Reggaeton music may be having another moment thanks to the new Netflix series Neon, so don’t be surprised if headliner Tyler Dean Flores emerges as one of the hottest talents of the year. The actor/singer, who burst onto the scene in The Dark Knight Rises before heading into Disney+’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier, plays up-and-coming reggaeton artist Santi in the show, which thus far has captured the hearts of music lovers and fans of coming-of-age comedies.

Created by Max Searle (The Ranch) and Shea Serrano (Primo), the premise has won audiences over: Three early 20-somethings head to Miami and somehow work their way into the super-competitive music business. Costars Emma Ferreira, Jordan Mendoza, and Courtney Taylor are a delight as Santi’s pals Ness and Felix, and music hotshot Mia, respectively.

Best of all, those music industry cameos are a groovy touch: Jon Z, Brray, Jowell, and Daddy Yankee stand out. Tyler Dean Flores shares more about the slick series in this exclusive MovieWeb interview.

Road Trip, Anyone?
Netflix

Neon may be a dream come true for Tyler Dean Flores. The performer, originally from Harlem, New York, was always interested in expressing himself. When a chance to star in The Dark Knight arrived, it changed the course of the performer’s life. With Neon, Flores is jazzed to mix two of his greatest loves, music and acting, and fully immersed himself in the role.

“I’ll tell you a fun story that no one has heard yet,” he said. “To build chemistry for this show, I always try to come up with cool ideas. I’m always trying to make us exactly like the characters. So, Emma and I spoke for a bit. This is before we did tests and everything, before filming. And I said, ‘Why don’t we go to Fort Myers and go to Miami? Like, actually do the real thing [in the series], and I think that’ll help build each other up and get to know each other more, and when we come to film day, we’ll be able to execute [it].’”

Related Exclusive: Emma Ferreira on the Mind-Blowing Experience of Neon Emma Ferreira on the show’s depiction of reggaeton, working with her costars, and those steamy scenes with Jordana Brewster.
Costar Jordan Mendoza could not make the road trip due to shooting another film, but off Flores and Ferreira went. They flew to Miami, then drove to Fort Myers, winding up at Fort Myers High School. “We just hung around Fort Myers, went to Waffle House, went to the mall together,” Flores said, adding:

We did everything we felt like our characters would do growing up in Fort Myers. Then we drove to Miami exactly like what the show shows. And we did Miami. That was our special little fun moment of building chemistry. And of course, having Jordan on FaceTime or text at every moment.

Researching the Role

Flooded with positivity, Flores’ excitement kept building as he approached shooting the series. He said it was important for him to conduct some of his own research on the subject, particularly the music, to better understand the depth of his character.

“I was reading and watching a lot of interviews from reggaeton artists,” Flores shared. “I was able to pull inspiration from there and from being in Puerto Rico, because I actually lived in Puerto Rico prior to filming the show there. So, I was there months before. Just being around that culture and experiencing that, seeing new artists come on the scene and seeing new artists perform at little venues in Puerto Rico, that was my inspiration.”

Related 50 Best New TV Shows to Watch on Streaming From Max to AppleTV+ to Hulu and Netflix, these are the best of the best new TV series you can watch on streaming services right now.
Chances are, such roles of a lifetime somehow affect actors for the better. When asked how the role of Santi affected him, particularly coming off of dramatic roles in The Dark Knight Rises and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the artist said:

“This is comedy, so I’ve only done one comedy project prior to doing Neon, right? So, being introduced to this comedy world has been new for me and fresh, and it’s been fun to explore and learn and be able around people at Netflix. And my castmates like Jordan, Emma, and Courtney, people who have done some sort of comedy before. I was able to lean on them and look at them to help bring me up.”

Taking on Reggaeton
Netflix

The most thrilling thing about the experience thus far for Flores, was being able to bring his culture to screen. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do since I got into the industry. When I first heard that we were making a show about reggaeton, and I was able to play a character who was Puerto Rican, I was super thrilled,” he said.

He went on to say that overall, the music in the series was fun because he has always made music since he was a child. However, this was the first time making reggaeton music. On that note, initially, the show’s producers first wanted to explore the possibility of Flores actually performing the music in the series. Nothing had been set in stone yet.

“I sent them a couple songs that I’ve recorded to prove to them I can actually do this. I was then told that we had Tainy and One Six of Neon16 come on board to do the music. I was super thrilled because Tainy is the biggest reggaeton producer ever. So, to have him give us that blessing and to go into the studio with him, that was crazy.”

Was there any musical number that stood out for him? The buzz has been nuts about the character of Santi’s music video, ‘Exagerao.’ But that wasn’t at the top of Flores’ list. “’Corillo’ is my favorite song because we were legit just playing this song even when we were on set,” he said. “Me and the castmates would play it in our hotel rooms. We love that record. Truthfully, that record means like everything to us. That’s our song.”

Catch Neon on Netflix. Experience the song ‘Corillo’ below.

Watch Neon on Netflix