially in these next two episodes, it was fun to play someone fighting for something. I love playing that.
On the flip side of that, what have you learned about yourself over the past few years playing Sass? And also being a part of such a successful and long-running series?
Ooh. One of the biggest things I’ve learned from playing Sass is the space he takes up. At first, especially as an actor, when we started the show, the writers were trying to experiment with Sasappis.
They didn’t know where they wanted him to go very much. They had a general idea of what we wanted, but they didn’t know exactly what direction he would take.
And we ended up finding the space he takes up, he’s not the loud person. He’s not Thor, he’s not Trevor, he’s not that much bigger, larger-than-life, he’s not Hetty. He’s commenting on everybody else, and he is an observer and doesn’t need to be the loudest one in the room. And yet, he’s seen in a way.
I learned that just because you’re not the loudest person in the room doesn’t mean you can’t take space. He takes space in a slightly quieter way, which is a little bit more judgmental and sarcastic.
But there’s something about him that he can kind of just be in the back a little bit and be like, “Mm, okay.” I don’t know. I feel like I learned if everyone’s being loud in the room, I don’t also need to be loud in the room. That space is already being taken up. I can take up this space over here.
That equated to when I booked the show. I was very nervous and intimidated by the incredible improv and comedic actors I was working with. They’re freaking veterans of comedy, and I did comedy, but I also did a lot of theater and drama.
So, I found myself pulling back a bit, being the observer, and kind of becoming Sass in a way when we were creating the show as the actor-performer.
It was interesting how art imitated life for a bit and still does. And I think the more that I became more comfortable in this space, the more we’ve seen Sass become more comfortable in this space, too. So, it’s been a cool parallel journey.
I love that, I love that.
One of the things Sass has gone through, or we’ve seen him try and go through, is finding love. What do you think is the ideal partner for Sass, and what do you think they embody? What do you think he’s looking for?
I think there are two different things there. It’s what he’s looking for versus what he needs. I think what he’s looking for is someone who sees him and makes him feel safe in this. But he has this idea of what the perfect person is, which in his eyes is Shiki.
He’s like, “She’s the perfect person.” Even though we’ve never had a deep conversation, she’s perfect.
I think that’s what he thinks he needs when, in reality, he needs a strong person who’s going to pursue him, love him, choose him, and also be very intelligent. He is a very intelligent person and doesn’t give himself credit enough for that, and he needs someone to challenge him intellectually. And someone funny?
I don’t know. But I think someone strong. He needs a strong person to come into his life to sweep him off his feet and for him to be like, “Oh, oh. Okay, cool. I don’t need to be pining over someone for 500 years who just said hello to me 13 times.”
So, someone who lets it be known that they’re interested in pursuing Sass, right? Somebody like that.
Yeah, exactly. I think he’s the kind of person who’s a little coy and shy, and it’s so new for him, and he’s a virgin, and he doesn’t know how to maybe take those first steps into a relationship. So, he needs someone to be like, “I like you. Okay? We’re doing this.” And he’s like, “Oh, okay. Sure.”
Exactly. I like that.
Sass, for many of the reasons you’ve mentioned, is such a fan favorite, right? I like it when you describe him as a little judgmental. Some say judgmental, some say real. What do you think it is that people connect with as it relates to him? Is it some of that realness and that bluntness?
Yeah, I definitely think it’s the realness, bluntness. And he’s that voice of reason, that voice of the audience sometimes.
Because he comments on aspects that are ridiculous. The audience would probably, at the same time, be like, “That’s ridiculous. What is Thor doing?” And then Sass would be like, “What are you doing?” He helps, in my eyes, make the audience feel seen. Be like, “Yes, Sass, yes. What is happening?”
I think people really relate to that. And yeah, he’s a reminder that we all feel alone and out of place, and we all sometimes use judgment and sarcasm to connect. And I think that is what he used for so long because he didn’t have his family or his friends to connect.
So, he found that was the space he was going to take up now.
He’s like, “I’m hanging out with mostly white people.” They were not directly part of the genocide and erasure of his people, but to an extent, he felt so alone for so long that he found this space where maybe he was trying to connect with them.
I’m trying to explain this in a succinct way, but I think sometimes people use judgment and sarcasm as a way to connect, as a way in, even though there is so much hurt behind it.
I think that was something he did and relied on for so long, and we’re now coming to a point where he loves them. They’re family. He still uses that as his vehicle in and it’s funny to him. Long-winded answer, but yeah.
No, and that’s part of why he’s relatable: Many people relate to that in their lives.
With more seasons on the horizon, what’s something about Sass that you feel is untapped? Something that you feel like you wouldn’t mind seeing explored more in future seasons?
Great question. First and foremost, it would be fun to just dive into his death. I want to know more about that. I’m so curious.
The biggest thing that the cast always talks about is diving deeper into the relationships between the ghosts. It’s always so fun. This season was the first time Flower and Sass had interactions like one-on-one interactions.
So, it would be fun to have more interactions like that with all the ghosts— definitely more Flower and Sass. I would love to see Thor and Sass before everyone was there. It’d be really fun to have those flashbacks and see more about how Thor knows some Lenape. I’m curious about that.
I was curious how Sass learned English. That was something I was always really interested in. I was first pitching that he learned with Hetty as she was learning English when she was a baby. He learned English with her.
Of course, I think we’re past that, and we technically can’t do that anymore. But it’d be funny to find a character that he did that with. He would be sitting next to all these little two-year-olds, and they’re all learning English, and he’s just sitting there, and he’d like, “The… Dog.” I think that would be really cute.
It would be.
What’s been your favorite episode this season? If it hasn’t aired yet, then obviously no spoilers. But what’s been your favorite episode?
Oh, man. Well, there are so many. There are so many amazing episodes. But I shadowed Richie Keen, who was one of the directors. I shadowed the episode about Alexander Hamilton. So, I got to watch as a shadow of a director.
And that one was so fun to watch because Brandon Scott Jones is just a genius, and all the actors in that episode were so funny. Like Alexander Hamilton (Nat Faxon), he is so talented. What an incredible actor. Watching him work, I was taking notes and saying, “Wow, he’s so good.” It was amazing.
So, that one as a viewer and also watching the episode was just amazing. That one, as a viewer, was one of my favorites.
And then personally, as an actor, these next two that are airing— I’m going to combine them together.
These next two that are airing were very, very fun for me. I wish I could talk more about them now, but I can’t. But they’re really exciting for Sass, especially regarding love. I really want to talk about it, but it’s a really fun storyline, and it was very rewarding and exciting as an actor.
I love the tease. We have to stay tuned now. Before we wrap, I just had a little fun question for you. I enjoyed the last episode, which was the St. Patrick’s one. They were talking about the ghost power tiers.
So, if Sass could have any other ghost power, what would he choose? What would he choose, even if it was just for a day?
I think that’s easy— Pete’s.
Pete’s.
Yes.
It’s got to be Pete’s.
In the wild, I think Sass would do a lot of things. He would probably try to go see Shiki, but I think he would really want to go to restaurants and smell everything.
I think he would go to New York City and be like, “What happened to my home? This is crazy.” And I think he would like to go to all these Michelin-star restaurants and just smell everything.
There you go. That’d be fun. Well, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it.
Thank you so much. This was great.
Of course! Enjoy Japan. Have fun. Enjoy your break.
Thank you so much.
We’ve edited this interview for length and clarity.
There is much to look forward to when Ghosts returns from its mini-hiatus with new episodes on April 3rd.
How excited are you to see more from Sass and his love life?
Let us know in the comments!
You can watch Ghosts on CBS at 8:30/7:30c on Thursdays.
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