Why Mike From Hocus Pocus 2 Looks So Familiar
"Hocus Pocus" — the fantasy comedy film starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as three villainous witches, the Sanderson sisters — came out in 1993 and has since become an iconic Halloween movie. Nearly three decades later, a sequel is finally making its way to viewers' screens: "Hocus Pocus 2." Directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Jen D'Angelo, the film follows a group of high school students who must put a stop to the revenge quest of the Sanderson sisters — Winnie (Midler), Mary (Najimy), and Sarah (Parker) — who have returned to modern-day Salem.
The high schoolers taking on the challenge are Becca (Whitney Peak), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo). Additionally, another new character is Mike, a fellow teen and Cassie's boyfriend, who is played by Froy Gutierrez.
If the character of Mike happens to look familiar, look no further — here's a breakdown of Gutierrez's most prominent roles from his career.
Froy Gutierrez had an arc on One Day at a Time
In 2017, Gutierrez (who has been acting since 2015) had a four-episode arc on the Netflix sitcom "One Day at a Time, which is based on the 1975 series of the same name (via IMDb). The series follows a Cuban-American family — led by single mother Penélope (Justina Machado), an Army veteran and current working nurse — living in Echo Park in Los Angeles. Gutierrez plays Josh Flores, a classmate of Penélope's daughter Elena (Isabella Gomez). Elena and Josh date in Season 1, beginning with Josh agreeing to be Eleana's quinceañera escort, which eventually leads to Elena figuring out that she is a lesbian. Josh is totally understanding after Elena comes out and still escorts her.
In March 2019, during an interview with Buzzfeed, Gutierrez discussed what it was like working on "One Day at a Time." More than anything, Gutierrez was grateful to get the opportunity to play a Latinx character on a show run by Latinx people.
The actor said, "As someone who looks the way I do, it's very rare that I get to play a character that isn't white. So on that show in particular, because all the writers and the showrunner, Gloria Calderón Kellett, are all Latinx, it was important for them that the character of Josh Flores be played by a Latinx actor." He added that even though he got called in to read, he was still expecting them to cast someone who looks different than him, so he was shocked when he landed the part.
Froy Gutierrez played Nolan on Teen Wolf
The supernatural teen drama "Teen Wolf" ran for six seasons from 2011 to 2017 on MTV. The series follows Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), a teen who turns into a werewolf at the start of the series after being bitten by an alpha werewolf; from then on out, he must adjust to his new double life while also defending his town from supernatural creatures. Coming into the mix in Season 6, Gutierrez plays Nolan Holloway, a lacrosse team player who discovered the existence of supernatural beings after witnessing a battle involving Scott against the Beast of Gevaudan. He then joins the army of Hunters, who are determined to expose the supernatural students.
During the March 2019 Buzzfeed interview, the actor also talked about his time on the popular teen drama. He explained that getting cast on "Teen Wolf" was somewhat of a surreal experience because so many of his friends had been ardently watching the series since Season 1. Further, he talked about loving the dedicated fan responses.
He said, "I don't think anything can prepare you for that fandom. It's a very good thing though, the most devoted fans. I was an internet kid growing up, I spent all my time on either 'World of Warcraft' or Tumblr or BuzzFeed, so it was cool seeing the fandom from both an insider and outsider perspective, especially since my friends were in the fandom."
He co-starred in Cruel Summer
Created by Bert V. Royal, "Cruel Summer" is set over the course of three years (1993, 1994, and 1995) and follows two teen girls: Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt), who is kidnapped by the school's vice principal, and Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia), a nerdy girl who takes Kate's spot as the school's popular girl once Kate disappears. When Kate returns from being missing, she accuses Jeanette of having witnessed her kidnapping and not having done anything to help. Gutierrez plays Jamie, Kate's boyfriend, who starts dating Jeanette after Kate is missing.
In an April 2021 interview with The Cut, Gutierrez described what drew him to the project. The actor said, "I started perusing [the first two scripts], and by the time I was halfway through it, I was hooked, and I wanted to keep finishing it, and I wanted to figure out how to do the three different years. I was terrified to do it, and usually, if you're terrified to do something, that's when you know you gotta try it out."