Xolo mariduena biography of michael
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“It Is the Greatest Gift”: Xolo Maridueña Talks About Miguel’s Journey in ‘Cobra Kai’ All the Way to the End
With the final episodes of Cobra Kai rolling out on Netflix less than a week from now, everyone wants to hear from the stars themselves about how they feel and what we can expect from the characters' journeys as they give one final bow before the series' end. Luckily for Collider readers, our Editor Aidan Kelley was able to speak with none other than Xolo Maridueña (Blue Beetle) himself during the Saturn Awards last weekend, and the actor was happy to talk a little bit about Miguel's journey and how it connects to the Karate Kid franchise as a whole.
From the start, Miguel has been a sort of reflection of the journey of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in The Karate Kid and its sequels. The boy also had a difficult childhood and adolescence, and martial arts became the turning point that taught him valuable lessons. Duri
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Xolo Maridueña Says Mom Prepared Him for 'Blue Beetle' by 'Reading Comic Books Instead of Goodnight Moon' (Exclusive)
Xolo Maridueña is having a whirlwind career moment. And as the 22-year-old Cobra Kai star soars onto the big screen in the titular superhero role of Blue Beetle (in theaters Aug. 18), he’s reminding himself of his core philosophy: “Stay grounded with family and friends.”
“That has been a thing that has helped keep my mental state the best, having people around me that have been there,” Maridueña tells PEOPLE in a phone interview conducted in July pre-SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike. Without his mother, father, and extended family grounding him, he says, it would be far more difficult to “figure out where I passform in with this larger Hollywood world or ecosystem.”
His mother Carmelita, in fact, helped Maridueña prepare for leading a superhero movie in more ways than she knew. “I personally was not a huge comic book reader,” the actor admits. “But my m
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Xolo Maridueña
From YouTube Red's new series COBRA KAI
What inspired you to pursue acting?
After 8 or 9 years of barely watching TV or movies, I started to watch movies like “Up” and “Usual Suspects”. That’s when I realized I wanted to be part of a cool story too. My mom had a friend who was an agent for commercials and print, and we went out, and I was lucky enough to book my first audition: a Sears commercial.
What were your feelings the first time you were in front of a camera on a professional level?
To be honest, my first professional job was Parenthood. I had a lot of feelings but none of them were nervous. I wasn’t nervous mainly because I wasn’t familiar with the fan base behind the show. Also, it helped that everyone that worked on the show, from Craig T. Nelson to our caterer Frankie, welcomed me with open arms.
What TV show character would it be the most fun to change places with for a week?
Ever since the show came out I had always wanted to know what it