The music-filled love story Deep Cuts is officially moving forward with a new cast member. A24 has found its replacement for Odessa A’zion following a high-profile recasting that sparked serious conversations about representation in Hollywood. The role of Zoe Gutierrez, a half-Mexican, half-Jewish character from Holly Brickley’s 2025 novel, will now be played by Ariela Barer.
This switch happened after A’zion stepped down in late January 2026 when fans and industry peers pointed out the lack of authentic Latina representation in the casting. Barer, a 27-year-old actor, writer, producer, and director, shares the same Mexican American and Jewish heritage as the character she is set to play .
While many audiences just saw Barer as Mel in HBO’s The Last of Us season 2—which premiered on April 13, 2025—her career in Hollywood actually started when she was a child. She is not just an actor showing up to set. She writes scripts, produces independent films, and directs. Here is everything you need to know about the artist stepping into one of the most talked-about roles of the year .
How the Deep Cuts Casting Change Happened
The path to Ariela Barer joining Deep Cuts began with an online outcry. When A24 first cast Odessa A’zion, who is Jewish but not Latina, in the role of Zoe, followers of the project immediately raised concerns. Many called it whitewashing, pointing out that the book clearly describes Zoe as having Mexican roots .
A’zion responded directly on Instagram. She admitted she auditioned for the lead role of Percy, was offered Zoe, and said yes without reading the book first. She quickly apologized and pulled out of the movie. “I’d never take a role from someone else that’s meant to do it. That SHOULD do it!” she wrote .
The conversation did not stop there. More than 100 Latino creatives signed an open letter addressed to the industry. Signees included Eva Longoria, John Leguizamo, and Xochitl Gomez. The letter stated that casting decisions like this one signal “a broader, ongoing erasure of our community from the stories that define our culture” .
When Ariela Barer was confirmed for the role, she posted on her Instagram Stories: “SO excited to be a part of this special project with such special people.” She also gave a public shoutout to A’zion, calling her “an absolute real one for as long as I’ve known her” .
Ariela Barer Age, Background, and Family Roots
Ariela Barer was born on October 14, 1998. That makes her 27 years old. She is a California native, born and raised in Los Angeles. Her parents are Mexican-born Jews, which makes her heritage a direct match for the character Zoe in Deep Cuts. She also has a sister, Libe Barer, who is also an actor .
Barer grew up in what she describes as an arts family. Her father is a classical pianist and composer. Her mother is a painter, musician, and a radio writer in Mexico. In an interview with Pop Culturalist, Barer recalled asking her parents for an agent when she was just four years old. They said no at first but placed her in local theater instead .
She publicly came out as lesbian in a Twitter post on November 3, 2016. She currently uses she/her and they/them pronouns .
From Yo Gabba Gabba to The Last of Us
Barer started professionally at age nine. One of her earliest roles was voicing the Super Martian Robot Girl on the Nickelodeon children’s series Yo Gabba Gabba! in 2007. Throughout her teen years, she booked small roles on major network shows including ER, 90210, Weeds, New Girl, Modern Family, and K.C. Undercover .
Her first major recurring role came in 2017 with Netflix’s One Day at a Time, where she played Carmen. That same year, she landed the part of Bailey Bennett on another Netflix series, Atypical. But her big breakout was Runaways, the Hulu Marvel series where she played Gert Yorkes for three seasons from 2017 to 2019. She has said that set taught her everything she knows about professional acting .
In 2021, she co-starred opposite Katey Sagal in the ABC drama Rebel, playing Ziggie, a recovering teen addict. Most recently, she appeared in the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us as Mel, a doctor and member of Abby’s Fireflies group. That season started airing in April 2025 .
How to Blow Up a Pipeline and Work Behind the Camera
What makes Ariela Barer different from many actors her age is her work behind the scenes. She is not just waiting for roles to come to her—she is creating her own.
In 2022, she co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in How to Blow Up a Pipeline, a climate thriller directed by Daniel Goldhaber. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by Neon. Barer played Xochitl, the ringleader of a group of young environmental activists .
She told Filmmaker Magazine that she pushed for the script to focus on the human cost of eco-terrorism. She also helped break down the archetypes for each of the eight main characters and worked closely on casting decisions. “I finally feel like I have ownership over my voice and my career,” she said .
She also directed and executive produced a 2021 short film called Jelly. She is currently writing a sci-fi thriller feature that she hopes to direct as her debut .
The Band Life and Other Fun Facts
Barer played bass in an indie rock band called The Love-Inns. She has mentioned that growing up in a musical household made performing feel natural. In her Pop Culturalist interview, she admitted to being a Swiftie during quarantine and listed The Bachelor as her guilty pleasure TV show. Her favorite book is Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, which she says every artist should read .
She is also close with her sister, Libe Barer, who she says keeps her grounded. When asked who would play her in a movie about her life, she answered: “Ideally, my sister. She’s an actor. She’s good. I would direct her” .
Who Else Is Starring in Deep Cuts?
Deep Cuts is set in the early-to-mid 2000s. It follows Percy Marks, a music-obsessed critic, and Joe Morrow, an aspiring songwriter, as they fall in and out of love over the course of a decade. Cailee Spaeny (Civil War, Priscilla) is playing Percy. Drew Starkey (Outer Banks, Queer) is playing Joe .
Ariela Barer will play Zoe Gutierrez, Percy’s close friend and Joe’s ex-girlfriend. Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan were originally attached to the leads but exited due to scheduling conflicts .
The film is written and directed by Sean Durkin, who previously made The Iron Claw for A24. Grammy-winning musician Blake Mills is composing the original music. Production is expected to start very soon .
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What This Role Means for Representation
The switch from Odessa A’zion to Ariela Barer is not just a routine recast. It happened because audiences paid attention and spoke up. The controversy became a larger moment about how Latino stories are told—and who gets to tell them.
Barer herself has been quietly preparing for this kind of role her entire career. She has played Latina characters before, but Zoe Gutierrez is different. The role was written as half-Mexican and half-Jewish, and now it is being played by someone who actually shares that lived experience.
Barer has also been outspoken about activism and storytelling. She volunteered for the Obama administration in fifth grade. She has said that if she were not an actor, she would likely be a politician. Her work on How to Blow Up a Pipeline came directly from her involvement in LA environmental activist spaces .
With Deep Cuts, she is stepping into a project that already has massive attention from the book’s readers, A24 fans, and industry insiders watching how studios handle representation moving forward.
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