You might not know the name Pepe Serna, but it’s likely you’ve seen his face and his acting. Serna has been featured in more than 100 films and 300 television programs throughout his Hollywood career. Serna performed in prominent films and left his mark on cinema history. He played the character in the film "Scarface" who was tortured and murdered with a chainsaw as Al Pacino’s character watched.
A documentary "Pepe Serna: Life is Art," tells the story of the Mexican American actor and spotlights his decades-long ground breaking work in film. But it also shows how he helped and encouraged other Latino actors to find their way to movie success – including his friend Edward James Olmos.
Serna, 78, was born in Corpus Christi where even as a child he set his goal to become an actor. He moved to Los Angeles in 1969, at age 24. The acting roles were limited due to racial prejudices.
The most recent Hollywood Diversity Report from the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that in 2020, Latinos made up close to 19% of the U.S. population, but were cast in only 4.9% of leading roles in cable shows and 4.6% of movie roles.
In 2020, Serna penned a call to action to Congress, asking it to "address and resolve the lack of inclusiveness and diversity in the entertainment industry."
Pepe Serna is also involved in advocacy for the farmworker community, on both a local and national level. He's known to participate in events organized by United Farm Workers, a labor union for farmworkers in the U.S.
Guest: Pepe Serna is a film and television actor from Corpus Christi, Texas.
He’s worked alongside actors like Al Pacino, Steve Martin, and Edward James Olmos. He’s been in movies including “Scarface,” “American Me,” and “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.” He has a new documentary “Pepe Serna: Life is Art,” and a new book by the same name.
