Meet Tonatiuh, the queer actor starring in Jennifer Lopez's new movie

Who is Tonatiuh?

Tonatiuh is an exciting young actor set to play an iconic queer role in a new film opposite Diego Luna and Jennifer Lopez!

Tonatiuh Elizarraraz, professionally known as Tonatiuh (he/they pronouns), is a queer actor from Southern California. He graduated from West Covina High in 2011 and went onto study theater and film at USC.

What else have they been in?

After appearing in some shorts, they started appearing in TV shows like Jane the Virgin and Danny the Manny in 2016, and Stargate Origins, Famous in Love, Chicago Med, and Kismet in 2018-2019.

He appeared in the film Drunk Bus, and starred on the shows Vida, Promised Land, and Hidden Canyons. He also voices the character Miguel in the animated series The Loud House.

What is 'Kiss of the Spider Woman?'

Kiss of the Spider Woman is an adaptation of the 1993 Broadway musical based on the 1976 novel of the same name. It was also adapted into a film in 1985.

“Set in an Argentinian prison in 1981 during the Dirty War, Luis Molina, a gay hairdresser, is serving an eight-year sentence for allegedly corrupting a minor,” the description reads. “To escape the horrors of his imprisonment, Molina imagines films starring a classic screen actress named Aurora, including a role of the spider woman, who kills her prey with a kiss. Molina's life is upended when a Marxist, Valentin Arregui Paz, is brought into his cell, and the two form an unlikely bond.”

In the 1985 film version, Luis was portrayed as a trans woman played by William Hurt, who won the Academy Award for the role.

Who does Tonatiuh play?

In the new Kiss of the Spider Woman, Tonatiuh will be starring as Luis, opposite Diego Luna as Valentin. They join Jennifer Lopez who will play the titular Spider Woman. The film is being written and directed by Bill Condon of Chicago and Dreamgirls fame.

We can't wait to see it!