The long-awaited “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has finally hit theaters. On this occasion, a small focus on the actor Tenoch Huerta, who embodies the charismatic antagonist Namor.
Seen in the Narcos: Mexico series and the thriller American Nightmare 5, Tenoch Huerta now plays the villain in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the thirtieth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and seventh and final of Phase 4 (after Black Widow, Shang -Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder).
Born in 1981 in Mexico City, Tenoch Huerta took acting lessons very early on (his cinephile father transmitted his passion to him). He found his first role in the drama Así del precipicio in 2006. The following year, he starred in Gael García Bernal’s Déficit, which centers on a young man (Bernal) who is a hip hop fan and the son of a crooked politician. Building on this success, the actor continues to perform in Mexican films, such as the hard-hitting thriller La Zona, private property.
In 2009, Tenoch surprised in the violent Sin Number of the future director of True Detective and Dying can wait, Cary Joji Fukunaga. In a punchy feature film, he plays a terrifying gang leader with tattoos on his face (eventually killed by the hero). He continues by favoring thrillers, as evidenced by his performances in Días de Gracia, Kill the Gringo, Paradise Lost, They come back…, Le Mobile, Bel Canto or Dark Force.
His international notoriety accelerated in 2018 when he slipped into the skin of drug trafficker “Rafa” Rafael Caro Quintero in Narcos: Mexico. He is a key figure since he is one of the founders of the Guadalajara cartel. Then, the actor plays one of the two protagonists of Aquí en la Tierra, a drama series in which he plays a man from a poor background who is responsible for the security of a wealthy family.
Carlos Somonte/Netflix Tenoch Huerta in “Narcos: Mexico”
On the film side, he is seen playing main characters in the thriller American Nightmare 5: Without Limits (2020), fifth installment of the lucrative Blumhouse saga, and the horror film Amazon Madres (2021). At the end of 2020, Tenoch Huerta is chosen to play the villain of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, filmed without Chadwick Boseman who died of colon cancer in August 2020. Specifically, the Mexico City native plays Namor, the ruler of Talokan. .
This charismatic antagonist is inspired by the culture and history of Mesoamerica. Unlike the comics in which he is the ruler of Atlantis, the character reigns over Talokan here. Iconic figure of Marvel, Namor had never appeared on the big screen and had so far only been entitled to animated series. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever therefore marks the first film appearance of the character created in 1939 by Bill Everett.
Considered the first mutant, Namor was part of the X-Men, the Avengers or the Illuminati, according to his adventures. He is also the first Marvel hero since he was born before Captain America (1940), Spider-Man (1962) or Iron Man (1963). Finally, note that the actors Daniel Dae Kim, Brian Tee, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Phelps and David Boreanaz have each been (more or less) considered to play this character.