Cast Of Netflix Series 'Cobra Kai'

Xolo Maridueña | Biography

Known For Series Like 'Parenthood,' 'Teen Peaks,' and 'Cobra Kai'

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : November 28, 2021

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Xolo Maridueña is an American actor prominently known for playing Miguel Diaz in the Netflix series ‘Cobra Kai.’ He is also famous for starring Victor Braveman on NBC’s hit series ‘Parenthood.’

Who is Xolo Maridueña?

Xolo Maridueña sparked his interest in becoming an actor while growing up watching artists perform first hand. But he debuted his professional acting career at age nine. Initially, he appeared in several TV commercials. He was then noticed by a TV casting agent who landed a role in NBC’s hit family comedy-drama TV series Parenthood during its third season in 2012. He portrayed the character of Victor Braverman on NBC’s family comedy-drama TV series Parenthood from 2012 to 2015. He received his next significant role as Miguel Diaz in 2018 in the martial arts comedy-drama series Cobra Kai, based on the original Karate Kid (1984) film.

Early Life

Xolo Maridueña was born in Los Angeles, California, USA on 9 June 2001. He has a younger sister named Oshún Ramirez. He is of Cuban, Mexican, and Ecuadorian descent. He grew up in El Sereno. Maridueña graduated from Cathedral High School located in Los Angeles in the year 2019. 

His first name connotes “Dog Star” in the indigenous Nahuatl (Aztec) language. About the meaning of his name, he explained, “Xolo is name with Nahuatl origins, it’s an indigenous language, spoken by millions still to this day, mostly by people of Uto-Aztecan origin. The name is a form of the work for Dog Star, or “North Star,” Sirus. It’s the brightest star in the Orion belt.”

Maridueña was surrounded by the entertainment business since she was a child. He got his first taste of behind-the-scenes action in a radio station when he was barely three days old. He then grew up watching artists perform firsthand, which eventually sparked his interest in becoming a performer. However, his parents waited for him to grow older before allowing him to enter the entertainment industry.

Early Career

In 2011, Maridueña kicked off his professional acting career at nine and began auditioning for TV commercials. His first job was a Sears commercial. He then started booking several television commercials within his first year. 

Rise To Fame

Shortly after that, a TV casting agent noticed him, which landed him to join NBC’s hit family comedy-drama TV series Parenthood (2010-2015). He joined the cast during its third season in 2012. Maridueña soon became the series’ regular cast. He starred in the role of a 10-year-old adopted son Victor Graham in the series. He appeared in 51 episodes of the series. 

Alongside Parenthood, he featured as Manny in the 2013 comedy film Dealin’ with Idiots alongside Gina Gershon and Kerri Kenney. In 2013, he also appeared as Stefan Camacho in an episode of the police procedural TV series Major Crimes (2012-2018). 

After Parenthood went off the air, Maridueña starred as Trooper Xolo in an episode of the animated TV series Mack & Moxy in 2016. That same year, he appeared as Isaiah in an episode of the police procedural action-comedy drama series Rush Hour and as Shawn in the comedy TV movie Furst Born.

The actor then appeared in the 2017 horror-mystery TV series Twin Peaks. Then he landed his next significant role in 2018 when he began starring Miguel Diaz in the web series Cobra Kai. In 2020, he starred as Steve in the short Goodnight America. 

Besides acting, Maridueña has also done voice acting. From 2019 to 2020, he voiced Andres/Andrea in the animated comedy TV series Victor and Valentino in five episodes. He also voiced Lucas’s character in three episodes of the action-crime animated TV series Fast & Furious Spy Racers in 2020. In addition, starting from 2020, he began voicing Zaid Antonius’s character in the action-adventure-based animated TV series Cleopatra in Space. It is adapted from the graphic novel series written by Mike Maihak.

‘Cobra Kai’

Maridueña landed his career-defining role in 2018. He portrays the role of Miguel Diaz in Netflix’s martial arts dramatic-comedy series Cobra Kai. The series is the sequel of the original Karate Kid (1984) movie. He stars alongside Ralph Macchio, Gianni DeCenzo, Mary Mouser, and William Zabka in the series. The series initially premiered on 2 May 2018 on YouTube Red. Later, Netflix acquired the rights to stream the series in June 2020.

About his role in the series, he said, “I play Miguel, the reluctant Sensei Johnny’s, first student. I basically spend the first 2-episodes getting my butt kicked and then you see the transformation that takes place under the Cobra Kai dojo.”

He also learned martial arts for the show. “It was a daily 2-4-hour regiment of working with professional stunts, martial arts, boxing, strength, and yoga instructor teams to get me in amazing shape. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It wasn’t just about learning martial arts, it was about the entire task of learning martial arts and then using it in a way that can be choreographed and filmed. Daily testing of what I was learning and then put into motion.” Maridueña described his martial arts practice. “I was incredibly lucky to work with Hiro Koda (Power Ranger, Green Hornet) who is just one of the best and most dedicated instructors in this field. His whole team whipped my butt on a regular basis.”

Season 4 of Cobra Kai is set to premiere on Netflix on December 31. The show will pick up right where it ended the last season. In the show, Roby has been on a dark path and he critically injured Miguel during the High School brawl. The trailer for the show also hints at a new Robby Romance. 

New Project

Maridueña is a cast member in the pre-production movie, Blue Beetle. It is the HBO Max movie where he will be entering as DC's first Latino hero. He received the role on 1 August 2021 when he went for dinner in Pasadena. He believed that it was a meet and greet with DC Films president Walter Hamada and Warners executive Galen Vaisman. However, the director of Blue Beetle, Angel Manuel Soto, and screenwriter Gareth Dunnet- Alcocer were also present with other team members. 

'The Ledger'

Maridueña is set to star in the upcoming series, The ledger. The series is an action drama genre series from showrunner and producer, Juan Carlos Coto and Will Packer Media. Coto is popular for his work in 9-1-1, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. 

Maridueña will also be working as an executive producer and Coto will write and serve as showrunner. 

Awards and Nominations

For his role in Parenthood, Maridueña won the ‘Young Artist Awards for Best Performance in a TV Series - Supporting Young Actor in 2014. He was also nominated for the ‘Teen Choice Award’ and ‘Imagen Award’ multiple times for his role in Parenthood (2010) and Cobra Kai (2018). 

Podcast

Xolo Maridueña and Jacob Bertrand joined My Cultura podcast network. The podcast is dedicated to increasing Latinx voices along with providing support for the creators. The podcast acts as a means to share Latinx experiences with millions of listeners. 

Maridueña and Bertrand will be hosting their own podcast series, Lone Lobos. It is a talk show format podcast centered on the two discussing pop culture. They will occasionally be featuring guests. 

In an interview, Maridueña mentioned that representing authentic voices is important to him and Jacob along with their members at the heart radio. The pair is excited about the opportunity. The first episode of the podcast aired on 22 September 2021. 

Dating

In 2019, it was revealed that Xolo Maridueña and Hannah Kepple were dating. The information was confirmed by Kepple. It was revealed that the two formed a friendship during the sets of Cobra Kai during its first season. 

In an interview, Kepple revealed that she was upset that the pair did not have much on-screen time together but loved to see her boyfriend play his part regardless. 

Siblings 

Maridueña has a younger sister named Sohun Ramirez. Xolo often posts pictures of her on his Instagram.

Height 

According to IMDB, Maridueña is estimated to be 5 feet and 5 inches in height. However, other sources claim that his height is 5 feet and 10 inches as of 2020. 

What is Xolo Maridueña's Net Worth?

Maridueña has a net worth of $2 million as of August 2021.