Art by Stephany Torres
Since the statistics for Latines in Hollywood are still not trending upward, it’s more important than ever to highlight the best standout characters from 2023 from our communities when given opportunities in the film and TV industry.
In helping to elevate talented Latines and the work they do, studios can see that audiences are taking notice of the representation they include in their projects from The Last of Us to The Bear. They want the worlds they create for the big and small screens to look more like the world we live in today.
And there’s no denying that Latines in Hollywood can break the stereotypes that have plagued us for generations. We can be superheroes and star athletes. We can save the planet when called upon. That’s why we’ve put together a list of 10 best standout Latine characters – from Blue Beetle to Supergirl – in films and TV series that inspired and enlightened us in 2023.
In one of the best character arcs on TV this year, Chilean Pedro Pascal brought pain, vulnerability, and emotional resonance to Joel Miller, a man tasked to safely escort a 14-year-old girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a United States that is ravaged by a fungus that has destroyed the population. The father-daughter relationship they form is the heart of the drama and shows Pascal range from comedy to drama.
Honduran America Ferrera delivers a memorable and heartfelt monologue in the biggest blockbuster film of the year in Barbie. An employee at Mattel, Gloria helps Barbie (Margot Robbie) after she has an existential crisis and brings a human element to Barbieland that inspires the personified dolls to look beyond their dream houses.
In Blue Beetle, Xolo Maridueña, who is of Mexican, Cuban, and Ecuadorian ethnicity, became the first Latine to headline his own live-action superhero film from a major studio. With a supporting Latine cast including Damián Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Belissa Escobedo, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, and Bruna Marquezine, Jaime Reyes showed that family is the true source of strength no matter what the world throws at you.
In The Bear, Puerto Rican Liza Colón-Zayas plays Tina Marrero, a veteran chef working at an Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago run by an award-winning New York City chef who inherited the restaurant. Tina breaks out of her shell in the second season of the show when she sings karaoke in front of the other culinary school students and starts on her own journey to becoming a sous chef.
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Like Jaime Reyes in Blue Beetle, Miles Morales in the animated Spider-Verse franchise is all about family. That includes the family of Spider-People he met in Into the Spider-Verse and who he is kind of at odds with when faced with a hard decision that defines all Spider-People. We’re looking forward to Shameik Moore reprising his voice role in the third installment and then finding an Afro-Latine teen to take the mantle for the live-action movie.
Taylor Zakhar Perez, who is part Mexican, plays Alex Claremont-Diaz in the romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue. Alex is the U.S. President’s son who falls in love with the Prince of England (Nicholas Galitzine). He is funny and unapologetically himself. And the relationship with the prince shakes up the world and gives young LGBTQ+ viewers the kind of representation they continue to desire in a world that threatens their rights.
As the title character in the Disney+ series Ahsoka, Rosario Dawson (who identifies as having Puerto Rican, Taíno, Cuban, and African ancestry) proves that the Star Wars franchise has plenty to give when expanding on the stories of some of its strongest women warriors. And through the series, we got to see this former Padawan and Clone Wars hero face the ghosts of her past while expanding on the Star Wars universe in new and surprising ways.
We’re not sure yet if Colombian Sasha Calle is going to reprise her role as Supergirl in future DC movies, but she was easily the brightest spot in The Flash and deserves to portray her for as long as she wants. Calle brought a confidence to the character that gave it some much-needed edge and differentiated her from her beloved cousin Superman.
Ever since joining Richmond’s Greyhounds midway through the first season, Dani Rojas has brought a high level of enthusiasm and mucho mucho joy to the field and his team. This year, the Mexican played by Cristo Fernández ends season three on a literal high note when he joins the team in singing Coach Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) “So Long, Farewell” from The Sound of Music and continues being the raven-haired golden retriever we know and love!
Mexican Gael García Bernal brings the true story of Saúl Armendáriz to life in Cassandro. The film follows a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, Texas, who rises to international fame when he starts performing in the ring as an “exótico” (wrestler in drag). Saúl has a style all his own and a self-assurance that can’t be matched no matter what challenges he faces or the people who doubt him.
