Pepe Serna

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Birthday:

23 July 1944, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

The ever-reliable Hispanic-American actor Pepe Serna has appeared in more than 100 feature films and 300 television shows, but is most recognized for his performances in several motion pictures, including Scarface (1983) with Al Pacino, Silverado starring Kevin Costner (1985), The Rookie (1990) with Clint Eastwood, and American Me (1992) with Edward James Olmos. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1944, Serna was initially discovered by producer Hal Wallis and debuted in his film Red Sky at Morning (1971). Pepe's sideline as a painter has met with critical success and he has been commissioned quite frequently. His vibrant paintings and recent one-man stage shows reflect a serious return to his Mexican roots. Show less «

About the roles he's offered: "I'm usually killing or get killed, because I'm Latino."

Being from improv, you'd always go out and do accents or whatever. You wouldn't judge yourself, you'd just do it. You had the freedom to be ...Show more »

Being from improv, you'd always go out and do accents or whatever. You wouldn't judge yourself, you'd just do it. You had the freedom to be as bad as you can be. Show less «

Everybody is the same. Every actor, every situation is the same. I just hope it's as much fun for everybody else as it is for me. That's usu...Show more »

Everybody is the same. Every actor, every situation is the same. I just hope it's as much fun for everybody else as it is for me. That's usually my goal, because I don't know anyone else who has as much fun as me. Show less «

[on acting in movies that are shot all over the world] That's the lucky thing of being a character actor, you get to enjoy life. You're not ...Show more »

[on acting in movies that are shot all over the world] That's the lucky thing of being a character actor, you get to enjoy life. You're not just going to the hotel to the set. You get paid vacations to play around. Show less «

[on whether being typecast in token Chicano roles ever bothered him] I didn't let it. Because that was the reality. A lot of people did, and...Show more »

[on whether being typecast in token Chicano roles ever bothered him] I didn't let it. Because that was the reality. A lot of people did, and they didn't work. That's why I worked so much. I said, "This is what I wanted to do all of my life and I enjoy all of it." Whether it's stage, or television, movies. To me it's all the same. It's all a gift. However, I have been in the right place at the right time but I really could have been in so much more. The whole diversity thing wasn't there and I didn't buy into it too much myself growing up. But looking back, there really wasn't a lot of opportunities. I auditioned for Richard Gere's part in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). I auditioned for Eric Roberts' part in King of the Gypsies (1978). It wasn't like I didn't get to audition for incredible things, but, like anything, it could have been something great. They asked me, "Where are you from," y'know, Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) was a New York guy. Show less «

I was never in awe of anybody. This is what I was going to do my whole life and I'm supposed to be there like anybody else. But it's kind of...Show more »

I was never in awe of anybody. This is what I was going to do my whole life and I'm supposed to be there like anybody else. But it's kind of interesting, after the fact, to realize that I was directed by Carl Reiner. And Waldo Salt came to my apartment with his wife and we smoked a couple of doobies. I've never been a film buff and it's just amazing. It would have been different had I been more educated in what I was doing. Maybe not. Who knows? It was easy breezy. They say, "Show me an actor who has never had stage fright and I'll show you a bad actor." That's probably me, because I've never had stage fright. Show less «