Actor You Should Know: Christian Serratos of ‘Selena: The Series’

Christian Serratos remarkably transforms into Grammy-winning singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez on Netflix’s Selena: The Series, which now has its first trailer and an official premiere date (see below).

Where you’ve seen her before

As tough-as-nails Rosita Espinosa, Serratos has made slaying zombies look like child’s play for the past six seasons on AMC’s The Walking Dead. “I had grown to love having no makeup on, [being] sweaty, dirty, and covered in fake blood,” Serratos says.  

Who she plays here

Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was on the brink of mainstream stardom thanks to hits like “Dreaming of You” and “I Could Fall in Love” when she was murdered by a former employee in 1995. Selena: The Series shows us the years of hard work that went into making her a Latin music icon (also memorably portrayed by Jennifer Lopez in the 1997 biopic Selena).

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“It’s pushing through barriers. It’s the long tours with her family in a small van,” Serratos explains of Quintanilla-Pérez’s journey. That meant playing the character in many different phases of her life. “I was constantly going back and forth from 20 years old in the morning and then 14 in the afternoon! There were a lot of wig changes…everything changed: dialect, mannerisms. It was a lot to keep track of.” But Serratos isn’t complaining: “It was definitely an actor’s dream challenge.”

Why she’s a standout

Serratos was so determined to land the role that she cut her own hair to match the singer’s signature style and started training to get into pop star shape long before she was cast. “I knew that if I waited to start prepping, it was already going to be too late,” says Serratos, who brings that level of commitment to every Selena episode.

Selena: The Series, Premiere, Friday, December 4, Netflix