Last Updated on 7 minutes by Vijay Kumar
Hollywood actor Oscar Isaac recently opened up about his family roots and a deeply personal part of his life.
In a new episode of the SmartLess podcast, Isaac revealed that despite his father’s Cuban heritage, he has never been to Cuba — and explained the emotional and political reasons behind it.
“I’ve Never Been There,” Says Oscar Isaac
When asked whether he had ever visited his father’s homeland, Isaac admitted:
“I haven’t been. I grew up in the Miami Cuban world, where everyone’s so traumatized and afraid. It’s complicated.”
Isaac’s father is a Cuban-born doctor, and his family spent much of his early life moving around the U.S. — from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore and finally Miami, Florida.
While his home life was rich with Cuban culture, he explained that fear, trauma, and political tension within the Cuban-American community kept him from ever visiting the island.
Isaac recalled that he once came very close to visiting Cuba:
“We almost went when Inside Llewyn Davis came out. We were supposed to go for a film festival, but at the last minute, it didn’t happen.”
The 2013 film, directed by the Coen Brothers, marked a turning point in Isaac’s career — and nearly became the reason for his first-ever visit to his father’s homeland.
The Moon Knight star went on to explain that U.S. citizens can’t travel freely to Cuba, adding:
“It opened up for a moment under Obama, and then it closed up again.”
He contrasted this with how easily Canadians can visit Cuba for vacations, saying it’s frustrating to know that the country is so close, yet so restricted for Americans.
Despite that, Isaac called Cuba “an incredible place” with “beautiful culture” — and said he still hopes to go someday.
The discussion briefly turned playful when one of the hosts joked:
“Why would anyone want to go there?”
Another quickly jumped in, laughing:
“Put the shovel down! It’s got incredible culture!”
Following the Cuba discussion, the hosts asked Isaac about his spiritual background.
One mentioned growing up Catholic and asked Isaac whether he was raised Christian or Evangelical.
Isaac replied: “Evangelical.”
My name is Vijay Kumar. I work as content writer and founder of this website. I am studying BSC IT. I has been writing content since 2022. I also learn about journalism.
