From USD Alum to new Netflix series regular

How USD Alumna Bayardo De Murguia worked his way to land a role on the brand new Netflix series “Tiny Pretty Things”

Taylor DeGuzman / Arts & Culture Editor / The USD Vista

“Ever since I was little, my dad always told me, ‘Son, work hard and be a good person. And as long as you keep doing that it will keep you going strong,’” USD alum Bayardo De Murguia said. And he did just that. 

De Murguia held on to the advice his father gave him and is starring in the new Netflix series “Tiny Pretty Things.” 

Before he landed his first series regular title on “Tiny Pretty Things,” and before he fell in love with acting, De Murguia was a former student and football player at USD. He immigrated to the U.S. from Tijuana, and was raised in San Diego. In choosing which college he would attend, De Murguia followed his older sister, also a USD alumni, and attended USD in 2002, a decision that changed his life.  

He started at USD playing football.  His second year, De Murguia decided to take a theatre class, which was the very first year that USD offered a theatre major. The class he took was a movement improv class, which he described as all the “fun stuff” you do in theatre, and from the get-go he was hooked. His very first audition was for a USD play, and he was cast. After that, he decided that he would be a theatre major and minor in communication studies.   Around the time he booked the play, he quit football.

De Murguia explained that some of the coaches thought he was crazy for wanting to switch from football to acting, but overall everyone was mostly supportive. 

“My coaches were for the most part very positive about my decision, and they encouraged me to take the same exact work ethic I had on the field and bring that onto the stage,” De Murguia said. “I will never forget when one of my coaches during a practice said, ‘Bayardo, you’re an actor right? You should act like an athlete.’” 

His transition from the field to the stage was almost effortless. De Murguia explained how that big change in his life happened so seamlessly. 

“Performing and playing sports are almost intertwined,” De Murguia said. “There is this performance aspect of playing sports that fits in so well with acting and telling a story in front of a huge crowd of people.”

When he was thinking about the future and what he wanted to pursue, there appeared to be several moments that came together perfectly to give De Murguia the confidence to want to pursue acting. 

“The fact that I was casted in the first play I auditioned for at USD made me think that someone believed in me, and the feeling I had performing in Shiley Theatre was indescribable,” De Murguia said. “I felt so supported within the USD theatre community especially as this jockey, football player, immigrant and one of the few Latinx actors there, everyone was so open to embracing the artistic side in me.” 

De Murguia studied abroad with USD and traveled to Madrid to study at Syracuse University. Because of the relationships he established at Syracuse, De Murguia continued his acting studies in Madrid after graduating. 

However, before studying in Madrid again, after he graduated from USD, De Murguia became involved with Old Globe’s outreach program where he taught acting classes at nearby highschools with majority Spanish-speaking students. De Murguia performed in hip-hop musicals, something that isn’t typically shown at the Old Globe, and the high schools involved in the outreach program were able to watch him perform. 

De Murguia explained why the outreach program meant so much to him. 

“Getting to teach something I’m so passionate about, especially to mostly Spanish-speaking students, was a reflective experience,” De Murguia shared. “I was basically them, and I found my calling through theatre.” 

After studying acting in Spain, he moved back to San Diego and didn’t immediately jump into acting; he was still figuring out what he wanted to do. He began bartending and working hospitality jobs. There was a period when he felt that it would be easiest for him to just stay in San Diego. However, another opportunity came his way that reminded him why he wanted to start acting in the first place. 

Evelyn Cruz, still a professor at USD within the theatre department, reached out to De Murguia while he was still in San Diego and told him about a play that she was doing separate from USD’s theatre program that she wanted him to act in. De Murguia thought to himself that if he auditioned and it didn’t work out, his decision to officially pursue acting would be over. 

Needless to say, De Murguia landed a role in the play which reinvigorated his passion for acting and ultimately led him to move out to Los Angeles in 2010, where all his hard work would soon pay off.  

The unpredictable world of acting in L.A. is full of roadblocks and adversities. You don’t always land the role you had a gut feeling about, and sometimes that can be a hard hit to recover from. 

However, De Murguia explained what contributed to his unwavering faith in his hard work and perseverance through it all. 

“For me, the thing that keeps me going is positivity, I was always taught to stay positive,” De Murguia said. “My football background at USD taught me a lot about facing criticism and seeing it more as constructive criticism. After I don’t land a role, instead of being negative I think, ‘What could I have done better?’ I’m always willing to learn what I can improve for next time.” 

Although many doors may close in the acting world, a door leading one to their big break is bound to happen. De Murguia landing a series regular title in a Netflix show is a testimony to this fact. 

“Tiny Pretty Things” is based on the hit YA novel of the same name, with the novel best described as Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars. The story illustrates the world of an elite ballet academy and incorporates mystery, secrets, and suspense. De Murguia said that the show doesn’t appeal to just young adults. 

“The cool part about our show is that, even though it’s put in the YA, ‘Riverdale’ and ‘13 Reasons Why’ type of category, I think it also appeals to the older demographic as well,” De Murguia said. “Even me being older and seeing the show, it’s suspenseful and interesting, and I really think there’s going to be this broad appeal to the show for all ages.” 

De Murguia described what the audition process for “Tiny Pretty Things” was like. 

“Some might expect a complex, multi-faceted story about the audition process, but in reality, it was a fairly easy process,” he said. “I sent in a self-tape audition for the show, which at the time had no title and was just characterized as a young adult series, not a Netflix series. Based off of the self-tape, they liked it, and I got called to meet the creators and was cast for the role.” 

In the show, De Murguia plays Ramon, a former bad boy dancer turned visionary choreographer. De Murguia explained what went into the creation of his character, Ramon. 

“The creation of Ramon was so cool, it was a collaborative effort with the creators and the writers,” De Murguia shared. “The writers were all open to any ideas I had. I went into studying Cuban ballet, which my character dances, and I was able to put research into studying real Cuban dancers.” 

De Murguia described what dancing on the show was like, despite not having a dance background. 

“Sometimes in the casting of dancing roles, the dancing is amazing but the acting is just okay, or the acting is amazing but the dancing is just okay,” De Murguia said. “But, they cast people who are all around great. Everyone does their own dancing, everyone is trained phenomenally, there are no dancing doubles. When you see the dancing on the show, the juxtaposition of the acting and the dancing is beautiful.” 

De Murguia shared about his family’s support for his career and how his parents feel about acting. 

“The wonderful thing about my parents is that they have always been supportive,” De Murguia said. “It’s funny because my family is very excited for me, but sometimes it’s a culture clash for my mom and dad because they don’t understand what is actually going on yet. Once the show officially comes out and they see it on their TV, I think they’ll finally realize how big of a deal landing this role is.” 

De Murguia has come very far from playing football for USD and auditioning for his very first play ever. Landing a series regular role on a Netflix show is the epitome of his hard work and perseverance. He shared his best piece of advice that he could give to someone who also wants to pursue an acting career in the future. 

“The real world of the city of Los Angeles will throw obstacles and it will honestly be tough for awhile, but if you stay focused on what you want and stay positive throughout you will definitely go very far,” De Murguia said. “When I got to LA, I didn’t have a guide. I didn’t know a soul. But, I kept chipping away, I surrounded myself with like-minded, positive people, and stayed curious, always asking questions and wanting to learn more.” 

Netflix will soon announce the release date for “Tiny Pretty Things.”