Latino Child Stars Grow Up: Stars First R-Rated Roles
Most stars don't make a smooth transition from child-to-adult celebrity. When crossing that bridge many stumble and slip due to alcohol or drug use and abuse, and some simply aren't equipped to handle the blinding beams cast down from being in the lime light. But, for the Latino stars who have successfully crossed that bridge, it's time to take a look at the first R-rated roles that appeared on their filmography.
SELENA GOMEZ made her television debut on the children's classic Barney & Friends, appearing as Gianna. She went on to make appearances in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire and a number of Disney channel series until she scored her very own show, Wizards of Waverly Place. Since that show launched and ended, she's gone on to appear in a number of films Ramona and Beezus and Hotel Transylvania, but her first R-rated feature was 2013's Spring Breakers, portraying a character named Faith.
Dominican actor VICTOR RASUK appeared in Flawless, Five Feet High and Rising, The Soft Parade before he appeared in his most notable and first R-rated role, portraying the cocky and overtly sexual title character in Raising Victor Vargas. He's since appeared in a number of television series and films, and will play the role of Tre Morales in Godzilla, and Jose Rodriguez in the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey.
SHILOH THOMAS FERNANDEZ, whose father is of half Portuguese and half Russian Jewish ancestry, began acting during the late 2000's. He was featured on Cold Case, had minor roles on Drake & Josh and Lincoln Heights, and landed a reoccurring role on Jericho. The independent film Syrup (2003), based on the novel of the same name by Max Barry was his first R-rated movie, however. He plays opposite Amber Heard, as a slacker that "hatches a millon-dollar idea."
JESSICA ALBA began working on the Nickelodeon show The Secret World of Alex Mack as a teenager. She went on to star in Camp Nowhere, Venus Rising, P.U.N.K.S., Never Been Kissed, Flipper, ABC Afterschool Special and a number of other series until she appeared in 1999's Comedy-Horror-Thriller Idle Hands. She played Molly, the hot, soulful girl-next-door.
MARIO LOPEZ began his career as a dancer and drummer on Kids Incorporated. He went to appear in Chartbusters, The Deacon Street Deer, Superman, Colors and then took on his best known role as A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell. 1996's Depraved is technically unrated, not R-rated, but with the tagline ,"Somewhere between love and fantasy lies a sacred boundary no man or woman should ever cross," ensures that if did have a rating, it would have a R-rating at the very least. -Unfortunately, there are no trailers online for Depraved, but the film is available on Amazon for instant streaming.
Afro-Panamanian TATYANA ALI began work on Sesame Street in 1985. And, she was a child performer on Star Search before she her earned breakthrough role as Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Her first R-rated role is debatable. She appeared as Eddie Murphy's sister in a sketch segment of R-rated Eddie Murphy Raw at the age of 8, but her first true R-rated role was as Karyn in Fakin' da Funk, a film that is set around a Chinese kid being adopted by a black family.
ROSARIO DAWSON's very first screen appearance was her first R-rated film. The Afro-Cuban was just 16 when she appearing in 1995's Kids. .She portrayed Ruby, an unsupervised, sexually active -fairly promiscuous- teen, in the midst of 1990's era of HIV. Since, Dawson has had great success in Hollywood, appearing in films, such as Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof,The Rundown, Eagle Eye,Alexander, Seven Pounds, and Chavez