Belissa Escobedo on the set of Happy’s Place on the Universal Studios Backlot in Universal City on Oct. 25, 2024.
(Sarahi Apaez/For De Los)
Ayear ago, Belissa Escobedo would spot the posters of network shows like NBC’s “Lopez vs. Lopez” plastered on gritty subway station walls in New York City.
“I wish,” she would tell herself as she made her way to her bartending gig, hoping that one day her face would be featured on them.
Working behind a bar counter is a respected rite of passage for any hardworking actor, but for Escobedo, it was a reality that felt dissonant after starring in the 2023 film “Blue Beetle,” a $104-million Warner Bros. project that was supposed to propel her acting career into bigger and better things.
But warped as her timeline might have seemed, it wouldn’t be long before her dreams materialized, ironically, in another tavern gig.
In “Happy’s Place,” the multi-camera NBC comedy (it premiered Oct. 18) Escobedo plays Isabella, a bubbly college graduate who inherits a Tennessee bar from her recently deceased, and unknown, father.
The caveat? Co-ownership with her new half-sister, Bobbie, played by country singer Reba McEntire. Together they journey through the bar’s upkeep and their newly minted sisterhood, often butting against generational divides and the recoil of parental wounds and absence.
“When she came in to read for the part, we just kinda locked in and clicked right away,” Reba McEntire said of her “Happy’s Place” co-star. “She really holds her own, and to only be 26 years old, it’s impressive.”
(Casey Durkin / NBC)
But metro platform walls are where the self-adulation stops for the actor, who speaks cautiouslyabout her new role, finely shifting her tone between angst and humility.
“I’m trying to honor myself and the work that it took to get here and all the doubts I had,” she said, pausing subtly between every other word.
The call to act came early for the L.A. homegrown talent, who fell in love with the craft after starring in an elementary school production.
“From then on, it was just what made me feel good. I feel like I’m myself when I’m on stage,” Escobedo said.
After a short stint at the New School in New York, the self-proclaimed “proud college dropout” returned to L.A. to try and make it as an actor, refining her chops at Boyle Heights’ Casa 0101 theater, an organization formed by writer Josefina López.
“She actually went to the same performing arts high school that I went to, the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts,” said Escobedo. “I’d always known of her because of ‘Real Women Have Curves,’ that was the first time I ever saw myself on screen.”
Then came her first TV break, a role in the Latino-led ABC rom-com drama, “The Baker and the Beauty,” where she starred as Natalie, the youngest daughter of a Miami baking family who navigates her queer sexuality in a traditional Cuban household. Then came the role of Izzy, the brave friend in Disney’s “Hocus Pocus 2,” the long-awaited sequel to the 1993 film.
“I’ve been lucky to love and care about all the projects that I’ve done,” she said. “I’ve never been dissatisfied with any story that I’ve been given.”
The sentiment rings most true when it comes to “Blue Beetle,” the Latino-led, live-action superhero movie where she portrayed Milagro, the quick-witted little sister of protagonist Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Maridueña), a college grad who gains superpowers through an ancient scarab.
“Although I was playing her older brother in the flick, she took me under her wing and was so kind throughout the whole process,” said Maridueña, who also acted in Casa 0101, though didn’t meet Escobedo until “Blue Beetle.”
Their siblinghood was kismet on screen, as Milagro’s perfectly timed comedic relief complimented Jaime’s sensible and serious persona, giving life to some of the film’s funniest moments. In one scene early in the movie, Milagro’s insistence on taking her potty break in a billionaire’sbathroom not only results in the siblings being fired from their custodial jobs; it also triggers the chain of events that lead to Jaime becoming the Blue Beetle.
“I’ve been lucky to love and care about all the projects that I’ve done,” Escobedo said. “I’ve never been dissatisfied with any story that I’ve been given.”
(Sarahi Apaez/For De Los)
“That shared kinship and bond [we have in real life] was also just through emotionally and mentally dealing with everything that would come from the movie,” Maridueña added.
The film, which tugged at ideas of corporate greed, displacement and the volatile conditions for working-class people, would foreshadow fallout in the entertainment industry. Not knowing what was to come, Escobedo moved to New York City to pursue other acting opportunities after production wrapped.
“I was just working and didn’t really know when I was going to be back on a set or anything,” said Escobedo, who picked up bartender shifts to make extra money.
Then came the dual Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes in summer 2023, which completely shut down Hollywood. Actors and writers hit the picket lines and were barred from promoting their work, leaving the bulk of publicity duties to “Blue Beetle” director Angel Manuel Soto.
“I think every actor was thinking, ‘Is this for me?’ ” said Escobedo of the strike. “Everyone was just like, ‘I got to think of a second career, what am I going to do?’ ”
The work stoppage was further exacerbated by futile self-torment that she should have started her career sooner.
“I see icons like Jenna Ortega who started so young and it’s hard to not think, ’What could I have been doing now if I had started then?’ ” she said of Ortega who started at age 10.
Between the self-doubt and entertainment mishaps, Escobedo thought often of quitting the industry altogether.
“It’s so fickle,” she said. “You could think that someone must be so well off because they did this major show and you think of them as famous but in reality, they might be back at a job.”
As drained as she was by the fraught acting world, Escobedo decided to give it another go.
“It really was my mom just reminding me that she’s never seen me so happy as I am when I’m on set and when I’m acting and, you know, doing what I love,” she said.
It didn’t take long for Escobedo to find her footing. A day after moving back to L.A., she landed her first audition for “Happy’s Place.”
“It was definitely like the universe being like, ‘All right, give it another chance,’ ” said Escobedo.
Behind the scenes was Emily Marroquin, casting assistant for “Happy’s Place,” who suggested Escobedo’s name to leadership after catching her quick wit in “Blue Beetle,” which fit seamlessly with the NBC multi-camera and laugh track and set-up.
“She was my favorite in the movie,” said Marroquin. “There’s just a little sparkle about her.”
Donning a Blue Beetle radius jacket, Escobedo channeled her know-it-all little sister tendencies into the character of Isabella. Leading co-star McEntire believed she was the perfect fit for the role, who acts as a balm to her more uptight character Bobbie.
“When she came in to read for the part, we just kinda locked in and clicked right away,” wrote McEntire to The Times. “She really holds her own, and to only be 26 years old, it’s impressive.”
Though Escobedo might still be stuck behind the bar counter of “Happy’s Place,” she’s not feeling the same anxiety she once felt when clocking into her 8 p.m. shift in New York.
“I believe everything happens for a reason and the right role will come,” she confesses. “I’ve lost out on roles and I think the world’s ending, and then the right project always finds you.”
It turns out that being behind the bar is exactly where she needs to be.
“Through all the doubts and the self-hatred and the nos, through all of that negativity there’s going to be this bright light at the end of the tunnel,” she tells herself. “And if you just keep following that, it’s going to bring you to some of the greatest places you’ll ever be.”
