From movie set to Citation Jet

Aviation fascinated him as he traveled with his family to Argentina, Mexico, and Spain. Living in Miami, with its strong Hispanic community, Zulueta began working in soap operas before landing a role in a Disney TV miniseries, 4Ever, and later appearing in a horror film that now streams on Tubi. He also spent 14 years working in education, starting as an aftercare teacher before moving into substitute teaching, coaching, and school administration. As he got older, he questioned whether acting could provide the stability he wanted. He considered earning a master's degree before returning to his childhood dreams of aviation. "I've always loved aviation," Zulueta said. Parents he knew through the school where he worked, including pilots and people who worked at the airport, encouraged him to seriously consider aviation. He began researching flight training, enrolled at a flight school in Miami, and started working through his ratings.

Zulueta followed what he calls the traditional route into professional aviation, becoming a certificated flight instructor before moving into corporate flying. He now flies a Cessna Citation CJ3 and recently accepted a job with Envoy Air. A publicist Zulueta knew, who worked as a flight attendant, suggested he contact Owen Cotto. Cotto had also worked as a flight attendant at American Airlines before becoming a pilot, first at Envoy Air and later at American Airlines. He helped Zulueta through training and career decisions and even pushed him to fix small details on his résumé, down to indentations and alignment. Zulueta describes Cotto as the aviation uncle he never had. "I owe him a lot," he said.

That connection also introduced Zulueta to Latino Professionals in Aerospace (LPA). He began attending its events and saw something he believes matters as much as career advice: community. "You don't have to be Latino to attend. You don't have to speak Spanish to attend," he said. "It's just a group of individuals who come together and then try to help each other." At LPA's industry expo, Zulueta appreciated the chance to connect with people who understood his experience. "You're going to go and you're going to meet someone and you're going to make a community, you're going to make a friend," he said.

Acting and aviation may seem like diametrically opposed careers, but Zulueta believes many of the skills that made him comfortable in front of the camera have helped him as a pilot. Communication and confidence are high on that list. After more than a decade in front of the camera, he grew comfortable expressing himself and handling the pressure of auditions and an unpredictable career. His education experience strengthened his customer service and interpersonal skills through regular interaction with 300 employees and 1,500 students from diverse backgrounds. "They want people that are likeable to work in the cockpit," he said, "someone that you can spend four days with." Zulueta encourages people coming into aviation from other industries to stop seeing their previous career as time lost. A teacher, engineer, banker, or writer, he said, brings experience that can transfer into aviation.

Zulueta combines his acting and piloting careers through his aviation Instagram account, @thatcfiguy, where he creates aviation content for student pilots and other aviators. His videos often grow out of questions or recurring problems he hears from them. He verifies the information before posting and describes the videos as introductions rather than full instruction: "It's quick tips," he said.

Zulueta also runs a WhatsApp group with about 120 pilots who ask questions and help each other with training and job applications. As he moved forward in his own career, his content began focusing more on airline interviews, résumés, and career development.

Zulueta notes that reaching 1,500 flight hours takes time and that many pilots achieve that milestone. He encourages applicants to show what makes them different. For him, that included additional FAA knowledge tests and instructor qualifications, as well as volunteering to mentor inmates preparing to reenter society after decades in prison, an experience that caught interviewers' attention.

Aviation will be Zulueta's main career focus, but he hasn't left acting behind. Instead, he adjusted it to fit his flying schedule. While long television and film projects can be difficult to balance, shorter productions are easier to manage. He has recently started appearing in short-form series made for social media and mobile devices—verticals—which can often be completed in a week.

Zulueta was the first in his family to become a pilot, and several relatives have already flown with him. He hopes to teach his 13-year-old nephew how to fly one day, passing along the passion that first drew him to aviation. Zulueta never really chose between his two dreams; he has found a way to combine and pursue both.