10.21.22 |

Xolo Maridueña on Playing Blue Beetle and More

Rarely do we see a young actor on the fast track to stardom rise as quickly as Xolo Maridueña, let alone a Latino actor. Establishing his presence on network TV with Parenthood and later catching fire in Netflix’s Cobra Kai, Xolo has found himself in a unique position of breaking barriers in mainstream representation. Soon audiences will get to see Xolo break yet another barrier in DC’s Blue Beetle, the first Latino superhero to be given a major feature film.

We caught up with Xolo on the red carpet of the GuadaLAjara Film Festival in Los Angeles. There he described what it meant to him to play Jaime Reyes in the upcoming film.

“It feels immense. You know, this is much larger than myself…I hope it moves the needle in all the right ways, but at the end of the day as long as it opens the door for more people that’s all that matters.” – Xolo Maridueña

Xolo also shared some advice to young viewers with big aspirations of their own, who may still be figuring out which career path they want to take.

“School makes it so daunting. The idea of going to college and having to decide – hey I’m eighteen years old and I have to have everything figured out – but just learn as much as you can and always do what you love.” – XM

The GuadaLAjara Film Festival (GLAFF) showcases the best and brightest in BIPOC and Latin American cinema in order to find intersectionality across the US and Latin American film industries. This year’s festival was kicked off with the premiere of Omara, a documentary spanning the career of legendary Afro-Cuban singer Omara Portuondo.

Watch the full interview with Xolo at the top of the page, and for more interviews like this, download the LATV+ app. Now available on app stores.