Melissa Barrera is entering a new chapter. In her latest role in the spy thriller series The Copenhagen Test, now streaming on Peacock, the Mexican actress is once again stepping into the kind of work she has long been drawn to: layered, physical, and emotionally charged.
Speaking from Ciudad Obregón, in the Sonora region of Mexico, where she is visiting her husband’s family, Barrera does not frame this moment as a restart. Instead, she calls it a continuation. This new act of her life is not defined by what she is currently working on, but also by what she has learned about herself along the way.
“It almost feels like a sequel,” she says. “It almost feels like it was one movie. Maybe in my biopic, this will be the end of the first act. And then right now is the beginning of the second act, of the sequel.”
After a turbulent period that forced her to confront fame, perception, and the weight of having a platform, Barrera is stepping forward with a renewed sense of purpose. The Copenhagen Test is a project that allows her to reflect on her career and return to action while also reclaiming her story on her own terms.
The Prequel
Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Barrera moved to the United States at 19 and has spent her career pursuing range rather than safety. She has done stage and screen, singing and dancing, comedy and horror, always drawn to work that asks more of her than simply being seen.
After her role as Vanessa in In the Heights, Barrera played Sam in cult film, Scream VI, with Jenna Ortega playing her little sister. Then came a turning point. Her life shifted dramatically after she publicly shared her political views. It was painful, and disorienting, and it forced her to see how quickly the ground can shift under you, even after years of steady success. When it was later announced that she would not return to the Scream franchise, Barrera says what followed became the most difficult period of her life, as the industry she loved suddenly felt like a much lonelier place. What anchored her was family.
© Jonny Marlow“It was honestly very moving and very emotional because I've always had an amazing family nucleus. It's like me and my mom and my sisters, and it's like the five of us against the world.”
She adds that she always knew her family had her back. However, that period revealed it in a way she will never forget. “I was so humbled to find that in a period where I felt that everybody was turning their backs on me,” she continues, explaining that people were afraid for their own careers and positions. “The people that showed up for me in that moment, I will never forget.”
Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and childhood friends she does not see as often anymore reached out and stayed close. This was a reminder for her, that before any industry, there was always a life, and before the work, there were always the people who knew her long before the world did.
The Sequel
With The Copenhagen Test, Barrera returns to the world of surveillance, playing Michelle, a spy whose identity is both mysterious and deeply layered. Barrera explains that her character is always operating within levels of truth and deception. “This role was difficult because the identity of this person is such a mystery,” she says. “There are so many levels of performance. At the same time, it was like acting. She's an actor too. She's a spy, she's undercover, she's acting.”
It was not only the role that drew her in, the timing made it even more meaningful. She said it came at the right moment. When the first two scripts came in for the then-untitled Simu Liu and James Wan project, she knew immediately that this was something special. “I was like, oh my God. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. This is insane.” She describes signing on as a “no-brainer,” especially because she had long hoped to work with Liu.
“Simu, I’d always wanted to work with him, I’m a huge admirer of his work and him as a person too."
“I was choosing what was going to be my coming back on set,” she says. “This just kind of checked all the boxes for me. I thought it would be a challenge and also was going to have fun doing this because this is something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
Her excitement is clear when she talks about the physicality of it, too. “I love action,” Barrera adds. “I love the process of training and learning choreography and stunts, and all of that.” By the end, the choice felt simple. “It was a dream project to be a part of.”
© PEACOCKWhere Melissa’s Fearlessness Took Shape
Barrera is one of four sisters, and she has spoken openly about growing up in a household where her father had hoped for a boy. Gender expectations never quite stuck to her. Her childhood was fueled by imagination, competitiveness, and the kind of adventurous energy that never fit neatly into a label. Looking at her career now, moving effortlessly between action, horror, and comedy, she says it makes sense to anyone who knew her back then.
“100%, yes,” she says when asked if her childhood prepared her for where she is now. “People who knew me as a girl, as a little girl, now seeing the trajectory, the path that I’m carving in my career makes complete sense.”
She played basketball her entire life, and she remembers herself as the sporty kid who always preferred movement to stillness. “I was a basketball, short-wearing girl, below the knee, super, super sporty, always out on adventures,” she says. Most of those days were spent outside with her neighbors, who were mostly boys. “I had a little gang,” she says. “And I was the only girl.” They climbed trees, built makeshift baseball diamonds on pavement, and played with whatever they could find.
Around 11 or 12, she remembers that energy shifting in a way many girls will recognize. She started wanting boys to like her, and she leaned into the fashion of the time. “All of my clothes were Limited Too,” she says. “And you know, inappropriately, they were all booty shorts.” It was a dramatic change, which reflected a deeper aspect of her personality. She does not believe in staying in one lane. She likes reinvention and challenge. “I kind of like to explore everything as a person and also as an actor,” Barrera explains. “So I’m constantly looking at what’s the new challenge? How can I surprise myself? And how can I surprise the people that watch my work?”
The Importance of Her Voice
The character, Michelle, in The Copenhagen Test is constantly navigating layers of identity and hidden motives. That complexity is not simply something she performs. It mirrors her own journey toward understanding who she is and how she wants to show up in her work and in the world. She credits that clarity to a deep trust in herself and a strong inner compass.
“I think I’ve always had a really good moral compass and a very clear sense of what feels right in my gut deep down and what doesn’t,” she says. Trusting that instinct, she believes, has never led her astray. “If you pay attention to that,” she adds, “then you’re going to pick the right things, you’re going to surround yourself with the right people, and you’re going to walk the path that you’re meant to walk.” Barrera says her mother instilled it early. “She taught me to question,” she says. “She taught me to raise my voice.”
“The reason I do what I do isn’t just for fame, and it isn’t just for me. Storytelling has power. It shapes the way people think, and it creates empathy.”
© Peacock“Being an artist has always been to be a mirror to the world. And I think that we have a responsibility. And so I take mine very seriously. I know that I'm very fortunate to be in the position that I'm in. I know that people are listening to me and people are looking to me. And so I take that as a responsibility. It's not a burden, but it is a responsibility,” Barrera continued.
Melissa also knows that using your voice takes courage. She has never been interested in simply following the crowd. “I think I've never been good at just following what everybody else is doing,” she says. “I've always been very curious.” It is also why she is drawn to people who stand for something, people who are willing to risk comfort for conviction. After the difficult period, Barrera says the biggest lesson was discovering how strong she really is. “I think I learned that I am so much stronger.”
“It’s kind of given me back the hunger that I had when I first started. You don’t have anything. And so you’re really fighting tooth and nail for every opportunity. And it’s exciting and it feels like a rebirth.”
Her original dream was simpler “I wanted to be on Broadway,” she says. “I just wanted to go to school for musical theater, book a Broadway show, and live on a New York stage.” Fame and wealth were never the point. “You don’t get super rich doing that, and you don’t get super famous doing that,” she notes. “You’re just doing that because you love the craft and you love theater and you love the connection with the audience.”
“After everything that happened,” she says, “it kind of shook me to my core.” It also revealed something she hadn’t fully understood before. “It taught me that apparently my voice is so much more important than I even knew,” she says. Barrera has always lived her life quietly, often forgetting how visible she truly is. But after that moment, she realized more people were listening than she thought.
Today, she is excited about entering a new chapter of her life. She revived that gusto when she felt everything was possible. “It’s kind of given me back the hunger that I had when I first started,” she says. She remembers being “young and hungry” and willing to fight for every opportunity, believing the future was endless. Now she feels herself returning to that same place with more clarity. “I feel like I’m in that position again,” she says. “And it’s exciting, and it feels like a rebirth.”
What’s Next
Alongside The Copenhagen Test, Barrera is starring in Black Tides with John Travolta, an experience she describes as surreal. She says, “Insane to be in the same room as him, let alone sharing scenes with him, let alone calling him dad.” She speaks about watching him on set, learning from his presence, and being struck by his graciousness. She commented that, Travolta became one of the best scene partners she has ever had.
She shared that some of the most joyful moments of her year happened during the quieter stretches. Barrera describes 2025 as balanced in a way she has struggled with in the past. “My highlights of 2025, obviously, this show we wrapped in March, so it was amazing to start the year on set,” she says, “and then I had a bunch of time to spend with my family.” She hosted relatives, spent time with her loved ones, and experienced a rhythm that felt healthier. “I loved feeling like my year was super balanced between work and family,” she says.
© Getty ImagesThat balance included supporting her husband, Xavier Zazueta, as he launched Carnes Zazueta, his butcher business in Texas, bringing Mexican flavors to the U.S. “Opening a business in the U.S. from scratch with my husband is something I’m really proud of,” she says. "Like so many immigrants, he’s had to build it while navigating a new country and language." He sells dried meat products like machaca and cecina, and Barrera loves that what he’s creating speaks to people who miss those flavors from home. Being able to help him build it, she says, was a gift she might not have had if she had been moving from one set to the next.
“Being an artist has always been to be a mirror to the world. And I think that we have a responsibility. And so I take mine very seriously. It’s not a burden, but it is a responsibility.”
Looking ahead, Barrera is thinking about what she wants to build for herself. “I think I want to start producing more of my own stuff, I want to keep challenging myself and finding projects that feel like they have a reason for existing.” Her personal life is also entering a new chapter, with her sister expecting her first child, which will be the first grandchild for her mother. It is a milestone the entire family is celebrating, and Barrera wants to be there.
Ultimately, she says, she wants to keep that balance moving forward. “I want to work, and I also want to have time for me and for my family.”
Credits:
Chief Content Officer, ¡HOLA! Americas | U.S.: Nagidmy Márquez Acosta
Deputy Editor, ¡HOLA! U.S.: Andrea Pérez
Interviewer/Senior Writer: Jovita Trujillo
Photographer: Jonny Marlow
