Tyler Dean Flores in his most important role yet, 'Reefa'

Jonny Marlow

Model turned actor Tyler Dean Flores is in the unique position of existing in multiple superhero universes. As a child, he appeared in one of the most popular franchises of all time with The Dark Knight Rises. Nearly a decade later, he jumped back into the superhero realm, this time as Diego in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:

“It still feels unreal to me. To be able to start my career with The Dark Knight Rises and almost 10 years later do a Marvel show is a kid’s dream.”

In his newest film Reefa, Flores gets to flex his skills outside of the world of superheros. The film stars Flores as Israel ‘Reefa’ Hernandez, a young Miami graffiti artist whose life came to a tragic end in 2013 after a fatal encounter with the police.

The story is – unfortunately – sickeningly familiar. Reefa explores the idea of art and ownership, immigration and what it means to live the ‘American Dream’, and how the corruption of the system leads to senseless murder. Released earlier this year against the backdrop of the Derek Chauvin trial, Reefa’s themes are more relevant than ever.

Ultimately, Reefa is a tribute to and celebration of Israel Hernandez’s life, and Flores plays him compellingly well. One of Flores’s favorite traits about Reefa was his boundless creativity: “Anything he looked at he could turn it into art. It was a superpower he had.”

In fact, Flores saw a lot of himself in the late artist: “Reefa and I are very similar, so there was a lot I pulled from real-life experiences. I grew up with a lot of kids like him so I tapped into that and I tapped into who I am. Besides immigration and graffiti, there’s a lot we have in common.”

In order to portray Reefa, Flores drew from his background of being born and raised in Harlem.

He has a lot of love for his hometown:

“I grew up on the west side [of Harlem] on Lenox Ave. Harlem made me who I am. Some people would see it as tough or ‘scary’ but I never looked at it like that because it’s all I know. It’s home. I do know that if I grew up somewhere else, I’d be someone completely different right now. My parents blessed my brother and I by raising us there – the culture, the people, the history, I appreciate and love it all.” Flores worked as a child actor and model while growing up in Harlem. When asked about his slightly unconventional childhood, Flores says:

“It was funny to see my family and friends react to me on TV or at Target! But it helped me build tough skin at a very young age. Harlem did too, but the industry did it in a professional way. Everyone thinks being in this industry is easy, but it’s really not. High highs and low lows. Gotta learn how to balance it all.”

Jonny Marlow

However, Flores wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted to pursue acting full-time. He decided to take a break from acting while he was in high school, so that he could focus on graduating. He kept himself busy by making music, interning, and editing short videos, but he ultimately realized that his passion was really in acting:

“I noticed I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I interned in high school and then started working for a real estate office, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I left and have never looked back.”

His decision has certainly paid off. Flores has appeared in a number of shows through the years, including Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and When They See Us. While playing Diego in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Flores got to explore Prague and experience Marvel ‘magic’ behind-the-scenes: 

“Playing Diego was sick. The Flag Smashers and I went through training which was pretty intense. The last episode where I was flying the helicopter was probably my first real action scene that I ever shot. The behind-the-scenes magic of Marvel is unlike anything I have ever seen before.”

As Flores grows along with his acting career, he remains remarkably down-to-earth. He tells us that he’s still “the kind of person who eats chicken tenders at every restaurant.” He DJs, plays soccer, goes to the beach, and also likes to do things like redesign his entire apartment because he’s bored. 

Drawing from his life experiences, Flores’s advice for young actors is similarly down-to-earth: 

“Have confidence and accept yourself. Your image and who you are is what makes you different. Continue to live your life but always give 100% to your craft/work.”

Flores has several exciting projects coming up this year, including a movie called 18 & Over, starring Ashley Benson of Pretty Little Liars fame. Flores will also appear in The Birthday Cake, a mob movie starring Ewan McGregor and Val Kilmer alongside Ashley Benson and Penn Badgley, and written and directed by the same team as 18 & Over. 

The Birthday Cake is set to be released this June.

Reefa is out now. Make sure to keep an eye out for more upcoming projects from Tyler Dean Flores!

Meet the Author

Jamie Imperial is a freelance writer and pop culture enthusiast living in Los Angeles. After a few detours into digital marketing in her career, Jamie realized that she wanted to focus on her main passions, entertainment and writing. At the end of 2020, she took the plunge and left her job in marketing to pursue writing full-time. She’s terrified, but loving the journey. When she isn’t working, Jamie likes to curate monthly Spotify playlists, browse FB marketplace, and scroll through TikTok. She does also venture outside to do outdoor things, like hiking and eating tacos. You can find her on Instagram at @jamie.wavy