Mission actor, kid sister don't care who gets famous first

J.R. Villarreal starred in 'Akeelah and the Bee' and acted with Paul Walker; little sister Karolinah Villarreal has lead role in 'Valentine's Day' with Julia Roberts & Jennifer Garner

August 13, 2009 7:45 AM

Sandra Gonzalez

The Monitor

It was Karolinah Villarreal’s eighth birthday. Despite being away in Los Angeles in the middle of a grueling filming schedule, her brother J.R. managed to prepare a present literally no one else in the world could give her.

She pressed play on the cell phone video.

“Hi Karolinah. This is Paul Walker. I hear you’re a hot-looking mama. I hope you have a happy birthday.”

She freaked. Even for a little girl with movie credits to her name, it was a big deal to have a well-known actor like Walker send her a personal greeting.

The video is now gone, lost at the hands of her 16-year-old brother, who captured it while working on The Life and Death of Bobby Z. But Karolinah isn’t crying over the loss because, as the duo will say, Walker won’t be the last celebrity they work with.

Between the two, J.R. and Karolinah have worked with Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Garner, Blue Collar comedian Ron White, Angela Bassett and Nestor Serrano.

Even at young ages, it’s been a long but successful ride, especially for a pair who got into acting after answering an open call they heard about on the now-defunct local radio station B104.

What could have been a sham turned out to be the start the two needed. From the large pool of kids who tried to catch scouts’ eyes at the former Sheraton Hotel in South McAllen that day about five years ago, they were among the few selected to move on to the second round in Dallas. There, they were encouraged to move to Los Angeles for one summer and give the child-actor lifestyle a chance.

Karolinah immediately caught the eye of commercial directors, who cast her in national spots for big names like Chevrolet. J.R. recalls being less lucky.

"I was kinda jealous because I hadn’t even gone on a single audition," he said.

But that didn’t last long.

A string of credits later, the siblings and their father, an entrepreneur who used to own a steel company in Monterrey, split their time between Texas and California. J.R. says they need Los Angeles to make their big dreams come true, but the Valley will always be home.

Karolinah Villarreal
Where you’ve seen her: Bordertown and various commercial

Where you’ll see her next: Valentine’s Day

Karolinah Villarreal, now 11, might still be less recognized than her brother, who starred in 2006’s Akeelah and the Bee. That may change soon, however — she’s in the middle of filming her big-screen debut.

Though Karolinah has only had a chance to work with Jennifer Garner on the set of Valentine’s Day, slated for release in 2010, the huge cast includes many A-list stars such as Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba and Julia Roberts.

“When I got this part, I was thrilled. I kept jumping up and down on the coaches and on bed,” the Mission native said via phone from Los Angeles.

Karolinah, on meeting Jennifer Garner: “I was so excited I went on set and we were just hanging out and when I went to hair and makeup I saw Jennifer Garner. I turned and she said ‘Hi, I‘m Jennifer’ in such a sweet voice. I said ‘I know!’” Her response had Garner gushing. “She said ‘Oh my God, you‘re so cute. Come here.’ She‘s a very nice girl. She plays my teacher in the movie”

She says she wants to meet Kutcher and Roberts at the premiere. Roberts is a longtime acting hero of hers — but not her main role model.

She divulges that information only after walking into another room, away from her father. Once out of earshot, she speaks softly and says that above everyone else, she admires her brother J.R. the most.

“He‘s my older brother and accomplished so many goals. I do look up to him even though he can be a pain,” she said. “I didn‘t want to say that because my dad was in the room, and he‘ll tell him.”

WATCH AN INTERVIEW KAROLINAH DID ON HER NEW MOVIE
READ HER INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE PROFILE

J.R. Villarreal

Where you’ve seen him: Akeelah and the Bee, Harvest of Redeption, The Death and Life of Bobby Z
Where you’ll see him next: Magic City Memoirs

In Akeelah and the Bee, J.R. Villarreal was the timid sidekick and love interest of main character Akeelah.

But he no longer looks like the little boy in that film.

Baby fat gone and about a foot taller, Villarreal has left his childhood roles behind him and is now taking on more serious parts.

His most recent is the coming-of-age movie Magic City Memoirs.

J.R., on meeting Andy Garcia: Villarreal worked with Garcia’s daughter Dominik García-Lorido on his latest movie and as a result, got a chance to meet the legend. “He’s great. To me, because I’m very pro-Latino and pro-Mexican, to see Andy Garcia, who is a pioneer in the arts for us, I was proud to shake his hand. He wants to help us out and set up screenings.”

In the movie, he plays a Cuban high school baseball player eyeing the pros. But life is far from perfect.

"I love it because I went to high school here (in the Valley) and (the movie) opens your eyes to mistakes you can make,” he said. “I‘m banking on this movie, because I think it‘s going to be my breakthrough performance.”

He says the film company is hoping to take the movie to the Sundance Film Festival. But even if success comes knocking, Villarreal says, he’ll always come home to Mission.

“I want to be a hometown hero,” he says. “I have big goals.”