Letting Them Talk with Will Harris - Ep. 10 - Pepe Serna (Scarface / Buckaroo Banzai / The Jerk)

This time, I'm letting Pepe Serna talk.

Pepe is a character actor who’s been appearing onscreen since the start of the ‘70s, bouncing between film, stage, and television, and although he’s still acting whenever the opportunity presents itself, he spends a good chunk of his time these days as an artist and an acting teacher.

Pepe’s first film was a Roger Corman cult classic called The Student Nurses, and having gotten his foot in the door, he never looked back, quickly finding himself working for Dalton Trumbo in Johnny Got His Gun, sharing the screen with Gregory Peck in Shoot Out, and guest-starring ono a plethora of classic ‘70s series, including Mannix, Kung Fu, Adam-12, The Rookies, Cannon, Medical Center, and The Rockford Files. But it was film where he really got the chance to shine, including roles in Car Wash, The Jerk, Scarface – spoiler alert: he’s the one who meets his demise at the end of a chainsaw – and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. He also forged a longstanding friendship with Edward James Olmos that found the two actors sharing the screen in a number of projects, including Miami Vice, American Me, and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

Pepe has lived a fascinating life that’s still going strong, but you can learn more about him by watching the very interesting documentary that’s been made about his life: “Pepe Serna: Life is Art.” Not coincidentally, he also has a book by the same name, with the subtitle “A Chicano’s Groundbreaking Life in Film.” Both of these are accessible via his website, PepeSerna.net.

We had a great chat, but I’ll warn you that as you listen, you’ll get the impression that he’s doing some physical bits to go along with some of the acting information he’s imparting during the conversation, and you’re right. If you haven’t already upgraded to either a paid subscription to my Substack newsletter or contributed to my Patreon campaign for the podcast, then this is a good excuse, because that way you’ll be able to check out the video footage of the interview as well.

And with that plug having been delivered, it’s time to let Pepe talk.