Paulina Chávez & Rose Portillo Board ‘Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’

Rosy Cordero
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: The Disney+ film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day has added Paulina Chávez (The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia, Fate: The Winx Saga) and Rose Portillo (Zoot Suit, The Exorcist II) to its cast, joining previously announced stars Eva Longoria, George Lopez and Jesse Garcia.

Chávez will play Mia Garcia, Alexander’s 16-year-old sister who is described as an independent-minded, intelligent and eye-rolling teenager. Her parents are Frank (Garcia) and Val (Longoria). Portillo plays Lidia Garcia, the family matriarch, the mother of Frank and grandmother to Alexander, Mia and David.

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From writer Matt Lopez and director Marvin Lemus, Alexander tells the story of 11-year-old Alexander Garcia, who thinks he has the worst luck in the world. When his family sets off on a road trip to California, he’s pretty sure disaster awaits at every corner. His anxiety only increases when a family secret is revealed.

The film, a new take on Judith Viorst’s book after a 2014 movie starring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner, is produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Lisa Henson. Marisol Roncali and Chelsea Ellis Bloch serve as casting directors.

Chávez is best known for her breakthrough leading role in Netflix’s The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia portraying the titular character, the world’s first and only 15-year-old robotics engineer and rocket scientist. Additionally, she starred as Flora in Netflix’s sci-fi/fantasy series Fate: The Winx Saga.

The starlet is gearing up to premiere the film The Long Game at the upcoming SXSW Festival on March 12. The film is based on the true story of five young Mexican-American golf caddies who against the odds would go on and successfully compete against wealthy all-white golf teams in 1955 South Texas.

Chávez is repped by Industry Entertainment, CESD Talent Agency, and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan.

Portillo will also premiere a project at SXSW, the film Peak Season on March 12. Her credits span four decades across film, TV and theater including most notably the original Los Angeles and Broadway productions of Zoot Suit, as well as its indie film adaptation in 1981. Additional credits include …And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him, Eisenhower & Lutz, The Exorcist II and Where The Buffalo Roam.

Portillo was a part of the ensemble voice cast of the animated Disney film Encanto, voicing the character Señora Guzmán. On the small screen, she recurred on the Starz series Vida from creator Tanya Saracho. She also had guest-starring roles in Marvel’s Runaways and ABC’s The Rookie.

She is represented by IKIGAI Management.

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