Xolo Maridueña is riding high. Season 5 of his Netflix smash hit “Cobra Kai” is now streaming, and the DC Comics film “Blue Beetle,” in which he plays the title character, is set to release next year. Here, the young star reflects on his favorite performances, physical comedy, and the one mistake Ralph Macchio made sure he’d never make again.
What performance should every actor see and why?
For the longest time, I was in love with “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” I really enjoy that character. If you had asked me three or four years ago, I would have told you it would be my dream to remake that movie. Now, I feel like it shouldn’t be touched. Coincidentally, the creators of “Cobra Kai” are doing their [own] “Ferris Bueller” movie, but it’s about the valet drivers. That’s a great take on it. Another performance that is kind of eerie and fascinating—where I’m like, How did someone decide to do this?—is “American History X” with Edward Norton. Also, everyone in “Amores Perros.” It’s [directed by] Alejandro Iñárritu. In that movie, every single performance is great.
Do you find it harder to do physical comedy or action?
I do find it hard doing backflips and kicking people’s butts. That is not something that comes naturally to me. There’s a lot of practice that needs to come in, especially with something like “Cobra Kai.” Physical comedy, I do like. I don’t know if I’m good at it, because I haven’t had much of a chance [to do it]. But I love it.
“Cobra Kai” Credit: Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix
Have you ever been surprised at how audiences perceived one of your characters?
Working on “Parenthood” was kind of the first time I started to get recognized on the street. So many people, many moms, would come up to me and be like, “I hate your character. I hate you so much.” I was maybe 12 or 13 at the time.
What can you say to that? “I’m sorry?”
Yeah, exactly. I just wanted to eat pho with my family. That was one where I was like: It’s not that deep. But I guess it meant I was doing the right things. That’s what they say, at least.
Xolo Maridueña Reflects on the End of ‘Cobra Kai’ + The Beginning of ’Blue Beetle’ What’s one mistake you’ve made in your career that you never want to repeat?
Not being up on time. There was one time where I didn’t wake up from my alarm and I was late to set. That embarrassment and that experience will never happen again. Oh, my God, having Ralph Macchio throw metaphorical eggs at you because of that—I will never live that down. That’s one thing that’ll never happen again.
What’s the No. 1 piece of advice you would give your younger self?
You just can’t take things personally, especially in this industry. You’ve got to have some resilience. I was fortunate enough to learn that pretty early on. That’s one of those things that applies outside the industry just as much as it does inside the industry. You can’t take things personally. The one thing I would tell younger Xolo [is that] you can’t take yourself too seriously, either. Keep it fun. Keep it light. We can keep the darker conversations for other people.
This story originally appeared in the Nov. 3 issue of Backstage Magazine.