Al and his silence

mladmomic, get a copy of the series DVD set and look at the "extras," specifically the conversation with creators Denis Leary and Robert Tolan. In it, they explained Al Rodriguez's silence as a budget issue -- they had enough money for just six speaking roles on the ensemble cast, but they wanted all seven characters, so they had to compromise. Result: Julian Acosta appears but does not speak. IMHO, Acosta was brilliant in this role. It takes a talented actor to come up with such a hilarious character without saying a word (or almost none, as you discovered).