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Rafael L. Silva 'Connects Deeply' With a Character Uncovering Who He Is In 'The Waterfront'

In "The Waterfront," the "9-1-1: Lone Star" actor plays Shawn, who arrives from Texas with a mysterious past — and learns more than he might have bargained for.

By Maddie Ellis | June 20, 2025

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Rafael L. Silva got the call that he booked "The Waterfront" on a Friday. On Tuesday, he was already filming.

"What I was understanding from the role itself — and it was my first time experiencing this in my young career — was that, oh, they want me to really just be me," he tells TODAY.com.

"The Waterfront" follows the affluent Buckley family in a fictional North Carolina coastal town as they struggle to keep their fishery business afloat and turn to drug smuggling to make ends meet.

Silva's character, Shawn, is introduced as the new bartender at the family's restaurant. He shares that he's from Galveston, Texas, and in town because he "wanted a change." But his skills — or lack thereof — behind the bar draw suspicion from Buckley matriarch Belle (Maria Bello).

It's revealed in Episode 2 that Shawn was born from an affair between his late mother, Bebe, and head of the Buckley family, Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany). Rather than a former bartender, Shawn is actually a law student at the University of Texas at Austin. (Silva, known for starring in the Austin-set "9-1-1: Lone Star," which ended in February 2025, calls this a "happy coincidence," adding, "Maybe Shawn and Carlos crossed paths, we don't know.")

Shawn learned the name of his father as his mother died. So, he decided to temporarily leave his life as he knew it, including his boyfriend, to meet his family.

"Shawn goes the literal distance to learn who his father is, and learning the possibility that he has a father," Silva, 31, says. "I, Rafael, moved to this country with my mom and my brother to be reunited with my own father. I was 13, and we also went the literal distance for that to happen."

Shawn likely never imagined folding into the fiercely loyal Buckley family. By the end, he��s a key member of the group, stepping up to defend Belle when a threat arrives, and coming up with a plan to save his half-sister Bree Buckley (Melissa Benoist) after she’s kidnapped.

"The places where Shawn and I may share in our own existence is this blessed ignorance of not knowing what's ahead," he adds, "but knowing that you have to let go of everything that you have in order to find out what you're capable of having or receiving in the future.

"That's something that I truly connect deeply, because as an immigrant in this country, and especially with the state of the country right now, we didn't come with any one agenda," the Brazilian actor says. "I've never dreamed of being an actor. I never dreamed of living the life that I'm living now."

Shawn's goal of finding where he belongs slowly unfolds over the course of the show, against the backdrop of Harlan, Belle, Bree and Cane's (Jake Weary) scheming to keep their business operating and their drug smuggling under the radar.

"If we go to the core of who I think this character is ... I think there's just this very quiet but thunderous need to not feel alone in life," Silva says.

Silva says creator Kevin Williamson, also responsible for "Dawson's Creek" and "The Vampire Diaries," essentially "builds the foundation of a house." And Silva was able to add in details of the character from there, imagining key traits and a rich backstory. His key question was: Why is Shawn in Havenport, and why now?

"I did take my own creative place in justifying Shawn's relationship with his mother, and justifying, like, how come this m---------- can kick some ass, you know?" he says.

Silva says Shawn came to Havenport because his mother's death marked losing "the most important person." Now, he essentially has nothing to lose.

"Yes, the romantic partner is important, but (with) family, when it comes to blood, it's irreplaceable," he says. "Blood is irreplaceable when it comes to connection. And I think Shawn is after that."

But Shawn’s gradually introduced to the reality of the family’s dealings, which Silva says likely runs counter to his "strong moral compass" and respect for the rules as a future lawyer. And by the end, Shawn may have signed up for more than he bargained for. In the explosive finale, Shawn and Cane hatch a plan to rescue Bree, sneaking onto drug supplier Grady's (Topher Grace) boat before a bloody shootout leaves Grady dead.

"I think Shawn is brokenhearted a little bit by the reality that he's come across who this family, who his family, is," Silva says.

Silva imagines that his character hoped for a world in which the family he met in Havenport was "normal" — or at least, not at the helm of a criminal enterprise.

"He's that compass in the family that is just like, constantly being bombarded with things that makes him want to crawl out of his own skin," Silva says. "I also have questions for Kevin. Who is this guy in the face of all of this? Who has he become? Because at the end of the day, he's still Harlan's son."

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he’s at it again

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RAFAEL L. SILVA as SHAWN WEST in WATERFRONT (2025-)

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9-1-1: Lone Star — 3.13 | “Riddle of the Sphynx”

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RAFAEL SILVA as SHAWN WEST in THE WATERFRONT S1 E3 | “Playing with Fire” | Episode Stills

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🧨🚑 Dear TNT is an advice column where you can submit your questions or problems for TK, Nancy, and Tommy to answer with their best advice! This column is compiled and edited by @emsprovisions, who will be collecting the questions and compiling TNT’s answers 🚑🧨

Rules: Please submit asks to either this blog or to Emily @emsprovisions with your “problems” for TNT

Please submit your asks with your actual blog attached (no anons, unless you sign off). This project is intended to feel as though TNT is directly engaging with you, members of the fandom!

Please do not include any actual personal or identifying information or problems. Your problem can be anything from “work has been hard lately” to “I’ve had this gash on my foot for a week and it isn’t healing.” It would be fun to have a mix of normal advice column questions about love and life, and a few medical questions. Feel free to be creative and come up with some kooky issues to have!

Have fun sending in your questions and look forward to the zine for TNT’s answers! Get in touch with Emily @emsprovisions if you have any questions! 🚑🧨

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THE WATERFRONT (2025-) S01E01 - 'Almost Okay'

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i loveeeeeee nonlinear storytelling. show me where we are. now show me how we got here. the end before the beginning. show me how it was inevitable or how many chances we had to change things(nothing was ever going to change). let's meet in the middle as all the puzzle pieces slide into place hell yeah that's the good shit.

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911 lone star fashion -> every tk outfit

↳ 1.01

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I ain’t afraid of no goats.

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How it feels to read a really good fic and find the author has dozens more like it 

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Farmers Market AU! either Vendor(s) or customer(s), your pick

1. Carlos’ stand is a staple at the farmers market. He always has a line to get a pick of the fresh produce he brings from his family farm

2. TK feels lost in Austin, unsure of how to live this new chapter of his life. His therapist recommends finding an outlet—healthy cooking, cardio, etc. it leads TK to the farmers market

3. He figure that Reyes Farms must be good judging from the line, although when he gets to the front, he wonders if the line is just because of the man behind the table

4. TK comes back every day the market is open, specifically to the Reyes stand. He gets advice on how to best roast the vegetables, what recipes to make, how to properly store them so they stay fresh for longer. He notices when he leaves that he always has an extra something in his bag that he didn’t pay for—a bundle of fresh herbs or a container of strawberries or a jar of honey. One day, it’s a phone number

5. A year after TK arrived to Austin, he’s found a new purpose, selling produce to the people of Austin by his boyfriend’s side

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"birth control is evil and fucks up your hormones and is making women depressed" is incredibly funny to hear when you have PMDD. girl in my ~natural divine feminine state~ i wanna kill myself every 4 weeks

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911 Lone Star: Riddle of the Sphynx (3x13) | In Sickness and in Health (4x18) | The Quiet Ones (5x08)

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Farmer AU

1. Carlos is a Georgia peach farmer in the 50s that took over his uncle’s orchard when he suddenly passed

2. TK has just been feeling lost since he came home from the war, drifting to and from different places to try and find a home

3. He stumbles on the help wanted sign for the peach farm, and begins to spend his days under the hot sun with dirt on his hands as he works beside the quiet farmer that doesn’t share much about himself

4. On a day Carlos gives him off, TK decides to stick around the house, baking a cobbler out of the peaches that didn’t make the cut for selling. They share it on the porch with the cool breeze blowing and as they learn more about each other

5. Their first kiss tastes like sugar and summer, hidden between the rows of trees that conceal their love