Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month - Part 3: Making Waves

We continue our blog series that celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month and the contributions of Hispanic artists.  In part one, we featured some trailblazing actors in the film and television industries. In part two, we covered some game-changing Hispanic filmmakers. In the third and final part in this series we shift our focus on actors who are making waves.

Making Waves and Coming Soon

One of the most anticipated films of 2022 is the long-awaited sequel to 2009's blockbuster "Avatar." The original film is the highest-grossing movie ever, though it temporarily yielded that distinction to 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." What do those two films have in common, aside from dominating the box office? They both feature Zoe Saldaña, whose films have grossed more than $11 billion worldwide.

Born to Dominican and Puerto Rican parents, Saldaña lived in the Dominican Republic as a teenager. In December, she will star in "Avatar: The Way of Water," and next year she will reprise her role as Gamora in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." She is scheduled to appear in two additional "Avatar" sequels in 2024 and 2026. With so many sure-fire hits up her sleeve, there is no doubt that she will continue to reign the worldwide box office for years to come.

Speaking of ruling the box office, over the last few years Tessa Thompson (of Afro-Panamanian, Mexican, and Puerto Rican descent) has starred in hit after hit. She appeared in two "Creed" films and portrayed Valkyrie in three Marvel flicks, including this year's monster hit "Thor: Love and Thunder." In 2019 she had a leading role in "Men in Black: International." Additionally, she has appeared in all four season's of HBO's "Westworld." She can be seen next in "Creed III" and "The Listener," a drama that debuted at the Venice Film Festival.

Another actress keeping busy is Anya Taylor-Joy. She is of Spanish descent and lived in Argentina until the age of six. Last year, when the star of "The Queen's Gambit" hosted "Saturday Night Live," she stated that her first language is Spanish and performed part of her monologue in her native language. She has many projects in the works, with her next film "Amsterdam" (co-starring Zoe Saldaña) coming in October and "The Menu" (co-starring legendary Colombian-born actor John Leguizamo) coming in November.

Another actress with lots of projects in the works is Cuban star Ana de Armas. Audiences fell in love with her in 2019's hit whodunit "Knives Out," and last year she had a supporting role in the most recent Bond film, "No Time to Die." This year, she appeared in "Deep Water" and "The Gray Man," but her most anticipated film is the upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic "Blonde." Her star-making performance is generating early Oscar buzz.

Speaking of industry awards, over the last decade few people have found more success in the arts than composer, playwright, filmmaker, singer, and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, in the past 15 years he has won three Tonys, three Grammys, two Primetime Emmys, a Kennedy Center Honor, a Pulitzer Prize, and many more accolades. He also has two Oscar nominations for Best Original Song for tracks from the "Moana" and "Encanto" soundtracks.

In 2021 alone, his name was attached to three major films: "Encanto," which he co-wrote; "In the Heights," which he produced as an adaptation of his Broadway musical; and "tick, tick... BOOM!," which he directed. So what's next for this multi-talented star? He is producing the upcoming live-action "Little Mermaid" and rumored to be part of the cast too. He is also writing new songs for an upcoming Broadway musical based on Martin Scorsese's 1977 film "New York, New York."

Another in-demand Broadway veteran of Puerto Rican descent is Ariana DeBose. Earlier this year, she became the first Afro-Latina actress to win an Oscar, honored for her performance as Anita in 2021's "West Side Story." She also hosted the Tony Awards and was named to Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World this year. She can be seen in the most recent season of "Westworld" on HBO, and currently has numerous projects in the works, including three films in post-production. She can next be seen on the big screen in Marvel's upcoming film "Kraven the Hunter."

Sticking with Puerto Rico, Benicio del Toro is one of the island's most celebrated actors. In 2001, he became the first actor to win an Oscar for a Spanish-speaking role when he won Best Supporting Actor for 2000's "Traffic," a film featuring many actors of Hispanic descent including Salma Hayek, Luis Guzmán, Miguel Ferrer, and Clifton Collins Jr. He can next be seen in Netflix's upcoming thriller "Reptile."

In recent years, del Toro has appeared in several Marvel films as the Collector and showed up in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" as the thief and slicer DJ. Speaking of "Star Wars," the franchise features a multicultural cast of talent, including many prominent Hispanic performers.

Guatemalan-born actor Oscar Isaac entered the "Star Wars" universe in 2015 as fighter pilot Poe Dameron in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Today, he is everywhere, on TV in intimate dramas like "Scenes from a Marriage" and Marvel's big-budget hit "Moon Knight" on Disney+. Last year on the silver screen, he co-starred in the epic remake of "Dune" and the drama "The Card Counter." This year he co-starred with Cuban-born legend Andy Garcia in "Big Gold Brick," and next year he will appear in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," the highly anticipated sequel to 2018's mega-hit "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."

Another very busy actor is Pedro Pascal, who stars as the title character in "The Mandalorian" and appears in "The Book of Boba Fett." The Chilean-born star had a good year on the big screen too, co-starring with Nic Cage in the critically acclaimed "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent." He will next be starring in HBO's upcoming post-apocalyptic series "The Last of Us," based on the 2013 video game of the same name.

Diego Luna recently returned to the "Star Wars" universe after a brief hiatus. A veteran of Mexican telenovelas, Luna is best known in the U.S. as rebel pilot Cassian Andor from "Rogue One." He recently reprised the role on the prequel series "Andor," airing new episodes on Disney+ beginning September 21. Luna can also be heard (though not seen) voicing a squirrel named Chip in the animated film "DC League of Super-Pets." Next year, he will star alongside his longtime pal and frequent co-star Gael García Bernal in the Hulu limited series "La Máquina," a Spanish-language boxing drama. The two actors formed their own production company called La Corriente del Golfo (Gulfstream), which will produce the limited series. Mexican actress Eiza González, well-known for her roles in "Baby Driver" and "Ambulance," will co-star. She will also appear in Apple TV+'s upcoming anthology series "Extrapolations," which had scenes filmed here at Broadway Stages!

Speaking of Broadway Stages productions, we are so excited to soon welcome Jimmy Smits and Demián Bichir to the family. Smits, who is of Puerto Rican descent, will be appearing in CBS's upcoming police procedural drama "East New York," which premieres on October 2. He is also part of the "Star Wars" universe, portraying Senator Bail Organa on the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi." Mexican star Bichir will have a leading role in Showtime's vampire drama "Let the Right One In," coming October 7.

Thank you for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with us! Be sure to follow us for additional news that recognizes the various cultures that make our city amazing.