It’s time to meet Gen Z breakout star Max Pelayo, who plays a major role in the highly-anticipated romance movie Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe. Pelayo plays Mexican-American teenager Aristotle Mendoza, who falls in love with his friend Dante Quintana in Aristotle and Dante, which is based on a coming-of-age novel of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Although the book came out in 2012, it recently grew in popularity on BookTok. The movie also follows a summer of other popular on-screen LGBTQ+ romances, such as Heartstopper and Red, White & Royal Blue, and like curiosity for those casts has only grown, it’s natural that fans will want to know some fun facts about Pelayo, too.
This young Texan actor is still relatively unknown in Hollywood, but is sure to speed to stardom with the release of both Aristotle and Dante and another upcoming movie he features in called Marisol. However, Pelayo is currently prevented from doing more press for Aristotle and Dante because of the Screen Actors Guild strike that started on July 14. Until things change in Hollywood, it’s hard to find a lot of information about Pelayo.
Luckily for us, Pelayo is active on social media, especially Instagram, so we can still learn something about him. Here are 10 fun facts about Pelayo to learn by heart before you go see Aristotle and Dante.
- One of Pelayo’s favorite songs is also on the movie soundtrack.
-
In a Q&A on his Instagram stories, Pelayo revealed that he got to pick one of his favorite songs to put on the Aristotle and Dante movie soundtrack. He chose “Reptile” by Church, because he thought his character Ari might listen to it.
- Pelayo plays the electric guitar.
-
As with many actors, Pelayo doesn’t just act. Sometimes Pelayo whips out his electric guitar to play for his Instagram followers, and he’s good. In response to a comment asking what brand the guitar is, this multi-talented king clarifies his guitar is “home made.” Pelayo built the guitar with his dad and calls it the Baritone Axe.
- He played a small role in Prime Video’s 2021 TV series Panic.
-
Although Pelayo hasn’t been seen on-screen much yet, if you saw Panic on Prime Video you might have caught a glimpse of Pelayo playing a character called “Random Senior.”
- He has an adorable dog named Howard.
-
Pelayo shared his puppy Howard’s snaggletooth grin on Instagram, and a few fans went wild over his cuteness in the comments. Hopefully Howard will get a front-row seat at Aristotle and Dante’s opening night.
- He’s an Aries.
-
His birthday is March 21, which is right on the cusp of Pisces and Aries. It’s no surprise Pelayo is so talented in his new lead role, because Aries signs are known to be motivated and passionate leaders. He also turned 21 this year, which means he can hit the bars to celebrate after Aristotle and Dante’s release.
- Pelayo knew he wanted to act from a young age.
-
His IMDb profile says it all: Pelayo knew what he wanted and worked hard to get there. Pelayo dreamed about being an actor when he was young, and grew the skills he needed to get to the big screen. He’s a student at the Carol Hickey Acting Studio in Austin, Texas.
- He’s close with Aristotle and Dante’s director Aitch Alberto and co-star Reese Gonzales.
-
The two actors and their director have reunited several times since the making of the movie, including to see the movie Licorice Pizza together, according to an interview they did with Game Rant. In March, Alberto also went to celebrate Pelayo’s birthday with him. It’s safe to say the close bond Pelayo has with his co-stars will reflect on-screen.
- Pelayo’s relationship status is a mystery.
-
Fans are left to speculate about Pelayo’s relationship status with no recent updates on social media or online. The closest thing is an update Pelayo posted on Valentine’s Day 2022 wishing everyone a happy Valentine’s Day from himself and his stuffed Yoda. Fans are sure to be keeping an eye on this after a teen romance like Aristotle and Dante hits the screens.
- Aristotle is Pelayo’s first lead role.
-
Pelayo is truly breaking out onto the Hollywood scene with Aristotle and Dante, because this is his first lead role. He has a smaller role in Marisol, his other movie coming out on Sept. 12.
- His height is 5’11”.
-
He’s significantly taller than his co-star Gonzales, who stands at 5’7”.