Actor Bechir Sylvain or was born in Haiti, but he grew up in South Florida.

He’s representing Haiti on a bigger scale, with the new rebirth of the iconic Jurassic Park movie.

Back in California and working on his next film projects, Sylvain is still beaming from a recent visit to his old stomping grounds in South Florida.

He made a special stop at Miami Dade College and Miami Killian Senior High, where the reception caught him completely off guard.

“It was great to get this beautiful welcome that I had no clue about, how excited they were to just see someone that they recognize,” he said.

Sylvain stars in Jurassic World: Rebirth, playing a Haitian, French-speaking character, a role he proudly helped shape.

“I figured with something as huge as this, Jurassic World, it would be dope to have us represented,” he said. “We’re underrepresented. It’s a great opportunity.”

It’s not the first time Sylvain has infused his heritage into his work, but this time, he says the impact feels different and more personal.

“I don’t think they understood how big that was for us as Haitian people, and for anybody from a country that’s underserved, to finally see your representation,” he said.

Sylvain said growing up, he rarely saw Haitian stories, or even the language, represented in film.

“When I first came to the states at 13, I never saw us,” he said. “I never heard us. I never saw our language being spoken. Bad Boys did a horrible job at that. There’s so many of us now that are literally presenting us to Hollywood.”

The reaction from the Haitian community has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I threw the hammer, and you know Haitians are really good at throwing stuff, they were like, ‘Oh man, gade mesye,’” he said.

For sylvain, it’s not just about the screen time, but it’s also about representation and showing the next generation that their voices belong in Hollywood, too.

“People from Haiti DM me on Instagram saying how proud they are and how happy they feel,” he said. “It feels good that there are ways to bring hope.”

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