The Guy Who Plays Lu's Bad Boy Stepbrother From 'Elite' Used To Be A Disney Star

Netflix's Spanish teen soap is returning this September, and the show promises an expanded cast and even more drama surrounding the central murder of the first season. One notable addition to the Elite roster is Lu's brother Valerio, played by Chilean actor Jorge López. It's not clear yet how much Valerio will help (or hinder) the crime investigation, or if he's just as vain as his sister. While you puzzle out Valerio's new role, you may be curious to learn more about the actor playing him.

According to a marketing video created by Disney Channel Venezuela, López has been immersed in the industry since he was young. He studied acting at the Academia de Fernando González and then at Universidad UNIACC. He eventually made his television debut in the youth TV series Decibel 110 in 2011. Later he starred in the sixth season of Los 80 and the television series Mama Mechona. He's also participated in musicals such as The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Chicago. Aside from acting, he's modeled for various commercial advertisements, which you can see all over his Instagram.

But his big break came in 2016, when he made waves for being the first ever Chilean actor to star in a Disney international show.

López was cast in Soy Luna, an Argentine telenovela produced by Disney Channel Latin America. The show tells the story of Luna Valente, a girl who moves to Argentina with her parents and finds love and friendship at a local skating rink. López played central character Ramiro Ponce, a boy Luna befriends who loves to skate and dance. The show ran for two years and López was in over 220 episodes.

"It is a great opportunity, I am very happy to represent Chile," López told Publimetro in regards to his casting of Ramiro. He also hints at his own musical background, saying, "[Ramiro] is a character that comes to my life to stir everything, just like in the series. He is unruly, passionate, he likes hip hop and composes his own songs."

López musicality is unlikely to play a role in Elite, but it's interesting to see him move from such a lighthearted project to a rather sinister one. To refresh you on the Elite drama, Season 1 ends in the murder of troubled, rich, and pregnant high schooler Marina, who was trapped in a love triangle with Samuel and his brother Nano. Though Elite tells us early on its Marina who was murdered, its not until the last episode that the show reveals the murderer was Polo, the best friend of Marina's own brother.

According to Variety, the central mystery of Elite Season 2 will be a missing persons case. The season will use the same flash forward format as the first season, and as the hours tick by, the chance of finding the missing person alive diminishes.

Audiences will have to wait and see how Valerio plays into all this, but at an Elite press conference, López sounded happy about the role. “Valerio has a super-rich interior world. It’s been doubly surprising to get to a new country but feel so comfortable,” López said.

We'll have to wait and see how this missing persons case folds into the drama of Season 1, and if Valerio ultimately ends up being a friend or foe.