The Shadow Behind the 10 Petal Ranch Finally Has a Face in ‘Dutton Ranch’ – Meet the Voice and Face Behind Mariano Reyes
Since ‘Dutton Ranch‘ dropped its third episode on Paramount+, one name had been haunting the margins of Taylor Sheridan’s latest Texas saga. Mariano Reyes, heard but never truly seen, became the show’s most whispered-about character almost overnight. Now that Episode 7 has finally pulled back the curtain, the conversation around him has only grown louder.
For weeks, Mariano existed solely as a disembodied presence, a voice on the other end of a phone call that left Beulah Jackson visibly shaken. Fans latched onto every clue the show dangled, and ‘Dutton Ranch’ has now rewarded that patience with a backstory far more emotionally layered than anyone anticipated.
Who Is Mariano Reyes in ‘Dutton Ranch’
Episode 3’s closing credits confirmed that the mysterious caller’s full name is Mariano Reyes, with actor Raoul Max Trujillo credited in the role. That surname immediately set off alarm bells among viewers, because Beulah’s fixer, Joaquin, identifies himself as Joaquin Reyes when he meets Beth Dutton at a Dallas bar in Episode 3, meaning Mariano must be Joaquin’s father.
Mariano is not introduced like a normal guest character. He is introduced through absence, a phone call, a name in the credits, and the uneasy reaction of people who already have something to hide. That deliberate slow-burn reveal is classic Sheridan storytelling, and it worked. The phone call suggests Mariano has leverage or business ties that make Beulah deeply uneasy, positioning him as a new pressure point in Rio Paloma.
The ‘Dutton Ranch’ Flashback That Changed Everything
Episode 7 finally confirms the identity of Mariano Reyes in full. In flashback scenes set in 1981, a younger Mariano, played by Bobby Soto, is shown working as a top ranch hand at 10 Petal, tasked with chaperoning Beulah Jackson and her friends for a night out at a Fort Worth honky-tonk.
While at the bar, Mariano admits to the bartender that he is babysitting his boss’s daughter, and that he has a wife at home and a son named Joaquin. The night takes a dark turn when Beulah slips away with a dangerous man.
Mariano drives around town searching for her and discovers she has been raped and left outside a convenience store, her dress torn, her face bloodied, and missing a boot.
When the ranch hand eventually catches on and finds Beulah, the two agree to a cover story to avoid her father’s wrath. In these moments, Mariano seems genuinely concerned, courteous and calm. The flashback scenes featuring a young Beulah and the former ranch hand are beautifully shot and acted, providing insight into Beulah’s past while making her a far more relatable character than she had previously appeared.
Mariano Reyes and the 10 Petal Power Play
Despite appearing so sympathetic in the past, present-day Mariano remains a figure of menace. The question hanging over the rest of the season is what happened in the years between Beulah’s assault and the present day, and why Mariano is making vaguely threatening phone calls to the woman he once protected.
Fans on Reddit had speculated that Mariano was a cartel member who had taken control of 10 Petal Ranch due to its proximity to the Mexican border, and with Rip suggesting that the infected bull came from Mexico, some viewers believed he was also responsible for the destruction of the Dutton Ranch herd.
Episode 7 has complicated that reading significantly. Far from confirming him as a straightforward secret villain, the episode raises the possibility that Mariano might actually be positioned as the 10 Petal’s savior, someone who could eventually move against the increasingly dangerous Rob-Will Jackson.
The Actor Behind the Mystery
Two actors share the role of Mariano Reyes across the show’s timeline. Raoul Max Trujillo provides the voice of the present-day Mariano first heard in Episode 3, while Bobby Soto plays the younger version of the character in Episode 7’s flashbacks.
Trujillo’s career spans more than 30 years in film and theatre, and he is perhaps best known for playing Zero Wolf, the Mayan villain in ‘Apocalypto’, directed by Mel Gibson. The connection to Sheridan’s universe runs deeper than ‘Dutton Ranch’.
Trujillo also appeared in ‘Sicario’ and ‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado’, both of which were written by Taylor Sheridan. Bobby Soto, meanwhile, brings considerable physicality and warmth to the younger Mariano, making it genuinely difficult to see him as any kind of villain.
What Mariano’s Story Means for ‘Dutton Ranch’ Season 1
With only two episodes remaining in the first season, Mariano’s role in the endgame is far from settled. If Beulah survives what appears to be a stroke at the end of Episode 7, she may still have to face Mariano’s wrath over the announcement naming Rob-Will as the 10 Petal’s successor rather than Joaquin.
The Jackson family origins revealed in Episode 7 have brought with them more questions than answers, including how Beulah ended up raising Mariano’s son Joaquin and what Mariano’s present-day arrival will ultimately mean for the ranch.
The 10 Petal situation has grown increasingly precarious, with Rob-Will blackmailing Beulah into naming him as her successor and bypassing Joaquin entirely. Mariano, as Joaquin’s biological father, now has every reason to make his presence felt in a very direct way.
‘Dutton Ranch’ has quietly built one of the most compelling supporting character webs in the entire Sheridan universe, and Mariano Reyes sits at the centre of it. Now that viewers finally know the full story of that night in Fort Worth, it’s worth asking: do you think Mariano is still a threat to the Duttons, or is he the one person who could actually bring down Rob-Will from the inside?
