You might know her as the powerhouse lead in the Oscar-nominated musical Emilia Pérez, but before she was sweeping awards at Cannes, Karla Sofía Gascón was tearing up the screen in one of the most intense narco-series ever made. I'm talking about the gritty world of Aurelio Casillas.
Honestly, the connection between Karla Sofía Gascón Señor de los Cielos is a trip. If you go back and watch season two right now, you’ll see her, but it’s not the Karla we see today on the red carpet. Back then, she was still working under her birth name, Juan Carlos Gascón.
She played Iñaki Izarrieta.
He wasn't just some background extra. Iñaki was a cold, calculated Spanish associate of Aurelio Casillas. He brought this specific European flair to the Mexican drug trade drama that felt totally different from the usual cartel archetypes. It’s wild to look back at that performance knowing the massive journey she was about to embark on.
The Iñaki Izarrieta Era: More Than Just a Guest Spot
When Karla joined the cast in 2014, the show was peaking. People were obsessed with the Casillas family.
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Iñaki Izarrieta was basically a high-level accountant and strategist. He was the guy who handled the money and the logistics, moving like a ghost through the underworld. Karla played him with this precise, almost clinical detachment. You’ve got to remember, at that point, she was one of the most sought-after Spanish actors in Mexico.
She had already killed it in Nosotros los Nobles (The Noble Family) as Peter Pintado. That movie was a cultural reset in Mexico. It broke box office records. So, when she showed up in El Señor de los Cielos, fans knew her face, but they weren't ready for how well she’d fit into the narco-thriller vibe.
It wasn't easy.
Karla has mentioned in interviews that moving to Mexico in 2009 and trying to adapt to the "telenovela" style was a huge hurdle. The pacing is different. The energy is different. But by the time she hit the set of El Señor de los Cielos, she had it down.
Why the "Senor de los Cielos" Role Still Matters Today
A lot of people think her career started with Emilia Pérez. That’s just wrong.
The reason the Karla Sofía Gascón Señor de los Cielos connection is so important is that it proves her range. In Emilia Pérez, she plays a cartel leader who fakes their death to transition. It’s almost eerie how her real career path mirrors the fiction. She spent years playing these "macho" or tough-guy roles in shows like El Señor de los Cielos before she ever lived her truth as Karla.
She wasn't just acting. She was deeply embedded in that hyper-masculine TV world.
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- She worked with the biggest names in the industry.
- She mastered the "Spanish villain" trope.
- She built a resume that most actors would die for before she even started her transition in 2018.
If you watch her as Iñaki now, you see the seeds of the discipline she brought to her later work. The intensity is the same. The eyes are the same. It’s just the exterior that changed.
The Jump from Narco-Series to Cannes
After her time in the narco-world, Karla’s life changed. She came out as trans in 2018.
The industry is tough. For a while, things got quiet. She wrote a book. She spent time with her family—she’s been with her wife, Marisa Gutiérrez, since they were teenagers. Think about that. They met in a nightclub when she was 19. They have a daughter. That kind of stability is rare in this business.
Then came Jacques Audiard.
He cast her as the lead in Emilia Pérez. It was the ultimate full-circle moment. She went from playing a cartel associate in Karla Sofía Gascón Señor de los Cielos to playing a cartel boss who undergoes the same transition she did in real life.
She didn't just play the role; she owned it. At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, she shared the Best Actress prize with Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña. She became the first openly trans woman to win that award. Then came the Oscar nomination in early 2025. It was historic.
The 2026 Perspective: Where She Is Now
Fast forward to right now, January 2026.
The awards season of last year was a rollercoaster. We saw the highs of the nominations and the lows of the social media controversies that almost derailed her Oscar campaign. There were those old tweets that resurfaced, and for a second, it looked like Netflix might distance themselves.
But Karla didn't back down. She showed up at the César Awards in Paris. She stood her ground.
The latest buzz? She’s moving into even bigger territory. She recently signed on for Trinidad, a Western where she’s playing the villain. She described the character as "a female Darth Vader." Honestly, after seeing her handle the pressure of the Casillas cartel, she’s probably the only person who can pull that off.
People still search for her old roles because they want to see the evolution. They want to see the "before" and "after." But when you look at her work in El Señor de los Cielos, you realize there isn't really a "before" version of her talent. She was always this good.
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What You Should Actually Do Next
If you’re a fan of her recent work, you really owe it to yourself to go back and watch those early seasons of El Señor de los Cielos. Don't just look for the "man she used to be"—look for the actor who was already laying the groundwork for a global takeover.
Here is how to get the most out of her filmography:
- Watch Season 2 of El Señor de los Cielos. Look for the character Iñaki Izarrieta. Pay attention to how she handles the dialogue with Rafael Amaya. It’s a masterclass in screen presence.
- Stream "Nosotros los Nobles." It’s a comedy, which shows a completely different side of her than the narco-drama. It explains why she became a household name in Mexico so quickly.
- Check out the 2022 Rebelde reboot. She plays Lourdes, and it was her first big role after her transition. It’s a great bridge between her old TV work and her new film era.
- Find the film "Emilia Pérez." If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing the performance that changed cinema history.
Karla Sofía Gascón didn't just appear out of nowhere. She earned her spot through years of hard work in the trenches of Mexican television. Whether she's playing a Spanish accountant for a drug lord or a cartel leader finding her soul, she remains one of the most compelling figures in modern entertainment.