Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
For this episode of the De Los Podcast, hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Xolo Maridueña — actor, podcaster, and the first Latino to headline a live-action DC superhero film — for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up on the east side of Los Angeles, building a career from the ground up, and what it really meant to make Blue Beetle. Born and raised in El Sereno, Xolo traces his path from community theater at Casa 101 and the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, to landing Cobra Kai at 16 — the role he describes as the North Star that shifted everything. He talks about the phone call from Ralph Macchio that almost didn't happen, what it was like to watch Miguel Diaz mirror his own coming-of-age in real time, and why he didn't fully believe acting was his career until well into his seventh year of doing it. He opens up about Blue Beetle — the first live-action superhero movie with a Latino lead, a predominantly Latino cast, and a crew that felt, in his words, "like the Avengers." He shares what it was like to sit in a theater in Montebello and watch kids who looked like him cry at the screen for the first time. He also talks about his upcoming projects: the Netflix live-action adaptation of One Piece, Dog Years alongside Xochitl Gomez, and Killing Castro — a film premiering at Tribeca about a story so wild he kept thinking it had to be dramatized. It wasn't. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.
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For this episode of the De Los Podcast, hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Xolo Maridueña — actor, podcaster, and the first Latino to headline a live-action DC superhero film — for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up on the east side of Los Angeles, building a career from the ground up, and what it really meant to make Blue Beetle. Born and raised in El Sereno, Xolo traces his path from community theater at Casa 101 and the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, to landing Cobra Kai at 16 — the role he describes as the North Star that shifted everything. He talks about the phone call from Ralph Macchio that almost didn't happen, what it was like to watch Miguel Diaz mirror his own coming-of-age in real time, and why he didn't fully believe acting was his career until well into his seventh year of doing it. He opens up about Blue Beetle — the first live-action superhero movie with a Latino lead, a predominantly Latino cast, and a crew that felt, in his words, "like the Avengers." He shares what it was like to sit in a theater in Montebello and watch kids who looked like him cry at the screen for the first time. He also talks about his upcoming projects: the Netflix live-action adaptation of One Piece, Dog Years alongside Xochitl Gomez, and Killing Castro — a film premiering at Tribeca about a story so wild he kept thinking it had to be dramatized. It wasn't. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS AND NEWS
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=losangelestimes
latimes.com/subscription
LET’S CONNECT:
Facebook ► facebook.com/latimes
Twitter ► twitter.com/LATimes
Instagram ► instagram.com/latimes
