Harvey Guillén Talks About His 'Blue Beetle' Role In First Look

The 'Puss In Boots: The Last Wish' star is playing Dr. Sanchez, and the character is being detailed for the first time

Harvey Guillén was drawn to Warner Bros. and DC Studios's Blue Beetle for its presentation of family. Specifically, the representation of a Latino family onscreen. "When I read the script, it was the first time that I felt that I could get through a whole movie and feel seen," Guillén explained of his unexpected emotional reaction. "The verbiage that's being used in the household, it is very driven by family and heart at the forefront of everything, which is very Latino culture."

He’s talking about the Reyes family. Xolo Maridueña stars as Jaime Reyes, a recent college graduate who has come home to his family in Palmera City. He is the first Mexican DC superhero in their film history. One fateful night, he is given the Scarab, ancient alien technology that chooses Jaime to be its next host, which gives him a suit of armor with a wide range of abilities waiting to be explored. Guillén’s role is as Dr. Sanchez, a subordinate of Victoria Kord, played by Susan Sarandon. Kord believes that the Scarab is hers to inherit in the presumed wake of her brother Ted’s death. Ted Kord is the previous Blue Beetle and Scarab host who had his own long run before Jaime was introduced. Plays into that family theme.

"The character was complex," Guillén says of Sanchez "You're loyal to the profession and the job that you have, and you're loyal to being a good person, and you have to make a choice. Sometimes we don't make the choices. We're human. And when given a choice, we might make the wrong one."

Jaime's family includes Belissa Escobedo as his sister Milagro, Damían Alcázar as his father Alberto, Elpidia Carrillo as his mother Rocio, Adriana Barraza as his Nana, and George Lopez as his uncle Rudy. They are all heavily involved as he takes on becoming a superhero. When Guillén read the script, he related, identifying things he grew up watching on TV or listening to on the radio. He recognized the phrases his mother or aunt would say. Guillén explains, "Everything has been thought out, while still telling the traditional story of this incredible DC superhero that is coming to theaters for the first time."

Guillén’s previous credits include Truth or Dare, The Internship, and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, and is currently best known for the FX series What We Do In The Shadows. Blue Beetle will hit those theaters on August 18.