PS
Pepe Serna
Actor, Producer
Born July 23, 1944 (80 years)
Durable Mexican-American actor Pepe Serna has appeared in more than 100 feature films and 300 television shows, but is most recognized for his gritty support performances in a variety of motion pictures, including Scarface (1983) as Al Pacino's ill-fated cocaine partner, as well as the western Silverado (1985) with Kevin Costner, the crime yarn The Rookie (1990) starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen, and the drama American Me (1992) starring Edward James Olmos. In a career surpassing five decades, Pepe's characters have played on both sides of the law -- from drug peddlers to sheriffs.
He was born (and raised) in Corpus Christi, Texas on July 23, 1944, the son of a naval base interpreter for Latin American pilots and a hairdresser. His desires to become an actor happened early in life, moving to Hollywood in 1969 to finally pursue his dreams. He didn't have to wait long to find steady Latino work on film and TV.
Making an inauspicious debut in the exploitation film The Student Nurses (1970), Pepe found more "A" quality work after being discovered by producer Hal B. Wallis for the coming-of-age film Tim Belcher starring Richard Thomas and Catherine Burns and the western Shoot Out (1971) starring Gregory Peck. Specializing in urban, streetwise roles, he went on to mix a number of popular films (The New Centurions (1972), The Day of the Locust (1975), Car Wash (1976), A Force of One (1979), Walk Proud (1979), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Inside Moves (1980), Deal of the Century (1983), Red Dawn (1984), Caddyshack II (1988)) with a slew of popular TV crime dramas such as "Mannix," "Police Story," "Adam-12," "The Rookies," "The Rockford Files," "Baretta," "Kojak," "CHiPs," "Barney Miller," "Scarecrow & Mrs. King," "T.J. Hooker," "Simon & Simon," "Hill Street Blues," "Miami Vice," "Cagney & Lacey" and "Diagnosis Murder."
Long married to wife Diane, Pepe is a noted keynote teacher and motivational speaker who tours colleges and universities. His strong sideline as a painter has been met with critical success, having been commissioned quite frequently. His vibrant paintings and one-man stage shows reflect a serious return to his Mexican roots and was the subject of the 2015 short documentary "Life Is Art."
He was born (and raised) in Corpus Christi, Texas on July 23, 1944, the son of a naval base interpreter for Latin American pilots and a hairdresser. His desires to become an actor happened early in life, moving to Hollywood in 1969 to finally pursue his dreams. He didn't have to wait long to find steady Latino work on film and TV.
Making an inauspicious debut in the exploitation film The Student Nurses (1970), Pepe found more "A" quality work after being discovered by producer Hal B. Wallis for the coming-of-age film Tim Belcher starring Richard Thomas and Catherine Burns and the western Shoot Out (1971) starring Gregory Peck. Specializing in urban, streetwise roles, he went on to mix a number of popular films (The New Centurions (1972), The Day of the Locust (1975), Car Wash (1976), A Force of One (1979), Walk Proud (1979), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Inside Moves (1980), Deal of the Century (1983), Red Dawn (1984), Caddyshack II (1988)) with a slew of popular TV crime dramas such as "Mannix," "Police Story," "Adam-12," "The Rookies," "The Rockford Files," "Baretta," "Kojak," "CHiPs," "Barney Miller," "Scarecrow & Mrs. King," "T.J. Hooker," "Simon & Simon," "Hill Street Blues," "Miami Vice," "Cagney & Lacey" and "Diagnosis Murder."
Long married to wife Diane, Pepe is a noted keynote teacher and motivational speaker who tours colleges and universities. His strong sideline as a painter has been met with critical success, having been commissioned quite frequently. His vibrant paintings and one-man stage shows reflect a serious return to his Mexican roots and was the subject of the 2015 short documentary "Life Is Art."
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2023 | Flamin' Hot · as Abuelito |
| 2021 | Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone · as Rancher |
| 2021 | With Love (TV Series) · as Luis Delgado |
| 2020 | Going Rogue · as Reno Rivera |
| 2020 | Teenage Girl: First Wheels · as Fast Draw Mcgraw |
| 2019 | The Planters · as Jesús |
| 2019 | The Margarita Man · as Jose Martinez |
| 2019 | From the Dead · as Rodrigo |
| 2019 | |
| 2017 | Downsizing · as Señor Cárdenas |
| 2017 | Dimension 404 (TV Series) · as Wally Nash |
| 2016 | Lowriders · as Pepe |
| 2016 | Monday Nights at Seven · as Paul |
| 2016 | Gino's Wife · as Gino |
| 2016 | Restored Me · as Manny |
| 2015 | Aguruphobia · as Nanak |
| 2015 | Kill or Be Killed · as Rudy Goebel |
| 2015 | Ana Maria in Novela Land · as Father Miguel |
| 2014 | Cake · as Nuncio |
| 2014 | Man from Reno · as Paul Del Moral |
| 2013 | Road to Juarez · as Fortunato |
| 2010 | Dreamkiller · as Cast |
| 2009 | White on Rice · as Professor Berk |
| 2006 | The Black Dahlia · as Tomas Dos Santos |
| 2006 | The Virgin of Juarez · as Eduardo Morales |
| 2006 | Big Dreams Little Tokyo · as Mr. Gonzalez |
| 2005 | Criminal Minds (TV Series) · as Ruben Garcia |
| 2004 | Latin Dragon · as Hector Sanchez |
| 2003 | Exposed · as Raoul |
| 2003 | Deadly Swarm · as Commandante Alvarez |
| 2003 | Devil's Knight · as Hector Rivera |
| 2003 | Kingpin (TV Series) |
| 2002 | You Got Nothin' · as Carlos |
| 2002 | American Family (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 2001 | Justice League (TV Series) · as Shifflet (voice) |
| 2001 | The Zeta Project (TV Series) |
| 2000 | Along for the Ride · as Dr. Sanchez |
| 2000 | Daybreak · as Herman Ortiz |
| 2000 | The Princess & the Barrio Boy · as Bum |
| 2000 | Bread and Roses · as Restaurateur |
| 2000 | Picking Up the Pieces · as Florencio |
| 2000 | Resurrection Blvd. (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1999 | Luminarias · as Rick |
| 1999 | The PJs (TV Series) · as Sanchez (voice) |
| 1998 | Jesse (TV Series) · as Pappa Vasquez |
| 1997 | The Brave · as Alessandro |
| 1995 | Sliders (TV Series) · as Roberto |
| 1995 | In the Flesh · as Harlan Ramirez |
| 1994 | Hotel Malibu (TV Series) |
| 1994 | A Million to Juan · as Mr. Ortiz |
| 1993 | Second Chances (TV Series) · as Salvador Lopez |
| 1993 | Diagnosis Murder (TV Series) · as Capt. Collins |
| 1993 | Dudley (TV Series) · as Santana |
| 1993 | Jonny's Golden Quest · as Agent Menendez |
| 1993 | Roosters · as Cast |
| 1992 | Only You · as Dock Official |
| 1992 | American Me · as Mundo |
| 1991 | |
| 1991 | The Pirates of Dark Water (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1990 | The Rookie · as Lt. Ray Garcia |
| 1990 | Good Grief (TV Series) · as El Gallo |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge · as Raoul |
| 1990 | DEA (TV Series) |
| 1990 | Bad Jim · as Virgilio Segura |
| 1990 | Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1989 | Dragnet (1989) (TV Series) · as Neil Velez |
| 1989 | The Forgotten · as Sgt. Pepe Gutierrez |
| 1989 | Quantum Leap (TV Series) · as Manuel Vega |
| 1988 | Break of Dawn · as Hector |
| 1988 | Caddyshack II · as Carlos |
| 1988 | The Fortunate Pilgrim (TV Series) · as John Colucci |
| 1988 | |
| 1987 | The Three Kings · as Alex Sweetwood |
| 1987 | A Year in the Life (TV Series) · as Carlos |
| 1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse (TV Series) · as Mateo Cordero |
| 1987 | Mr. President (TV Series) · as Perrera |
| 1986 | A Year in the Life (1986) (TV Series) · as Carlos |
| 1986 | Out of Bounds · as Murano |
| 1986 | Matlock (TV Series) · as Walter Padilla |
| 1985 | Streets of Justice · as Det. Almos |
| 1985 | Silverado · as Scruffy |
| 1985 | Hell Town (TV Series) · as Enrique |
| 1985 | Fandango · as Gas Station Mechanic |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension · as Reno Nevada |
| 1984 | |
| 1984 | Jessie (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1984 | Miami Vice (TV Series) · as Zabado |
| 1984 | Red Dawn · as Aardvark's Father |
| 1984 | Best Kept Secrets · as Jim Ramos |
| 1983 | Scarface · as Angel |
| 1983 | Deal of the Century · as Vardis |
| 1983 | Sadat (TV Series) · as Atif Sadat |
| 1983 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King (TV Series) |
| 1983 | Emerald Point N.A.S. (TV Series) · as Marcos |
| 1983 | The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez · as Romaldo Cortez |
| 1983 | Heartbreaker · as Loco |
| 1983 | The A-Team (TV Series) · as Tómas Jefferson |
| 1983 | White Water Rebels · as Harry Cutter |
| 1982 | Knight Rider (TV Series) · as Lupo |
| 1982 | T.J. Hooker (TV Series) · as Frank Fierro |
| 1982 | Vice Squad · as Pete Mendez |
| 1981 | Simon & Simon (TV Series) |
| 1981 | Cagney & Lacey (TV Series) |
| 1981 | The Monkey Mission · as Vito |
| 1981 | The Greatest American Hero (TV Series) |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues (TV Series) |
| 1980 | American Playhouse (TV Series) · as Manuel Flores |
| 1980 | Inside Moves · as Herrada |
| 1980 | Honeysuckle Rose · as Rooster |
| 1980 | City in Fear · as Raymond Zavala |
| 1979 | The Jerk · as Punk #1 |
| 1979 | Walk Proud · as Cesar |
| 1979 | Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (TV Series) · as Additional Voices |
| 1979 | A Force of One · as Orlando |
| 1978 | The Paper Chase (TV Series) |
| 1978 | Roots of Blood · as Juan |
| 1977 | Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo · as Migrant Worker (uncredited) |
| 1977 | Lou Grant (TV Series) |
| 1977 | CHiPs (TV Series) |
| 1977 | Rafferty (TV Series) |
| 1976 | Car Wash · as Chuco |
| 1976 | The Killer Inside Me · as Johnny Lopez |
| 1976 | Delvecchio (TV Series) · as Mario Benitez |
| 1976 | Swashbuckler · as Street Entertainer |
| 1975 | The Deadly Tower · as Mano |
| 1975 | The Day of the Locust · as Miguel |
| 1975 | Bronk (TV Series) |
| 1975 | Barney Miller (TV Series) · as Julio Rodriguez |
| 1975 | Baretta (TV Series) |
| 1974 | The Gun · as Natcho |
| 1974 | Hangup · as Enrique |
| 1974 | The Rockford Files (TV Series) · as Ray Ochoa |
| 1973 | Miracle on 34th Street · as Y Leader |
| 1973 | Kojak (TV Series) · as Rudy Diaz |
| 1973 | Police Story (TV Series) |
| 1972 | Group Marriage · as Ramon |
| 1972 | The New Centurions · as Young Mexican Man |
| 1972 | The Rookies (TV Series) |
| 1972 | Kung Fu (TV Series) |
| 1971 | Cannon (TV Series) |
| 1971 | Johnny Got His Gun · as Jose |
| 1971 | |
| 1971 | Red Sky at Morning · as Chango Lopez |
| 1970 | The Student Nurses · as Luis |
| 1969 | Medical Center (TV Series) · as Pepe |
| 1968 | Adam-12 (TV Series) · as Roger |
| 1967 | Mannix (TV Series) |