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Fernando Cattori’s Breakout in The Summer I Turned Pretty
If there is one series that has defined the summer, it is The Summer I Turned Pretty. With the last episode of the third season airing this Wednesday, the Jenny Han adaptation once again placed audiences at the edge of their seats, debating loyalties in the love triangle between Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad.
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Yet this season also brought a new surprise: the arrival of Benito, a young Mexican character played by Fernando Cattori, an actor and director from Mexico City who has quickly become the name on everyone’s lips.
Benito: Fernando’s Role in the Series
Benito appears in the ninth episode of the season, titled Last Call. Belly encounters him in Paris after a theft incident leaves her stranded without her backpack. Benito, a photographer, offers help and companionship as she navigates the city. Though his screen time is brief, the chemistry between Benito and Belly sparked speculation among fans about a possible new storyline. His character does not appear in Jenny Han’s original novels, but his introduction has added a fresh and authentic perspective to the series.
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“I honestly had no idea how big The Summer I Turned Pretty was until I stepped onto that massive set in Paris,” Cattori told Schön!. “Even now, I don’t think I’ll fully grasp the experience until people respond to it. But I know it was magical, completely unprecedented in my life.”
Who is Fernando Cattori?
Born in Mexico City in 1999, Fernando Cattori began his career only recently but has already built an impressive resume. He first appeared in the Netflix thriller Untamed Royals before starring in Prime Video’s Mexican rom-com With You In The Future. He studied Communication at the Universidad Iberoamericana, then honed his craft at Casa Azul and CADAC, two of Mexico’s top acting schools. His training extended abroad to the New York Film Academy and Yale’s David Geffen School of Drama, shaping his versatile artistic profile.
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Cattori also has a strong background behind the camera. He directed music videos, including Nacimos Llorando by Rubio, which earned a Latin Grammy nomination in 2024 for Best Long Form Music Video. He created commercial campaigns such as Recuérdame Viviendo for Cerveza Victoria, which was later celebrated as the most-watched ad in Mexico. His visual projects have also spanned collaborations with Nike, Coca-Cola, Dolce & Gabbana, Puma LATAM, and GQ.
Fernando has two siblings who are professional tennis players, and he sometimes accompanied them on their tours. However, he was always the artistic one in the family. “The first time I held a camera, I was about seven,” he said.
“My dad had just upgraded his VCR camcorder and casually handed me the old one. It used cassette tapes, so I kept recording and rerecording over the same one. Most of my ‘masterpieces’ with siblings and neighbours vanished almost instantly, swallowed up by the next experiment. But in a way, that ephemeral aspect still feels like the purest form of art.”
“My parents wanted me to know my own country first; it was non-negotiable,” he explained. “So I grew up immersed in Mexican culture, and that’s something I carry into every project I do.”
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In interviews, Cattori has pointed out how far his own adolescence was from the dreamy summers of Belly’s story. “My teenage years were the opposite of The Summer I Turned Pretty,” he told BuzzFeed Latam. “I grew up in the jungle, swimming all the time in Cancún. Shooting in Paris, in the cold, was completely different.” He added with a laugh, “They cut my hair, took away my piercings, and dressed me elegantly, very Parisian. Benito is not like me at all.”
What’s Next for Fernando Cattori?
Fernando Cattori already has several upcoming projects lined up, including Padre Tierra and The Follies, as well as his first feature film as a director. His mission, he has said, is to represent Mexican talent with dignity on international stages, while balancing commercial visibility with independent, personal creations.
“Even now, I don’t think I’ll fully understand what The Summer I Turned Pretty means for me until a couple of years pass,” he reflected. “But what I do know is that this experience feels once-in-a-lifetime, and maybe, if I’m lucky, it could happen again.”
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From the streets of Cancún to the stages of Paris, from shooting music videos to starring in Prime Video’s summer phenomenon, Fernando Cattori’s career is proof that Mexican voices are carving out their own powerful space in global storytelling. And with Benito’s short but memorable appearance, it seems clear this is only the beginning.
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