The chupacabra — a carnivorous creature with purported sightings that date back to the 1970s, before its name was coined in the mid-’90s — has inspired several movies of the horror variety, as one might expect. However, director Jonás Cuarón (son of Alfonso, with whom he co-wrote Gravity) is taking a different approach with the urban legend that is more “E.T.” than “evil” with the new Netflix original movie, Chupa.
It follows a shy teenager who, while visiting his relatives in Mexico, discovers and befriends the young and surprisingly friendly eponymous creature, which he vows to hide and protect from a scientist who wants to capture him for nefarious purposes. Before (or even after) you use your Netflix subscription to check out this heartwarming family adventure, see who is playing these human characters in the Chupa cast, along with a refresher on where else you might have seen them previously.
Demián Bichir (Chava)
As Chava — whose grandson finds the titular creature from Chupa in his own shed — we have Demián Bichir, who has dealt with strange creatures before, but of a more violent nature. For instance, he was in one of the Alien movies (2017’s Covenant), became a part of the Conjuring Universe franchise with The Nun in 2018, played the human antagonist of 2021’s MonsterVerse movie crossover, Godzilla vs. Kong, and played the lead of the Let the Right One In TV show cast for Showtime.
The Academy Award nominee’s (for 2011’s A Better Life) versatile career also includes FX’s thought-provoking crime drama The Bridge, Paul Feig’s 2013’s action-comedy The Heat, Oliver Stone’s Savages from 2012, and Quentin Tarantino’s star-studded 2015 Western, The Hateful Eight.
Christian Slater (Richard Quinn)
Starring as Richard Quinn — the scientist searching for Chupa — is another actor who has appeared in the Tarantinoverse (specifically in 1993’s True Romance), starred in a few westerns (1990’s Young Guns II, most notably), and had an encounter with an undead bloodsucker (1994’s Interview with the Vampire): Christian Slater.
The Golden Globe winner (for the title role of the acclaimed hit series, Mr. Robot) is also best known for the darkly comic 1988 high school movie Heathers, a more grounded coming-of-age dramedy called Pump Up the Volume from 1990, and director John Woo’s 1996 action thriller, Broken Arrow. More recently, he starred in one of Peacock’s best true crime titles, Dr. Death, leant his voice to the Netflix animated sci-fi comedy, Inside Job, and appeared in FX’s Fleischmann is in Trouble cast in a recurring role.
Evan Whitten (Alex)
Alex — the boy who finds and befriends the creature he names Chupa — is played by Slater’s Mr. Robot co-star, Evan Whitten, who made his acting debut in the 2017 short, Years Later, before his guest appearance on Nickelodeon’s Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, and uncredited role in the Nicole Kidman-led Destroyer in 2018.
That same year, he appeared in an episode of The Rookie and landed a recurring role on hit medical drama, The Resident, and, in 2020, played Daniel Zovatto’s younger self on Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, starred in movies Dino Dana: The Movie and Words on the Bathroom Walls, and had a starring role of Fox’s short-lived technophobic thriller, Next. The following year, he was in two episodes of ABC’s Big Sky and starred in Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon.
Ashley Ciarra (Luna)
As Alex’s cousin, Luna, we have Ashley Ciarra, who is making her feature film debut with Chupa, which is also her first screen acting credit in general. The young actor previously studied dance of various styles, from ballet to jazz.
Nickolas Verdugo (Memo)
Also making his feature film debut here is Nickolas Verdugo, who plays Luna’s younger brother, Memo. The young actor previously landed his first acting gig, however, in 2022, with an episode of the dystopian YA Snapchat series, Breakwater, and can be seen next on Johnny Knoxville, Eric Andre, and Gabourey Sidibe’s upcoming practical joke show, The Prank Panel.
Adriana Paz (No Character Name Provided)
Also starring in the cast is Adriana Paz, who is tight with Jonás Cuarón’s family, having starred in his uncle, Carlos’, 2008 dramedy, Rudo y Cursi, early in her career before making her English language debut the following year with a small role in the horror film Not Forgotten.
She returned to horror not long after by starring in one of the 26 morbid segments of the 2012 horror anthology movie, The ABCs of Death and later played the title role of the 2014 Mexican dramedy, Hilda, before making a small appearance in an otherwise huge, English-language blockbuster: the 2015 James Bond movie, Spectre. Some of Paz’s most notable credits as of late include the 2018 drama No One Will Ever Know, the Paramount+ original TV show Coyote, and Netflix’s 2021 Spanish import, This is Not a Comedy.
Gerardo Taracena (No Character Name Provided)
Fellow Mexican-born Chupa cast member Gerardo Taracena made his English-language acting debut in 2001 with (ironically) The Mexican, starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, before appearing in one of Tony Scott and Denzel Washington’s many collaborations, Man on Fire, in 2004 and playing the lead of director Mel Gibson’s period action epic, Apocalypto, two years later.
He acted alongside Gibson in 2012’s Get the Gringo before starring on History Channel’s 2015 miniseries, Texas Rising, and landing a recurring role on Queen of the South in 2016. His previous experience working on a Netflix title includes playing Pablo Acosta on Narcos: Mexico and the 2022 racing drama series, Pedal to the Metal.
Julio Cesar Cedillo (No Character Name Provided)
Julio Cesar Cedillo actually has many credits in common with a few of his Chupa co-stars — namely Demián Bichir (The Bridge), Adriana Paz (Coyote), and Gerardo Taracena (Queen of the South and Narcos: Mexico) — but has led an impressive career outside of those projects with roles in movies like Cowboys & Aliens, The Mist, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and Sicario, to name just a few.
He also appeared opposite the Walking Dead cast for a Season 3 episode, appeared in another Netflix movie — the star-studded Western, The Harder They Fall — in 2021, and is starring in a more intense creature feature in 2023: the upcoming horror movie, The Black Demon.
Cuarón has followed in his father’s footsteps quite well by putting together an impressive ensemble for his latest directorial feature. See the Chupa cast in action by logging in to stream the film on Netflix now.
