JUST LIKE HIS CHARACTER JAIME REYES IN THE MOVIE BLUE BEETLE, ACTOR XOLO MARIDUEÑA WAS BESTOWED WITH AN INCREDIBLE SUIT OF ARMOUR THAT'S CAPABLE OF EXTRAORDINARY AND UNPREDICTABLE POWERS – TO ESCAPE THE FAMILIAR BOXES HOLLYWOOD PLACES YOU IN – BEING CAST AS THE FIRST LATINO SUPERHERO IN A DC FILM. PRIOR TO BREAKING THE MOULD, HE WAS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS TURNS AS MIGUEL DIAZ ON COBRA KAI AND VICTOR GRAHAM ON PARENTHOOD. AT 23, HIS WORK HAS BEEN TRANSFORMATIVE NOT JUST FOR HIS CHARACTERS, BUT FOR HIMSELF, AS HE CONTINUES TO PAVE THE WAY FOR GREATER DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION IN THE INDUSTRY.

Left Full look **Dior Men**
Right Coat **Dior Men**, jacket **Emporio Armani**, pants Ami, boots **Dsquared2**

The final season of Cobra Kai is like a three-course meal, temptingly delivered in its parts, and there will be a hearty ending, I’m sure! Is this going to be the best season yet?

I’ve never been good at choosing what's “best” but I can certainly say this is the season we worked the hardest on. It was so important to send off Johnny and Daniel the right way, and I can confidently say that we did!

What were your favourite scenes to shoot and was there a lot of emotion between you all on set?

The joy of filming a show with twenty characters is the moments spent as a whole. I was so glad this last season pulled all of us together, so much of what I will remember about this show are the moments laughing in between takes with my best friends.

Left Full look **Dolce&Gabbana**
Right Coat and pants **Emporio Armani**, shirt and tank top Ami, boots Dsquared2

You’re old enough to have a drink now which you weren’t when you started filming this show! Did you make a toast to all the cast and crew you grew up on set with?

Absolutelyyyy not!! My best pals Jacob and Peyton helped me make our cast and crew a yearbook with everyone's photos and memories documented over the years. I got to hand deliver our little toast to everyone; I’m not a fan of talking to large groups like that.

You mention a yearbook, and it’s been 7 years of your life, so I imagine it’s been transformative not only for your character but also for yourself. How has playing Miguel shaped you in terms of finding character-building moments for other projects like Blue Beetle, as both roles are action-based, but there’s a lot of heart to them?

Cobra Kai gave me the confidence to come into my own on Blue Beetle. Getting to explore in such great depth helped me learn to dig deep in all sorts of scenarios, and watching Ralph Macchio and William Zabka taught me what it meant to lead as an actor – they carry themselves as true gentleman and leaders.

Shirt and pants Ami, boots **Dsquared2**, watch **Omega**

Speaking of leaders; being cast as the superhero lead in Blue Beetle was a milestone for Latino representation in major franchises, and you’re a role model for Latino kids to look up to! How did that feel, being able to represent and honour your culture?

I will forever be indebted to the folks at Warner Brothers for getting the group together that made Blue Beetle. They truly understood the assignment and I pray every day that another movie like this will get made one day.

It ushered in a new era of diverse storytelling in the genre, and now you’re set to reprise the role in an animated series from DC Studios. What can you tell us about that?

As someone who has never grown out of watching animation, it’s so exciting to be contributing to this new chapter of DC! We are going to be able to tell the type of stories that live-action can’t, and the team is working hard to get it out at the right time.

Aside from acting, you’re also a musician, having released your debut single On My Way last year. It was heavily rap-based – is that the kind of stuff you were listening to growing up?

Hip-hop was a huge part of my upbringing, A Tribe Called Quest, Kendrick Lamar, and Outkast were all in rotation.