PS
Pepe Serna
Actor, Producer
Born July 23, 1944 (78 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."
Filmography
| 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 |
| 2019 | From the Dead · as Rodrigo |
| 2019 | Flavor of Life · as Unknown |
| 2019 | The Planters · as Jesús |
| 2018 | The Margarita Man · as Jose Martinez |
| 2017 | Downsizing · as Señor Cárdenas |
| 2017 | Dimension 404 (TV Series) · as Wally Nash |
| 2016 | Lowriders · as Pepe |
| 2016 | Restored Me · as Manny |
| 2016 | Gino's Wife · as Gino |
| 2015 | Kill or Be Killed · as Rudy Goebel |
| 2015 | Aguruphobia · as Nanak |
| 2015 | Ana Maria in Novela Land · as Father Miguel |
| 2014 | Man from Reno · as Paul Del Moral |
| 2014 | Cake · as Nuncio |
| 2013 | Road to Juarez · as Fortunato |
| 2010 | Dreamkiller · as actor |
| 2009 | White on Rice · as Professor Berk |
| 2006 | The Virgin of Juarez · as Eduardo Morales |
| 2006 | The Black Dahlia · as Tomas Dos Santos |
| 2005 | Criminal Minds (TV Series) · as Ruben Garcia |
| 2004 | Latin Dragon · as Hector Sanchez |
| 2003 | Devil's Knight · as Hector Rivera |
| 2003 | Exposed · as Raoul |
| 2003 | Kingpin (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 2002 | You Got Nothin' · as Carlos |
| 2001 | The Zeta Project (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 2001 | Justice League (TV Series) · as Shifflet (voice) |
| 2000 | Picking Up the Pieces · as Florencio |
| 2000 | Bread and Roses · as Restaurateur |
| 2000 | Along for the Ride · as Dr. Sanchez |
| 2000 | Daybreak · as Herman Ortiz |
| 2000 | Resurrection Blvd. (TV Series) · as actor |
| 1999 | Luminarias · as Rick |
| 1999 | The PJs (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1998 | Jesse (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1997 | The Brave · as Alessandro |
| 1995 | In the Flesh · as Harlan Ramirez |
| 1995 | Sliders (TV Series) · as Roberto |
| 1994 | A Million to Juan · as Mr. Ortiz |
| 1993 | Jonny's Golden Quest · as Agent Menendez |
| 1993 | Roosters · as actor |
| 1993 | Diagnosis Murder (TV Series) · as Capt. Collins |
| 1992 | American Me · as Mundo |
| 1992 | Only You · as Dock Official |
| 1991 | Conagher · as Casuse, Ladder Five Rider |
| 1991 | The Pirates of Dark Water (TV Series) · as actor |
| 1990 | The Rookie · as Lt. Raymond Garcia |
| 1990 | Bad Jim · as Virgilio Segura |
| 1990 | Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (TV Series) · as actor |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge · as Raoul |
| 1990 | DEA (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1989 | Quantum Leap (TV Series) · as Manuel Vega |
| 1988 | Caddyshack II · as Carlos |
| 1988 | Break of Dawn · as Hector |
| 1988 | Human Error · as Unknown |
| 1987 | The Three Kings · as Alex Sweetwood |
| 1986 | Out of Bounds · as Murano |
| 1986 | Matlock (TV Series) · as Walter Padilla |
| 1985 | Silverado · as Scruffy |
| 1985 | Fandango · as Gas Station Mechanic |
| 1985 | Streets of Justice · as Det. Almos |
| 1984 | Red Dawn · as Mr. Mondragón |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension · as Reno Nevada |
| 1984 | Hunter (TV Series) · as Roberto Sanchez |
| 1984 | Miami Vice (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1983 | Scarface · as Angel |
| 1983 | Deal of the Century · as Vardis |
| 1983 | Heartbreaker · as Loco |
| 1983 | Sadat (TV Series) · as Atif Sadat |
| 1983 | The A-Team (TV Series) · as Tómas Jefferson |
| 1983 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1982 | Vice Squad · as Pete Mendez |
| 1982 | The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez · as Romaldo Cortez |
| 1982 | T.J. Hooker (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1982 | Knight Rider (TV Series) · as Lupo |
| 1981 | The Monkey Mission · as Vito |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1981 | Cagney & Lacey (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1981 | The Greatest American Hero (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1981 | Simon & Simon (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1980 | Honeysuckle Rose · as Rooster |
| 1980 | Inside Moves · as Herrada |
| 1979 | The Jerk · as Punk #1 |
| 1979 | A Force of One · as Orlando |
| 1979 | Walk Proud · as Cesar |
| 1979 | Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (TV Series) · as Additional Voices |
| 1977 | Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo · as Migrant Worker |
| 1977 | Lou Grant (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1977 | CHiPs (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1976 | Car Wash · as Chuco |
| 1976 | Swashbuckler · as Street Entertainer |
| 1976 | The Killer Inside Me · as Johnny Lopez |
| 1975 | The Day of the Locust · as Miguel |
| 1975 | The Deadly Tower · as Mano |
| 1975 | Baretta (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1975 | Barney Miller (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 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 Enorio Patias |
| 1973 | Police Story (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1972 | The New Centurions · as Young Mexican Man |
| 1972 | Group Marriage · as Ramon |
| 1972 | The Rookies (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1972 | Kung Fu (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1971 | Johnny Got His Gun · as Jose |
| 1971 | Shoot Out · as Pepe |
| 1971 | Cannon (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1970 | The Student Nurses · as Luis |
| 1968 | Adam-12 (TV Series) · as Roger Foster |
| 1967 | Mannix (TV Series) · as Unknown |
Flamin' Hot · as actor |