By, Daniel P’Lopez
Photos by: dirtfilms.com
Fernando is an actor who was born in Costa Rica and lived there until he was three years old. He later moved to Niagara Falls, New York, where he grew up. Fernando admits that he first hated the move and change, with New York being super conservative and cold compared to his native Costa Rica. Fernando came a long way in life and eventually went to Penn State and Columbia College in Chicago. He did a little internship at Disney World in between and then moved to Los Angeles about eleven years ago and has been there since.
As a kid, Fernando was always asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, and his answer was to be President of the United States of America. He explained that was how he saw he could help the most people. But since he wasn’t born in the USA, he knew he couldn’t become president, so he tried to figure out what was the next best way that he could help. Fernando figured being a celebrity would do just that because it gave him the platform to have a voice and do everything he wanted to do to help.
Fernando’s first acting debut was in the movie Divergent. It was a small role, and he was eventually cut from the film, although you can see Fernando in the background scenes. After doing many other bit parts, and because he was working so much, Fernando dropped out of college. He was also contracted to the Disney Channel for three years, and from there, it was like a roller coaster of ups and downs for the actor.
Fernando admits that he was one of those people who couldn’t hide his queerness and was called gay from the time he was in elementary school before he even knew what gay meant. It wasn’t until Fernando was sixteen, when he had his first secret boyfriend, when his parents eventually found out. Luckily, his parents were very loving and caring and were super supportive even to this day.
Fernando is now starring in a new anthology series of a few different stories called Exteriors. The main characters of each story are from a previous film called Brotherly Lies. It is a prequel to the Exterior series. Fernando plays Kenny, a loving, very kind person, but he struggles with his marriage and with feeling a connection with people, including his husband, who wants a meaningful relationship that isn’t just sexual.
“I think that’s a very important thing to learn as a queer person, is that we can have this range of relationships that don’t all have to be sexual.” Explained Fernando.
Fernando also has another film coming out in the near future called Cutaways. It’s an entirely different film from Exteriors but with many of the same cast. Fernando has a laundry list of many great female gay icon actors that he would like to work with, like Meryl Streep, a legend in cinema. Fernando is most proud of playing Link Larkin, from the play Hairspray, in theater college. He would also like to play a queer story that’s funny and genuine because he prefers comic roles.
In his free time, Fernando loves to sleep and loves to spend his time with his family and friends. “My relationships in life I love the most and are the most important thing to me, so any chance I get to be around people I love, like my family, just means the world to me.” Says Fernando.
When it’s viable for Fernando, he loves to go hiking, spend time outdoors, go to protests, and do any thing that raises awareness or promotes social justice. Fernando was in a three-year relationship but is currently single and enjoying the single life. “I’m learning what that’s like and who I am. I’m loving myself and giving myself that love instead to somebody else.”
Fernando is currently going back to school for pre-law with the hopes of becoming an attorney to give artists a voice when it comes to their contracts in their own right. He is also doing a crowdfunding campaign to study abroad. If anyone is interested in helping this cause, visit fundmytravel.com
You can watch his films on GaybingeTV and other TV platforms.
Adelante Magazine wishes Fernando the best in his acting career and his journey to law school.
You can follow Fernando on social media, @Spacemoneky