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After getting calls to work with comedy greats like Larry David and Quinta Brunson, it was only a matter of time before Netflix came knocking on Keyla Monterroso Mejia’s door.
While David represents the comedic legends of Hollywood and Brunson represents the now, Mejia is the future. After a scene-stealing breakout role in Season 11 of Curb Your Enthusiasmas aspiring actress Maria Sofia Estrada, Mejia also made an appearance on Brunson’s Abbott Elementary Season 2 as a teacher’s aide named Ashley Garcia. Both of the roles were larger-than-life characters who lean so much into physical, over-the-top comedy that is both overwhelming yet incredibly entertaining—all while effortlessly matching the seasoned talent around her on both hit shows.
Mejia, who is first generation-American of Guatemalan and Mexican descent, is a star, even if she doesn’t realize it yet. When speaking to her ahead of the release of her new Netflix teen-comedy Freeridge, Mejia seems humbled and surprised about her sudden burst of success and is filled with gratitude about the way comedy has become a vessel for her to achieve her dreams of being an actress. Being funny wasn’t something she thought she could be at first, but by chance, she auditioned for a role in The 90 Day Plan before realizing that it required “good comedic timing.” Mejia might not have auditioned if she saw the clause ahead of time, but she ended up landing the part and it unleashed a whole new side of her talent that has become the launching pad for her career.
“If somebody had told me, ‘Write down your dream career,’ it wouldn’t even have crossed my mind. I would’ve never written down Curb or Abbott or even Freeridge,” Mejia tells Complex. “Truthfully, it’s just so much more than I thought was possible for myself. These opportunities are so much more than what I ever thought I would be able to do.”
Freeridge is a spin-off of Netflix’s On My Block, which was a show about four friends from South Central Los Angeles. The series ran for four seasons and it was lauded for its diverse cast. Mejia appeared in one episode of the show and says its stars like Jessica Marie Garcia showed her that there was a space for people who looked like her on TV. Mejia plays the lead Gloria on Freeridge. She is the firstborn daughter who assumes the responsibility of taking care of her little sister Ines (Bryana Salaz), their dad, and their home after their mother passes away. Unlike her previous zany characters, Mejia got to navigate more emotional depth and feelings with Gloria as she deals with love, taking care of her family, and navigating her complicated life and friendships.
Freeridge is, of course, still a comedy, but it also makes clear that Mejia can play more than just a funny side character—it is proof that she can be the lead on any show. Complex caught up with Mejia to chat about Freeridge, which is now streaming on Netflix, and all about her journey, representing Latinas and why she is trusting the universe to guide her career this year.
How are you feeling so far with everything that’s been going on for you?
Insane. I live a very quiet life. I don’t live in LA, I live in the outskirts. Sometimes I get to do these really fun things, and then I come home and my mom has no idea. She doesn’t really understand, or my brother. Sometimes I forget that.
Do you feel a lot of pressure in the way things are unfolding?
I wouldn’t say pressure or comfort. More confused. I would love to just act for a living but the fact that I get to do it on these incredible shows with these incredible legends who are also wonderful people is a literal dream come true. I say this all the time, but if somebody had told me, “Write down your dream career,” it wouldn’t even have crossed my mind. I would’ve never written down Curb or Abbott or even Freeridge. Truthfully, it’s just so much more than I thought was possible for myself. These opportunities are so much more than what I ever thought I would be able to do.
Being the lead on Freeridge is so monumental for your career, and for Latinas in general. What has it been like?
It’s very surreal. I get to be a lead on the show that’s a spinoff of something that meant so much to me in terms of representation. I looked at Jessica Marie Garcia and I thought, “She’s me.” I see myself in her, and it gave me so much confidence to also not give up as an actress when things weren’t going my way. It’s possible. There are examples. You have Jessica and you have this show [On My Block] that’s about inner city kids and these kids look like your friends and they look like the neighborhood that you grew up in. To now be in the next generation of that, in the next chapter of that, has been so surreal. I remember thinking or feeling just so proud that the show represented me in some way. It’s crazy to think that now I get to represent other people. I’m scared but it’s wonderful.
On Freeridge, your character Gloria is funny in her own right, but she’s a bit more serious than the characters we’ve seen from you. Can you talk a little bit about bringing her to life and your inspirations behind creating the character?
Oh my gosh. I’m first-gen. Both of my parents are immigrants and I am the older sister. I have a younger brother and so there was a lot I could relate to. A couple of years ago I worked on myself and I tried to not be so controlling, but I really empathize with her because I was her in some way. I always felt like I knew what was best for my family and tried to get them to see it. It feels like for some reason it’s my responsibility to make it happen.
I was always fighting with my dad and my mom and my brother. We would constantly argue, but it was out of love. I had to let them live their own lives and be a daughter to my dad, be a sister to my brother, and not feel like everyone’s mom all the time. But it was interesting to go back to a mindset where I didn’t have therapy and I hadn’t worked on myself. You remember what it felt like. I empathized with Gloria on that. She takes on a lot of responsibility. In some ways, she was sweet. But yeah, I’m in everybody’s business, girl.
The show is a comedy, but it’s also dealing with a lot of heavy topics. Both Ines and Gloria are dealing with losing their mom. How were you able to translate that message in a way that was funny but will also help people who have been in those situations?
Honestly, I got lucky with really good writing. The basis of anything starts with writing and it was very truthful. Veronica Rodriguez wrote Episode 4, which is where we deal with the issues with our mom and how we deal with it. It was so beautifully written that it was easy to have a base and then start on my own with loss and how I deal with things. I remember being frustrated out of anger but out of love and it’s very complex, but it was a challenge. I had gotten into this rhythm of comedy where I’m the funny girl and I’m big and I come in strong. It was very nice to come into someone who is confident and strong in a different way than the characters I had done before. Sometimes tragedy happens, but your life and school continue and you have to still have your drama with your friends that you have to deal with. It’s a very accurate representation of a lot of people’s lives. It’s really special.
I read somewhere that you didn’t really have a lot of experience with comedy before you started taking all these comedic roles.
Honestly, it happened out of just sheer coincidence. At the time, when I was auditioning for things, I was doing a lot of theater and the roles that I was getting were not comedy roles. One day I saw this breakdown, and it was the closest breakdown to me that I had seen as they were looking for this type of actress. I loved the role and the storyline. I felt like I knew the character. For some reason, and I think it was just God’s will, I didn’t see that it said, in all caps, “Must have good comedic timing.” Had I seen that I don’t think I would’ve felt confident enough to audition, but I did and I ended up getting the part and that was the first time I had ever done anything in comedy.
I remember feeling good about it, then Curb came along. It was honestly something that just happened organically that I was very lucky to come into, and then I was a little scared because I realized how technical it is and I’m like, “Oh my God, these people are geniuses.” Everyone on Abbott and their comedic timing and the way that they deliver, and I’m just like, “Oh my God, I’m way in over my head. What am I doing here?” There was definitely some imposter syndrome, but we do the best that we can.
Yeah. What would you say to someone looking to start in the industry to help them not box themselves in?
I would say do things with gratitude. The small things that sometimes you have to do for free are the things that’ll really help you along the way. You really get to explore and create and find out who you are as an actress and what works in those projects that maybe don’t have a budget or where it’s like you get paid $100. I think doing and always having a good attitude and being willing to learn and always listening more than I speak, are something that helped me along the way to figure out a way to get better. I think it’ll do wonders for a lot of people.
I read you were supposed to only be in one episode of Curb, but then you ended up being in multiple. Did you feel like that happened because you were so open to learning?
Oh my God, no, girl. That got misconstrued. I should have explained. [Laughs.] But you’re right. That’s what I said, but that’s just not what happened, girl. You know what? It turns out, and now that I know more, they were just super under wraps with it. They just didn’t tell anybody just to be safe, because I didn’t know how big Curb was at the time. They told me it was originally one episode, and then I go to one other fitting and then it’s three, and then later on it was like six. But I think they do that out of security to make sure nobody says anything. But you know what? Let’s go with that. It sounds better.
They were like, “Oh yeah, write her in and keep her.”
Yeah, girl. That sounds better.
Now we’re seeing you with Freeridge and Jenna Ortega with Wednesday and Melissa Barrera. When you’re seeing other people, like Jessica Marie Garcia, in the industry really finding their way, how does that make you feel as a Latina?
Honestly, I have to give it up for people like America Ferrera, John Leguizamo, Eva Longoria, and all these incredible Latino actors who are in the industry and they are fighting for us to get more opportunities. I am literal living proof that their work does not go in vain. I’m 5’1”, I lie and I say I’m 5’2”. Look at me. My face is round as hell. Do you see my body? I have very normal features and because of people like them who fight to have more representation and behind the scenes with getting projects greenlit, I’m able to be here. This would’ve never happened maybe even three, or four years ago. There are people like them who are constantly fighting for us, and I get to be here because of people, literally, like Jessica Marie Garcia, who dared to be herself and to keep going, that now people have a reference point.
When they look at me, they can say, “Oh, well Jessica can. Jessica did it and she did a damn good job. Well, why don’t we give Keyla an opportunity? They look kind of similar. Let’s let her try.” I’m just so grateful to them because of the work that they do all the time behind the scenes and they show up. There’s still a long way to go, but I get to have these opportunities and I get to be thankful to the Quinta Brunsons because they gave me these opportunities and I could be your cousin. I’m a regular person and I’m so grateful that people are fighting for me because I get to be here and I get to live my dream. It’s been just a lot of gratitude for them.
It’s really special for a show like Freeridge to be about a Latino family, but it’s not at the center of the show. They’re just regular people, regular Americans, just living their lives. Was that something you noticed about the show?
Yeah, 100%. I love that the problems that we deal with didn’t have to do with what we look like or being immigrants or anything like that. It had to do with things that people deal with all the time, unfortunately, which is cancer. That’s something that I think everyone can relate to, no matter their ethnicity or even what my friends deal with in their sexuality. That’s not just conformed to one group of people, but it’s things that everyone can relate to. When they did show representation, it was done very tastefully, like with el Dia de los Muertos. I thought that was beautiful the way that they introduced my mom and what that meant because it wasn’t focused on Dia de los Muertos, even though it was. It was more on my relationship with my sister and how we deal with this day, or my relationship with my mom at this memorial, but it wasn’t like, “Oh, I’m Mexican.”
Do you feel like that also makes it relatable, not just for young Latinos, but also for a wider audience?
Yeah, because I think sometimes it sneaks up on you because you’re just watching this family and then they throw in a line in Spanish or they’re celebrating this holiday that other people might not know, but it’s not thrown in your face. You’re watching a show that you like and that you can relate to and they happen to be Latinx. That’s really cool and that’s really interesting. I like watching TV that way as well, learning without intentionally doing it or having it thrown in my face.
There are also certain things that show you that there are also Latinx writers in the writer’s room. When you read certain things like that in the script, how does that make you feel?
It feels really good. I’m not going to lie. Also, I had the freedom not only within the situations I was given but also in the things I say. I said “Callate, Ines” and that wasn’t in the script. I thought, “Can I just say this instead?” They were like, “Yeah, go ahead. That’s fine.” It was honest to the moment. It didn’t feel forceful. It didn’t feel like I had to say a word in Spanish or something, because I speak fluent Spanish and my sister doesn’t, but it works out.
I speak better Spanish than my little brother, because my little brother had me growing up to speak English with, whereas I didn’t have him for the first couple of years. It’s so special when it’s done in a very tasteful way. When I get to read it, I feel so lucky. I get excited as an actor, so I’m like, “Oh my God, I get to say these words or I get to show this.” I’m like, “This is awesome.” It’s really cool, I think, when you throw those tidbits in there and you get to see them. It’s really fun.
What are some goals and things that you have on your vision board that you want to accomplish going forward in your career?
I will be completely honest. This year, I think I’m taking a different approach. I think I’m letting life happen to me. All the opportunities that I have had, truthfully I didn’t think would ever happen to me. I didn’t ever think I would be so lucky enough to be on Curb and Abbott and now Freeridge, which is the spinoff of a show that I just loved. All these things, had you asked me to write them down and be like, “Write a list of your dream career,” I would’ve never been able to write these because I didn’t even think that there would be opportunities that I could do.
I feel so grateful and I’m afraid of being greedy. If I start asking the universe specific things, they’re going to be like, “Girl, relax. We’re doing a lot for you already.” But honestly, I’ve been so lucky with the things that I’ve already been able to do that I’m just taking them as they come and just working to be a better actress because when these opportunities come, I just want to be prepared for them. I’m allowing life to happen to me and not getting caught up in the specifics. I’m trying it out. If it doesn’t work, then I’m back to my vision board next year, girl.