“Arrive at the Gates” Column By Judi Jordan for Latin Heat

This year two of the IMAGEN Awards Best Actor in a TV Drama nominees, Pedro Pascal and Diego Luna, exemplify the IMAGEN Awards mission by portraying Latinos as layered, emotionally resonant figures at the heart of the global sci-fi phenomena. Pascal, as the grieving father tasked with protecting humanity’s last hope, and Luna, as the revolutionary mind behind a galaxy’s fight for freedom. Both prove beyond doubt their ability to anchor entire fictional universes with vulnerability and moral complexity —roles long reserved for others.

Despite their very different career paths, both have become the emotional core of massive franchises, bringing audiences around the world deeply nuanced and fully realized characters. They are themselves extensions of the best of their characters. Luna’s mantra “Cinema is a mirror that can change the world”; and Pedro’s consistent message to fans, “I Love You” emanate authentically from the personal journeys of these very different, gifted artists. 

Two of the most magnetic Latino talents in cinema now stand at the center of entertainment’s most passionate fandoms—sci-fi enthusiasts and gamers alike. Pascal and Luna’s paths to genre stardom reveal strikingly different trajectories that converge in their mastery of complex, morally ambiguous characters in beloved franchises.

Pascal’s journey embodies the classic late-bloomer narrative. Born in Chile and raised in California, he spent over two decades grinding through small television roles and theater work, always struggling financially while honing his craft. His breakthrough didn’t arrive until his mid-forties, when an introduction from steadfast friend Sarah Paulsen to David Benioff EP/Creator Game of Thrones landed him in his career-defining role as Oberyn Martell in this series. That explosive performance and dramatic death opened doors to Narcos, where he portrayed DEA agent Javier Peña, and eventually to the career-transforming role of Din Djarin in The Mandalorian. His latest TV triumph as Joel Miller in The Last of Us showcases an actor who learned patience and persistence, drawing on weathered authenticity for every role.

Luna’s path followed a more traditional arc of early success and sustained excellence. The Mexican actor burst onto the international scene at just twenty with Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros, establishing himself as a formidable talent. His career has been marked by deliberate choices spanning Mexican cinema and Hollywood projects, from Y Tu Mamá También to Rogue One. In the title role of Andor, Luna brings gravitas and political complexity to Cassian Andor, crafting a revolutionary whose quiet intensity anchors Disney’s grittiest Star Wars series.

The contrast extends to their on-screen personas. Pascal’s Joel is a surrogate father figure hardened by apocalyptic loss, while Luna’s Cassian represents an idealistic rebellion gradually tempered by harsh realities. Pascal excels at emotional vulnerability beneath gruff exteriors; Luna masters contained intensity and moral ambiguity.

Both actors now navigate the uniquely demanding landscape of sci-fi and gaming fandoms—audiences notorious for their encyclopedic knowledge, fierce loyalties, and unforgiving standards for authenticity and character consistency. These hard-core fans scrutinize every detail, from source material fidelity to character motivations, making successful genre work both career-defining and career-threatening.

Yet their approaches to sci-fi stardom couldn’t be more different. Pascal has fully embraced his ascension to leading man status, particularly with his casting as Reed Richards in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. 

Initially skeptical about portraying the brilliant astrophysicist, Pascal has since thrown himself gleefully into promoting the MCU blockbuster with his characteristic warmth for fans and vulnerability with the media. Behind the confident, flirty, dancing persona lies profound vulnerability. 

In a revealing Vanity Fair interview, Pascal opened up about the heartbreak that has shaped him: his mother’s suicide when he was 24, which left him unable to celebrate birthdays for 25 years until he finally reclaimed his 50th with a multi-day celebration. “Fifty felt more vulnerable—much more vulnerable,” he admitted, describing the paradox of achieving maximum success while feeling most exposed.

Luna, by contrast, remains deliberately low-key despite his Andor acclaim. Even as executive producer of the series, he focuses on the craft rather than celebrity, consistently steering interviews toward storytelling and social issues rather than personal fame. He prefers characters with contradictions, explaining “I don’t like the moral approach of good and bad”. Luna maintains his commitment to Mexican cinema via his production company and carefully chosen international projects.

Their future trajectories reflect these contrasting philosophies. Pascal’s Marvel contract extends through Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, cementing his place in Hollywood’s biggest franchise. 

Meanwhile, Luna continues balancing intimate directorial projects like Ceniza en la Boca with thriller Eleven Days, maintaining the artistic integrity that has defined his career since Y Tu Mamá También.  However, as Andor ends its two season run, Luna will be very busy promoting the much anticipated premiere of The Kiss of the Spider Woman in which Luna stars as Valentin a political prisoner alongside Tonatiuh (as Molina) and Jennifer Lopez (as Hollywood Diva) due to premiere October 10, 2025.

Pascal and Luna have not merely survived sci-fi scrutiny, they’ve earned reverence by bringing psychological depth to characters that could easily become one-dimensional. Their contrasting approaches—Pascal’s embrace of blockbuster stardom versus Luna’s measured artistic choices—prove that great genre acting requires the same commitment to truth and complexity as any dramatic role, perhaps more so given the passionate, discerning audiences watching every move.

The Imagen Awards will take place on August 22, 2025 at The Beverly Hilton. Tickets are still available HERE

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Written by Judi Jordan

The Imagen Awards was co-founded by legendary television producer and writer Norman Lear, who lived to the ripe age of 101, and passed in 2023. A deeply curious and humane person, Mr. Lear’s awareness of the void of positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry gave weight to the importance of positive Latino images. 

Norman Lear would be so proud of the 2025 nominees. His quest to see Latinos portrayed with respect and creativity is met in the ten categories including Drama, Comedy, Docs, Shorts and more. Helen Hernandez is the President & Founder of the Imagen Foundation who produces the Imagen Awards.

LATIN HEAT + IMAGEN  – Part One

The suave Latin devils of old Hollywood TV cliches have been replaced by a crop of intriguing, grown men with callings, consciences and inner conflicts. 

These new Drama Kings are dyslexic, intuitive, vulnerable (Will Trent/ Ramón Rodriguez) caring, conflicted, educated (The Cleaning Lady/Santiago Cabrera) regretful, emotive and resolute, (The Last of Us/Pedro Pascal) evolved, affable and effective, (Lincoln Lawyer/Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and lonely, wary, idealistic (Andor/Diego Luna) These roles played to the talent’s dramatic strengths while offering exciting nuances that kept audiences tuning in weekly or binging – streamer contingent.  

Drama Kings – modern Latin Lovers are vulnerable, aspirational, responsible and gainfully-if sometimes painfully-employed. These seasoned IMAGEN-nominated men defy the tired one-dimensional stereotypes of heartless seducers, skeezy scammers and gun-happy cholos.

Established TV and film stars in uncommen roles wowed their fans with new facets of their talent and audiences approved. With resumes, personas and ‘chops’ that TV networks and streamer execs respect, TV showrunners craft episodes that highlight and challenge their characters’ strengths. 

Three seasons of Will Trent blew up the long, steady career of Ramón Rodriguez! Who knew he had 20+ film roles on his resume including G-20, Gang Related, Transformers? His memorable early TV work on The Wire 2002-2008 laid the foundation. By the time Will Trent arrived, Ramón Rodriguez, in the title role, was more than ready. His heartfelt, eccentric Southern detective is fascinating, never parodied. Will Trent, broken and brave feels embedded in his soul, but joy has crept into the series with dance numbers that lighten the storyline and a thoughtful, romantic storyline with Gina Rodriguez that fans loved.

An executive producer on the show, Rodriguez directed the exceptional Season 3 premiere episode and will direct again in Season 4. Deadline broke the story that Rodriguez recently signed a multi-year deal with 20^th Television, to develop and produce series and films for Disney, a fitting outcome for the gifted, dedicated multi-hyphenate. 

Santiago Cabrera is nominated for his dark turn as Jorge Sanchez, the highly-reluctant Harvard-educated drug cartel leader of the Sin Cara Cartel, in the gritty Fox/Hulu series The Cleaning Lady. Chilean-born Cabrera joined the show in seasons 3 and 4. Typically cast as the hero, female fans still swoon over his pitch-perfect portrayal of dashing, soulful Aramis in the 3-season BBC hit show Musketeers, now airing on Hulu. His 20-year working streak of good guy supporting and leads in Picard, Heroes, Merlin, Salvation, and prestige series romantic roles in Big Little Lies, Flight Attendant, Land of Women, and a kindly ghost Richard Deetz in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice called for a change. 

Cabrera had resisted drug lord roles for years; but tempted by the premise, he used his discomfort – his very conflicted Jorge feels real. He admits, “It was fun to play the bad guy.” Audiences witnessed a very different Cabrera with a gun in his hand wading through cartel carnage as the ambiguous yet ambitious man with a plan that goes south by the hour. Not to mention a fraudulent marriage with Thony, a fearless Cambodian female doctor (played by Elodie Yung), who dissects bodies of cartel enemies in exchange for his protection. Plagued at every step by his obsessed sociopath sister Ramona (Kate de Castillo) for control of Sin Cara, Santiago’s Jorge is an idealist, out of his depth in the blood-soaked world.  

STAY TUNED.  NEXT UP: Sci-Fi Nominees

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The film Ya No Estoy Aquí, series Love Victor and Pose and actors Demian Bichir, JD Pardo, Aubrey Plaza and MJ Rodriguez are among the winners of the 2021 Imagen Awards.

The awards recognize Latino talent and executives in television and film that contribute to the accurate portrayal of Latino in Hollywood. 

Mexican director Fernando Frias’s Ya No Estoy Aquí (I’m No Longer Here) won the award for Best Feature Film. It tells the story of the young leader of a street party gang forced to immigrate to the U.S. after a mixup with a local cartel, but who quickly longs to return home. The film also won two additional Imagen Awards, one for Frias for Best Director and another for Joe Rodríguez and Javier Nuño for Best Music Supervision for Film or Television.

The three prizes for Ya No Estoy Aquí  add to the accolades the film has collected since its release last year. Ya No Estoy Aquí swept at the 2020 Ariel Awards, Mexico’s equivalent of the Oscars, winning in 10 categories, including top prizes–Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Also, it was shortlisted for the 2021 Oscars in the Best International Feature as Mexico’s official entry.

Bichir won Best Actor Feature Film for his role of Miguel in Land, a drama about a bereaved woman seeking out a new life off the grid in Wyoming. 

The award to Best Actress Feature Film went to Plaza for her lead in Black Bear. She plays a filmmaker at a creative impasse seeking solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.

MJ Rodriguez took home the prize to Best Actress Television Drama for her role as Blanca Evangelista in the FX series Pose. That same role earned her a nod for a Primetime Emmy Award, making history as the first transgender woman to be nominated in a major acting category of the coveted prize. Pose also won Best Primetime Program Drama.

Another major winner was Hulu’s Love Victor, which also scored twice, for Best Comedy Primetime Program and Best Actor Michael Cimino.

The 36th Annual Imagen Awards winners were determined by an independent panel of entertainment industry executives and Latina and Latino community leaders. The award ceremony was live-streamed on PBSSoCal.org and KCET.org.

The Imagen Foundation’s Norman Lear Writer’s Award went to television writer Tanya Saracho, the creator, showrunner and executive producer of the Starz series Vida. Her producer credits also include the popular series How to Get Away with Murder, starring Viola Davis, and HBO’s Looking.

Below is the complete list of winners:

FILM

Best Feature Film: Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Director – Feature Film: Fernando Frías De La Parra, Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Actor – Feature Film: Demián Bichir, Land (Focus Features / a Big Beach Production / Flashlight Films)

Best Actress – Feature Film: Aubrey Plaza, Black Bear (Momentum Pictures, an Entertainment One Company; Tandem Pictures, Oakhurst Entertainment & Blue Creek Pictures, in association with Productivity Media and Radiant Films International)

TELEVISION

Best Primetime Program – Drama: Pose (FX; 20th Television)

Best Primetime Program – Comedy: Love, Victor (Hulu; Hulu, 20th Television, Temple Hill)

Best Primetime Program – Special or Movie: One Day at a Time – Animated Special (PopTV; Sony Pictures Television, Act III, Snowpants Productions, GloNation)

Best Director – Television: Tanya Saracho, Vida (STARZ; Big Beach and Chingona Productions in association with Starz Originals)

Best Actor – Television (Drama): JD Pardo, Mayans M.C. (FX Networks; 20th Television and FX Productions)

Best Actress – Television (Drama): Mj Rodriguez, Pose (FX; 20th Television)

Best Actor – Television (Comedy): Michael Cimino, Love, Victor (Hulu; Hulu, 20th Television, Temple Hill)

Best Actress – Television (Comedy): Barbie Ferreira, Unpregnant (HBO Max; HBO Max presents a WarnerMax / PictureStart / Berlanti / Schechter Films production)

Best Supporting Actor – Television (Drama): Colman Domingo, Euphoria Special: Part 1 Rue: “Trouble Don’t Last Always” (HBO; HBO in association with Reasonable Bunch, A24, Little Lamb, Dreamcrew, ADD Content Agency | HOT | Tedy Productions)

Best Supporting Actress – Television (Drama): Morena Baccarin, The Twilight Zone (Paramount+; CBS Studios in association with Monkeypaw Productions and Genre Films)

Best Supporting Actor – Television (Comedy): Harvey Guillén, What We Do In The Shadows (FX; FX Productions)

Best Supporting Actress – Television (Comedy): Diana Maria Riva, Dead to Me (Netflix; CBS Television Studios for Netflix)

Best Young Actor – Television: Madison Reyes, Julie and the Phantoms (Netflix)

Best Voice-Over Actor – Television: Justina Machado, One Day at a Time – Animated Special (PopTV; Sony Pictures Television, Act III, Snowpants Productions, GloNation)

Best Variety or Reality Show: Tie
A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt at The Soraya (PBS; KCET and The Soraya)
Shine True (Fuse; Vice Studios, OUTtv Canada, Fuse Media)

Best Young Adult Programming: Julie and the Phantoms (Netflix)

Best Youth Programming: The Casagrandes (Nickelodeon)

Best Music Composition for Film or Television: Cristobal Tapia de Veer, The Third Day (HBO; HBO in association with Sky Studios, Plan B, and Punchdrunk)

Best Music Supervision for Film or Television: Joe Rodríguez & Javier Nuño, Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Documentary: Tie
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix; A Netflix Original Documentary / A Muck Media Production in Association with Key Rat, Inc. & Topic Studios)
POV: The Infiltrators (PBS; American Documentary | POV, Pueblo Sight & Sound, Chicago Media Project, Naked Edge Film, 3DMC, Baked Studios, The National Day Laborer Organizing Network)

Best Informational Program: Street Food: Latin America (Netflix; Boardwalk Pictures for Netflix)

Best Short Film: UNLADYLIKE2020: Jovita Idar (PBS American Masters; Unladylike Productions LLC in association with The WNET Group’s American Masters.)

Best Commercial Advertisement or Social Awareness Campaign: Latinos Are Essential (Latino Public Broadcasting; PBS)

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Last year Saracho signed a multiple-year overall deal with Universal Content Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, to create and develop original content for television as well as the studio’s UCP Audio division. She is currently developing a TV movie entitled Brujas about a group of women living in Chicago reconnect with their Latina heritage through music, style, nightlife, and art.

“I am humbled and deeply honored to be recognized by Imagen with this prestigious award, especially one named after such an inspiring and talented icon, activist, and creative force, Norman Lear,” said Saracho. “And I strive to continue in the example he has set and use my platform and voice to increase Latine representation across our industry.”

Vida, which ran from 2018 through 2020, stands out for featuring all Latino directors, writers, main actors and central characters during its three seasons on cable. It is among Saracho’s biggest accomplishments in Hollywood, wearing multiple creative and executive hats. In addition to writing, the filmmaker was creator, executive producer, director and showrunner of the drama about two Mexican-American sisters who move back to their childhood home in East Los Angeles after the death of their mother. The show also marked Saracho’s TV directorial debut.

“Vida broke ground on so many levels, bringing to the forefront stories that otherwise would remain untold,” says Helen Hernandez, foundation president and founder. “Rather than rest on her laurels, Tanya continues to champion…stories and storytellers that reflect our communities’ voices, experiences, and cultures.” Adds Hernandez, “Her work, determination, and willingness to share her voice, reflect the essence of the Norman Lear Writer’s Award.”

Vida won the Audience Award for an episodic show at the SXSW Film Festival and received 10 Imagen Award nominations, including two for Saracho herself in the Best Director-Television category. The show also got nods for other creative awards such as the GLAAD Media Awards, Hollywood Post Alliance and Women’s Image Network Awards.

The Norman Lear Writer’s Award honors filmmakers who have “exhibited efforts towards increasing diversity within all aspects of the entertainment industry,” according to the Imagen Foundation. 

Lear is a legendary TV writer and producer who is behind ‘70s hits like All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Good Times. He also produced the remake of One Day at a Time reimagined with a Latino family, starring Rita Moreno. In fact, Lear is credited with inspiring the creation of the Imagen Awards, suggesting in 1985 the creation of a prize to encourage and recognize the positive portrayals of Latinos in the media. 

Diversity is something that Saracho pursues outside her own projects, too. This summer she launched the Ojalá Ignition Lab as part of an overall deal with Universal Content Productions, a lab and incubator program aimed to nurture, amplify, guide and empower intersectional Latino voices in TV. 

Additionally, the filmmaker co-founded the Untitled Latinx Project to increase Latino representation in television, broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms through content created by Latino writers. Saracho is also a co-founder of the Writers Access Support Staff Training Program, which aims to help increase representation and opportunities for underrepresented communities.

Besides being a TV writer, Saracho is a playwright. Before arriving in Hollywood, she had plays produced at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Chicago’s Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theater and Teatro Vista and Los Angeles’ Teatro Luna and NEXT Theater. She received the first Revolucionario Award in Theater from the National Museum of Mexican Art. Furthermore, Saracho is a Spanish voice-over artist and a SAG/AFTRA actress.

Saracho, born in the small city of Los Mochis in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa and raised in Chicago, will join a selected group of prominent Latinos in Hollywood who have received the Norman Lear Writer’s Award. Past recipients include Primetime Emmy Award-winners Peter Murrieta (Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie) and John Leguizamo (John Leguizamo: Freak); Peabody Award-winner Fred Armisen (Portlandia,); screenwriter Gloria Calderon Kellett (One Day at a Time, How I Met Your Mother), writer/producer Luisa Leschin (Mr. Iglesias, George Lopez) and writer Roberto Orci (Star Trek).  

The 36th annual edition of the Imagen Awards will air on PBSSoCal.org and KCET.org Sunday, Oct.10 at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Eastern.

For more information about the Imagen Awards, visit www.Imagen.org.

Featured Photo: Tanya Saracho (Credit: Jackson Davis/Imagen Foundation)

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This year the projects and talent look a bit more robust than in past years, partly due to the increase of streaming entertainment and an increase in significant roles and leading roles. Additionally, the behind-the-camera talent pool is growing and being recognized.

Some of the nominated series and film projects include the documentary Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix; A Netflix Original Documentary / A Muck Media Production in Association with Key Rat, Inc. & Topic Studios), Selena: The Series (Netflix; A Campanario Entertainment Production for Netflix), La Llorona (Shudder; La Casa De Producción and Les Films Du Volcan), Love, Victor (Hulu; Hulu, 20th Television, Temple Hill), Mayans M.C. (FX Networks; 20th Television and FX Productions), Pose (FX; 20th Television), and Veneno (HBO Max; HBO Max in association with Atresmedia Television, Buendia Estudios and Suma Latina).

“The Imagen Foundation continues to be proud of being the only awards ceremony that honors Latino talent and contributions within the television, film, and streaming platforms,” said Helen Hernandez, President of the Imagen Foundation. “This year we hit another milestone, having increased to 350 submissions for consideration, a record since last year.

This year’s Imagen Awards there is “Our Community: Diverse, Talented, and United”. The Imagen Awards nominees are determined by an independent panel of entertainment industry executives and Latino community leaders.

For a complete LISTING OF NOMINEES: CLICK HERE

The Imagen Awards were established in 1985 and since then continue to highlight accomplishments and recognize the positive portrayals of Latinos in the media. For more information regarding The Imagen Awards please visit www.imagen.org.

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The Imagen Foundation announced that TV writer, Luisa Leschin has been tapped as the recipient of the Imagen’s Norman Lear Writers Awards.

Leschin, whose recent credits include Amazon’s Just Add Magic and the Netflix pilot Mr. Iglesias, was originally an actress and a co-founding member of the comedy group Latins Anonymous where she began honing her writing skills. She has written comedy shows, co-executive producing for the George Lopez and Everybody Hates Chris and several dramas including Hulu’s East Los High, Austin & Ally, and The Brothers Garcia.

Officially, Leschin is so much more than just a TV writer. She’s also a television producer, actress, and voice-over artist. Her childhood background is also just as interesting and impressive. Her mother was a concert pianist and her father the former President of El Salvador. While she was born in Hollywood, California, she grew up in Guatemala, where at the age of five made her debut as a dancer. At age eight, she moved to Europe, where she mastered to speak French and Italian. Upon her return to the U.S., she studied at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City, where she majored in ballet. She graduated with honors, and at 19, she joined the Grand Theatre de Geneve ballet company in Switzerland.

In Hollywood, Leschin has successfully amassed many films and TV credits as an actress. The fact that her roles were mostly gang girls, maids, and pregnant women led her to turn her passion for writing.

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