Last weekend, to kickstart the Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15th, Mexican actors and directors Gael Garcia and Diego Luna step into the Emmy Awards stage to give an Award and surprised everyone speaking all the segment in Spanish.
It’s definitely true, just like Colombian born John Leguizamo, that there have been advances but still there’s so much more to do relating Hispanic representation in Hollywood, but some Mexican like the “Y tu nana también” charolastras have made it and are shouting at the top nowadays. For your consideration, here are the top five Mexican actors of 2024.
5. EIZA GONZÁLEZ
Speaking of the Emmys, another Mexican star who was present in the red carpet supporting her Emmy nominated Netflix series “3 Body Problem” was Eiza González, who took also the opportunity to join her fellowmen García Bernal and Luna to promote the aforementioned Hulu series “La Máquina” where she plays the boxer´s romantic interest. Eiza just wrapped the action drama “In the Grey”, directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie starring with former leading men Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal, to be released next year.
4. DIEGO LUNA
Last Sunday Diego and Gael García Bernal, his co-star of the Mexican contemporary classic “Y tu mamá también” (Alfonso Cuarón, 2002), made headlines at the Emmys where they presented a Directing category in Spanish, just in time for kickstart the Hispanic Heritage Month but during their promotion tour for their up-coming TV series for Hulu, “La Máquina”, about an aging boxer who who faces the last chance for his to win a fight which premieres on October 9, months before Diego returns for the much awaited second season of the Disney Plus hit “Andor”, the one he´s leading into the Star Wars Universe.
3. EUGENIO DERBEZ
Just in time for the win of Best Actor of a Feature Film of 2024 for the Sundance Winner “Radical”, Mexican actor, director and producer Eugenio Derbez had a second reason to celebrate right after the end of season 4 of the Apple TV Plus hit series “Acapulco” when it was greenlighted a fifth season. Not only that: just in time for Halloween and Day of the Dead festivities his new series, “Y llegaron de noche”, which tells the real story of the crew who shot in the same Universal sets of the horror classic “Dracula” in the early 1930s during the night hours after they wrapped for the day, will have its release on VIX.
2. MELISSA BARRERA
The Monterrey, Mexico born star began the 2024 making headlines right after being fired in pre-production of the “Scream 7” film because of the comments she made on-line towards the Israeli war with Palestine. Career-wise, the controversy mostly helped her Spring release of the Universal horror comedy “Abigail” and as she maintains her stance towards the topic, next month she´ll be back on the big screen again in the Sundance hit “Your Monster”, a rom com horror written and directed by Caroline Lindy based on the 2019 short film of the same name just in time for Halloween on October 25.
!. MANUEL GARCÍA RULFO
Wrapping up the 2024 with a bang after a successful world premiere and wave reviews at the recent Toronto Film Festival, Guadalajara native García Rulfo is going to be a Netflix darling next October and November: first coming back as the leading protagonist of the hit series “The Lincoln Lawyer” on October 17 and later on, just in time for Day of the Dead too, as “Pedro Páramo”, the leading character of the famous novel by his notorious writer relative Juan Rulfo with the direction of four time Academy Award nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto on a directorial debut which some see as a sure bet of an Academy Award nomination for Best International Film for the 2025 Oscars. He’s is also part of the new “Jurassic World,” cast, it’s Manuel’s time!