💔Luis Serra actor André Peña shared why one line from Resident Evil 4 Remake means so much to him.
During a recent podcast Press F to Fear, André spoke openly about his past. He said he struggled with alcohol for years because he could never stop at just one drink. He also smoked for more than a decade. Over time, he realized it was affecting his mental health and even his memory. At one point, things became so difficult that he walked away from acting altogether.
😔He recalled one moment at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that changed everything. During the meeting, he introduced himself to an elderly woman and later, after the session ended, they started talking again. When she called him by his name, André realized he had already forgotten hers. He apologized immediately, but she smiled and said:
"Oh sweetie, it's okay. We're all in the same boat in this community. We're all feeling the same thing. We've all gone through it."
😖André said that was the moment everything truly hit him. He realized his alcoholism had become so severe that even his memory was beginning to fail.
"I cried because I was like, Oh my God... I am destroying myself. I am absolutely messing up my future."
He has now been sober for more than ten years and says he's proud of that decision. According to André, without making that change, he would never have become Luis Serra, never would have started a family, and wouldn't be where he is today.
📅Years later, while filming Resident Evil 4 Remake, he found himself connecting with one of Luis' lines in a deeply personal way.
"People can change, right?"
André said that line hit him harder than any other because he had been in that place himself, trying to climb out of one of the darkest moments of his life and wondering if people really could change.
He admitted recording the scene felt "a little too real."
😮💨It hits even harder when you know André pitched that scene to the game's director.