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."
Movie | Flamin' Hot | Abuelito | 2023-03-11 |
Movie | Moe | Unknown | 2023-06-04 |
Movie | Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone | Rancher | 2022-04-29 |
Series | With Love | Luis Delgado | 2021-12-16 |
Movie | Flavor of Life | 2019-01-01 | |
Movie | From the Dead | Rodrigo | 2019-07-12 |
Movie | The Planters | Jesús | 2019-09-23 |
Movie | The Margarita Man | Jose Martinez | 2019-07-31 |
Series | Dimension 404 | Wally Nash | 2017-04-04 |
Movie | Lowriders | Pepe | 2017-04-28 |
Movie | Downsizing | Señor Cárdenas | 2017-12-22 |
Movie | Superpowerless | Dr. George Holst | 2016-07-24 |
Movie | Restored Me | Manny | 2016-09-11 |
Movie | Kill or Be Killed | Rudy Goebel | 2016-03-01 |
Movie | Under Water: Dive Deep | Lil' Big Me | 2016-09-30 |
Movie | Monday Nights at Seven | Paul | 2016-10-08 |
Movie | Road to Juarez | Fortunato | 2015-04-24 |
Movie | Man from Reno | Paul Del Moral | 2014-06-15 |
Movie | Cake | Nuncio | 2014-09-07 |
Movie | The Black Dahlia | Tomas Dos Santos | 2006-09-15 |
Movie | Big Dreams Little Tokyo | Mr. Gonzalez | 2006-01-01 |
Series | Criminal Minds | Ruben Garcia | 2005-09-22 |
Movie | Latin Dragon | Hector Sanchez | 2004-09-07 |
Movie | Exposed | Raoul | 2003-10-17 |
Series | Kingpin | Unknown | 2003-02-02 |
Movie | Deadly Swarm | Commandante Alvarez | 2003-09-20 |
Series | The Zeta Project | Unknown | 2001-01-27 |
Series | Justice League | Shifflet (voice) | 2001-11-17 |
Movie | Along for the Ride | Dr. Sanchez | 2001-02-17 |
Movie | Picking Up the Pieces | Florencio | 2000-05-26 |
Movie | Bread and Roses | Restaurateur | 2000-09-14 |
Movie | The Princess and the Barrio Boy | Bum | 2000-12-08 |
Movie | Daybreak | Herman Ortiz | 2000-12-19 |
Series | The PJs | Mr. Sanchez | 1999-01-10 |
Series | Jesse | Pappa Vasquez | 1998-09-24 |
Movie | The Brave | Alessandro | 1997-07-30 |
Series | Sliders | Roberto | 1995-03-22 |
Movie | In the Flesh | Harlan Ramirez | 1995-01-01 |
Movie | A Million to Juan | Mr. Ortiz | 1994-05-15 |
Series | Hotel Malibu | 1994-08-04 | |
Movie | Jonny's Golden Quest | Agent Menendez | 1993-04-04 |
Series | Second Chances | Salvador Lopez | 1993-11-25 |
Series | Dudley | Santana | 1993-04-16 |
Series | Diagnosis: Murder | Capt. Collins | 1993-10-29 |
Movie | Only You | Dock Official | 1992-01-01 |
Movie | American Me | Mundo | 1992-03-13 |
Movie | Conagher | Unknown | 1991-07-01 |
Movie | The Rookie | Lt. Ray Garcia | 1990-12-07 |
Series | DEA | 1990-09-07 | |
Movie | Bad Jim | Virgilio Segura | 1990-04-25 |
Movie | Postcards from the Edge | Raoul | 1990-09-14 |
Series | Quantum Leap | Manuel Vega | 1989-03-26 |
Movie | The Forgotten | Sgt. Pepe Gutierrez | 1989-04-26 |
Movie | Human Error | Unknown | 1988-01-01 |
Series | The Fortunate Pilgrim | John Colucci | 1988-04-03 |
Movie | Break of Dawn | Hector | 1988-12-01 |
Movie | Caddyshack II | Carlos | 1988-07-22 |
Series | A Year in the Life | Carlos | 1987-09-16 |
Movie | The Three Kings | Alex Sweetwood | 1987-12-17 |
Movie | Out of Bounds | Murano | 1986-07-25 |
Movie | Fandango | Gas Station Mechanic | 1985-01-25 |
Movie | Streets of Justice | Det. Almos | 1985-11-10 |
Series | Hell Town | Enrique | 1985-09-11 |
Movie | Best Kept Secrets | Jim Ramos | 1984-03-26 |
Movie | Red Dawn | Aardvark's Father | 1984-08-10 |
Movie | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | Reno Nevada | 1984-08-10 |
Series | Miami Vice | Zabado | 1984-09-16 |
Series | Hunter | Roberto Sanchez | 1984-09-18 |
Series | The A-Team | Tómas Jefferson | 1983-01-23 |
Movie | White Water Rebels | Harry Cutter | 1983-01-01 |
Movie | The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez | Romaldo Cortez | 1983-08-19 |
Movie | Scarface | Angel | 1983-12-09 |
Series | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Unknown | 1983-10-03 |
Movie | Deal of the Century | Vardis | 1983-11-04 |
Movie | Vice Squad | Pete Mendez | 1982-01-22 |
Movie | Seguin | Manuel Flores | 1982-01-26 |
Series | Cagney & Lacey | Unknown | 1982-03-25 |
Series | T. J. Hooker | Frank Fierro | 1982-03-13 |
Series | Knight Rider | Lupo | 1982-09-26 |
Series | The Greatest American Hero | Unknown | 1981-03-18 |
Movie | 300 Miles for Stephanie | Bobby Hernandez | 1981-01-12 |
Series | Hill Street Blues | Unknown | 1981-01-15 |
Movie | Joe Dancer II: The Monkey Mission | Vito | 1981-03-23 |
Series | Simon & Simon | Unknown | 1981-11-24 |
Movie | City in Fear | Raymond Zavala | 1980-03-30 |
Movie | Honeysuckle Rose | Rooster | 1980-07-18 |
Movie | Inside Moves | Herrada | 1980-12-19 |
Movie | A Force of One | Orlando | 1979-06-01 |
Movie | Walk Proud | Cesar | 1979-06-15 |
Movie | Roots of Blood | Juan | 1979-05-30 |
Movie | The Streets of L.A. | Sgt. Castro | 1979-11-13 |
Movie | The Jerk | Punk #1 | 1979-12-14 |
Series | The Paper Chase | Unknown | 1978-09-09 |
Series | Rafferty | Unknown | 1977-09-05 |
Series | CHiPs | Unknown | 1977-09-15 |
Movie | Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo | Migrant Worker (uncredited) | 1977-12-28 |
Series | Lou Grant | Unknown | 1977-09-20 |
Movie | Swashbuckler | Street Entertainer | 1976-07-29 |
Movie | The Killer Inside Me | Johnny Lopez | 1976-10-01 |
Movie | Car Wash | Chuco | 1976-10-22 |
Series | Barney Miller | Julio Rodriguez | 1975-01-23 |
Movie | The Desperate Miles | Ruiz | 1975-03-05 |
Series | Baretta | Unknown | 1975-01-17 |
Series | Bronk | Unknown | 1975-04-17 |
Movie | The Deadly Tower | Mano | 1975-10-18 |
Movie | The Day of the Locust | Miguel | 1975-05-07 |
Movie | The Last Angry Man | Charlie Parelli | 1974-04-16 |
Movie | The Gun | Natcho | 1974-11-13 |
Series | The Rockford Files | Ray Ochoa | 1974-09-13 |
Movie | Group Marriage | Ramon | 1973-03-01 |
Series | Police Story | Unknown | 1973-03-20 |
Series | Kojak | Rudy Diaz | 1973-10-24 |
Movie | Miracle on 34th Street | Y Leader | 1973-12-14 |
Series | The Rookies | Unknown | 1972-09-11 |
Movie | The New Centurions | Young Mexican Man | 1972-08-03 |
Series | Kung Fu | Unknown | 1972-10-14 |
Movie | Shoot Out | Pepe | 1971-07-02 |
Series | Cannon | Unknown | 1971-09-14 |
Movie | The Student Nurses | Luis | 1970-12-02 |
Series | Adam-12 | Roger | 1968-09-21 |
Series | Mannix | Unknown | 1967-09-16 |