[Warning: This story contains spoilers for Prime Video’s The Last Sunrise.]
Fernando Lindez’s career has recently become a whirlwind.
While promoting another Prime Video project, the Spanish model-turned-actor crossed paths with producers Lena Rocklin and Jennifer Gibgot, who urged him to audition for their next film.
“They started talking with me, and they were like, ‘You have to do this casting!’ It all happened so fast,” Lindez tells The Hollywood Reporter over Zoom.
That casting was for Prime Video’s romance The Last Sunrise, based on author Anna Todd’s 2025 bestseller and released this Wednesday. Set in Mallorca, Spain, the film follows Oriah “Ry” Pera (Maia Reficco), a 22-year-old living with chronic illnesses, including tuberous sclerosis and epilepsy. While accompanying her mother (Eva Longoria) on a summer business trip, she meets a charming local named Julián (Lindez). The two embark on a summer romance, though Ry’s undisclosed health struggles complicate their burgeoning relationship.
The role marks Lindez‘s English-language debut following a string of notable Spanish projects, including the recent romantic drama Tell Me Softly (Dímelo bajito). Successfully crossing over into English-speaking roles has long been a goal for the rising actor.
“Making an American debut is the dream of any actor looking toward Hollywood. It’s where the industry is at its highest level,” Lindez says.
Lindez, now 26, began acting at 16, attending theater school before landing a breakout role in the television series Skam España, starring alongside future My Fault leads Nicole Wallace and Gabriel Guevara. “We all started in that show,” he recalls.
Lindez portrayed Alejandro across 30 episodes of the teen drama until it ended in 2020. He later joined the main cast of the popular Netflix thriller Elite as Joel and, in 2023, starred in the Spanish thriller series Escándalo, relato de una obsesión.
While building his acting resume, Lindez had already established a successful modeling career.
“I started modeling at 17, and I never imagined I would enter the world of fashion,” he tells THR. “When I was little, I was very shy and never wanted my picture taken. It all happened because a friend posted a photo of me on social media, and a scout from my agency saw it and thought, ‘This guy could be a model.’”
Soon after, Lindez was traveling the world and walking runways in Milan, Paris and New York. “It all happened pretty fast. It was crazy,” he says.
Despite his success in fashion, Lindez says his creative passion has always been acting, “being in front of the camera and performing.”
“I feel goosebumps when I’m acting,” he says, describing a sense of fulfillment distinct from modeling.
Goosebumps definitely arose when Lindez joined the set of The Last Sunrise. “When I came to the set the first day, and I saw this massive production, I’ve never experienced something like that before. So for me, I felt very, very lucky to work on this kind of project,” he tells THR.
In The Last Sunrise, Lindez steps into the role of a romantic lead — a departure from his previous darker characters. “This is the most romantic movie I’ve made so far. The other projects that i’ve been involved [in], there was often something dark in my characters,” he notes, adding that Julián avoids the “bad guy” archetype to show a vulnerable young man committed to his family and Mallorcan roots.
Though the technicality of acting was the same, Lindez notes the language barrier took some adjustment.
“The beginning was very hard because my English is not perfect. I have a very strong Spanish accent,” Lindez admits. “I have a teacher who helped me vocalize and talk slowly — because as a Spanish person, I like to talk fast! But the director and Maia [Reficco] — who is Argentinian and speaks perfect English — helped me a lot with the language.”
While Reficco and Lindez eventually formed a strong bond, their initial meeting was anything but. The actress has been candid about them not clicking immediately, a story Lindez laughs about now.
“We are pretty similar in many things and at the beginning, when I first met her, I was very shy, but with everyone. We had like two to three days that we were approaching each other, carefully,” he says. “But then we had such a beautiful journey, and I think we made a really good team. I learned a lot from her. She’s such a nice person, actress, and was very professional. I really admire her.”
Assuming the mantle of Prime Video’s latest romantic lead felt natural for Lindez, a self-described romantic at heart and fan of the genre.
On the surface, the film appears to be a typical summer romance mixed with YA drama, but it also chronicles families facing chronic illness, self-discovery and the pressure of expectations. The story is deeply personal for author Anna Todd, who was inspired by her son’s own health journey.
“One of the things that really attracted me to this project was the emotional side of the story. When I read the script, I thought it was very well-written, and I’m also a big fan of romance. I’m a very romantic person. I love romance. But I also think this movie goes much deeper than that. It’s about family [and] personal growth. It’s a different kind of romance. It also taught me a lot about life,” he says.
Of his role he adds, “He’s a mature guy with his responsibilities [and] mature problems. He’s a person that is trying to understand himself and what he really wants. He has this confidence on the outside, but I think underneath, there is much more. There is a guy that is vulnerable. He’s also very protective with his family, island [and] his people. He’s a guy that loves his culture.”
For much of the film, Julián falls for Ry while unaware of her illness or her family ties. As Julián and his father fight to save their historic local docks from a hotel development — spearheaded by Ry’s mother, Isolde (Eva Longoria) — he eventually learns Ry’s secrets. When she finally shares the severity of her illness, he chooses to stay by her side.
“It’s something that is very hard to tell to someone. Of course, she’s not gonna tell me that secret the very first day we met. He just wants to help and protect her and show her that he loves her in just the way she is,” Lindez says. “I think what Julián sees in Ry, he sees in her something from him. I think he sees in her that vulnerable part. Since the very first day they met, there was something you can’t explain, and they just felt in love in a very natural way. And when he realized that she’s sick and that she’s carrying this illness, he does what he knows to do: protect her like with everything he loves. He’s just protective.”
The film’s climax sees Ry undergoing surgery to remove tumors, waking up with her memory impacted. While it is revealed her memories are slowly returning, whether she remembers Julián and how much remains an open question.
Amazon MGM is reportedly eyeing a Last Sunrise sequel, with Todd planned to pen a book trilogy. Lindez says he hasn’t heard anything official about a second film, but he is ready to return: “I would love for Julián to show her why he loves her. He has to make her fall in love with him all over again.”
For now, Lindez is focused on continuing to grow as an actor — and keeping his options open beyond romance.
“I just want to keep learning,” he says. “I’m still taking acting classes. I think it’s very important to keep learning about this industry. I’d like to do different types of movies. I love action, fantasy — I’m open to everything. I just want to keep growing. That’s the most important thing for me.”
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The Last Sunrise is available to stream on Prime Video.
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