Miguel Mora’s identity is his strength.
Remezcla exclusively sat down with the young actor who is playing the role of Ernesto Arellano, the brother of Robin Arellano in Black Phone 2. The 18-year-old actor from Arizona played the tough as nails young man who was kidnapped by Ethan Hawke’s “The Grabber” in the first Black Phone. And because the director of the movie, Scott Derrickson, wanted to keep the original cast for Black Phone 2, he called up Mora when the movie was in development. And he came running, ecstatic to continue a Mexican-American role.
“There wasn’t another cast member that was Mexican-American in the first one. So it’s really cool to represent that. And I take a lot of pride in my roots and, being able to represent that not only as an actor, but, I mean, Robin Arellano was Mexican-American. Ernesto is Mexican-American. So not only myself am I Mexican-American, but also these characters and the culture still lives through these films.”
The sequel continues to tell the story of siblings Finn and Gwen, who are still being haunted by The Grabber, the notorious child killer who Finn killed in the first movie and who has now defied death to destroy Finn. Mora’s character goes on a mission to help the siblings stop him once and for all. Spoiler alert, there is a scene in the film where Mora’s character introduces the beloved Mexican card game, la lotería, which is not something we usually see on the big screen.
“That was already in the script when I got it,” Mora said, “So I don’t know if that was maybe Scott’s idea or his wife. They’re all really creative, really talented writers, so I’m not too sure, but I was so happy to read that.”
Mora also shared that he was able to get really close to his co-star and fellow Mexican actor, Demián Bichir, who plays the role of Armando. “Just such a pleasure working with Demián. He’s a Mexican actor, from Mexico City,” he said. “Demián was amazing in it and he was someone I truly, truly learned so much from. And even, beyond his talent, he’s such a great person. I did spend a lot more time with him.”
The young actor credits his success to his mother who he says has been a pillar in getting his acting career started. “You know, if it wasn’t for my mom, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And everything I am, everything I stand for, everything that I believe in, you know, I take. I give all that credit to my mother,” he said, “I give all that credit to her. It’s because of her that my name is Miguel Mora and that Mora’s last name is her last name.”
Speaking of Latino representation in the industry, Mora also gave Bad Bunny his flowers for his El Chavo Del Ocho skit on SNL and his upcoming performance at the 2026 Super Bowl LX Half Time Show.
“I don’t see what’s wrong with doing something like that. […] He’s Puerto Rican, you know, he’s an American citizen at the end of the day,” Mora said. “This country is made of Latinos. You know what I mean? This country isn’t what it would be without colored people. So I have nothing against that. And you know, to all my Latinos out there, keep representing, keep doing your thing and don’t let nothing stop you from doing that.”
Black Phone 2, starring Miguel Mora, is now in theaters.
