Introduction
When people search for arian s cartaya age, the answer is straightforward: he is thirteen years old in 2026. But the reason so many people are asking is more interesting than the number. In the space of a few years, Arian S. Cartaya has gone from a child appearing in a short film to one of the breakout young stars of a major horror franchise, playing Ricardo "Rich" Santos in the HBO series It: Welcome to Derry. For a young actor, that is a remarkable rise, and it has made him one of the most searched new names in television.
This article sets out what is publicly verified about his age, background and career, and it does so with care. Cartaya is a minor, so his private and family life is kept to what has been publicly reported in interviews and reputable profiles, and nothing is speculated about beyond that. What is clear is a young performer with serious training, a strong sense of his own heritage, and a role in one of the most famous horror universes in popular culture.
Quick Bio Data Table
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Arian S. Cartaya |
| Stage Name/Nickname | Not publicly known |
| Date of Birth | February 14, 2013 |
| Age | 13 years old in 2026 |
| Place of Birth | United States (exact city not publicly confirmed) |
| Profession | Actor |
| Height | Not publicly known |
| Net Worth (Estimated 2026) | Not publicly known; online estimates are unverified and vary so widely that no figure is reliable |
| Relationship Status | Not publicly known |
| Notable Work/Roles | Ricardo "Rich" Santos in It: Welcome to Derry; Gordita Chronicles; Juego de mentiras; Bad Monkey |
| Official Social Handles | Not publicly known |
Early Life/Background
Arian S. Cartaya was born on February 14, 2013, in the United States, and he is of Cuban heritage. In interviews he has said that Spanish is his first language and that his family continues to speak only Spanish at home, a detail that matters to his acting because it connects him directly to the characters he plays. He has also said that Cuban food is his favourite food and that his favourite artist is Bad Bunny, small details that give a sense of a young person growing up proudly between two cultures: Cuban at home, American at school and on set.
Educational details about his schooling are largely private, as is appropriate for a child actor, but public profiles note that he continues to balance school responsibilities alongside a rapidly developing career in television and film. That balancing act is one of the defining features of a young performer's life: auditions and filming schedules fitted around classes, homework and family life, with parents and guardians managing a career that most adults would find demanding.
What stands out from his interviews is not precociousness but enthusiasm. He talks about acting as something he loves doing, about learning new skills for roles, and about the excitement of working with experienced actors. That attitude, rather than any single performance, is what casting directors appear to have responded to.
Career Evolution & Major Milestones
Cartaya began acting in 2021, appearing in the short film Un Pequeño Corte. It was a small start, but it gave him his first professional credit at the age of eight. His first significant role came in 2022, in the family comedy series Gordita Chronicles, where he played a member of the central family. The show, about a Dominican family starting a new life in Miami, gave him experience in a full television production and introduced him to audiences in family comedy.
He then appeared in multiple episodes of the Telemundo series Juego de mentiras, working in Spanish-language television, and in the short film Birdhouse in 2023. He also appeared in the Apple TV series Bad Monkey. Each role added range: family comedy, Spanish-language drama, and a prestige streaming series. By the time he auditioned for his biggest role, he was no longer a beginner, even though he was still only twelve years old.
His big break came when he was cast as Ricardo "Rich" Santos in It: Welcome to Derry, the HBO prequel series set in the world of Stephen King's It, which arrived in late 2025. The series is set in 1962 in the town of Derry and follows a group of young friends as the supernatural evil behind Pennywise the Clown begins to stir, years before the events of the 2017 and 2019 films. Bill Skarsgård returned as Pennywise, and Cartaya played Rich, one of the children at the centre of the story, alongside co-stars including Blake Cameron James, Matilda Lawler and Clara Stack.
In interviews about the role, Cartaya has said that he fell in love with the character of Rich as soon as he read for him, and that he found he had a lot in common with him. He has also said that sharing Cuban heritage with his character made the role feel more personal and meaningful. He went through auditions and a chemistry read with his co-star Matilda Lawler, then travelled to Toronto to film. He has been open about the fact that he had not read Stephen King's novel or watched the earlier miniseries before being cast, and that joining the franchise taught him its backstory from the inside. His performance, particularly his character's devotion to Marge and a memorable ending in the season's penultimate episode, won him a large new fanbase, and a "10 Fun Facts" interview published around the December 2025 finale showed a young actor enjoying his moment: he works out every day, his favourite exercise is the back squat, he learned to play the drums for the role of Rich, he plays shortstop and supports the Boston Red Sox, and he has two cats, one named after baseball player Mookie Betts.
Personal Life/Lifestyle/Public Image
Because Cartaya is thirteen, this section is deliberately short. His public image is that of a young, hard-working actor who is serious about his craft and open about his interests. In interviews he comes across as energetic and good-humoured, talking about sport, music, his cats and his family background with the ease of a teenager who is comfortable being interviewed but not performing a celebrity persona.
His lifestyle, as far as it is public, is that of a school-age actor: filming, auditions, interviews and training fitted around education and family life. He has said that if he were not an actor he would probably pursue a career as a baseball player, which says something about where his passions lie outside acting. Beyond that, details about his family, his schooling and his private life are not publicly confirmed, and this article does not speculate about them. Readers looking for gossip about a thirteen-year-old will not find it here, and should treat any site offering it with scepticism.
One point of accuracy is worth making. Some aggregator pages about Cartaya publish dramatic claims about his wealth or his private life that have no credible source. One widely repeated page claims a fortune in the tens of millions of dollars, which is not credible for a young actor at the start of his career and is not supported by any reputable reporting. Those claims are not repeated here as fact, and readers should be wary of any profile that invents detail to fill the gaps in a young person's public record.
Estimated Net Worth & Financial Success in 2026
There is no verified public figure for Arian S. Cartaya's net worth in 2026, and this article does not invent one. He is a thirteen-year-old actor at the beginning of his career, and child actors' earnings are generally private, managed by their families, and subject to legal protections in many jurisdictions. The figures that circulate online range from a few hundred thousand dollars on one biography site to absurdly large sums on low-quality aggregator pages, and the size of that range is itself the evidence that none of them should be trusted.
What can be said honestly is that his financial position has clearly improved with his casting in a major HBO series. A leading role in a prestige franchise brings professional fees, residuals and future opportunities that a short film or a supporting television role does not. How much that amounts to in total is not public, and it would be wrong to present a guess as a fact about a minor. His success in 2026 is better measured in career terms than in money: a breakout role in a global franchise, a growing fanbase, and the chance to choose his next projects from a position of strength.
Recent News & Future Projects
The defining recent news is It: Welcome to Derry itself. The series premiered in late 2025, with Cartaya as Rich Santos throughout its first season, and its finale aired in December 2025, accompanied by a wave of interviews with its young cast. The show's creators, Andy and Barbara Muschietti with Jason Fuchs, built a prequel that explores Derry in 1962 and the origins of the evil that Pennywise represents, and Cartaya's performance was widely noted as one of the season's strengths.
No future project for Cartaya has been confirmed in the public record examined here, and it would be speculation to name one. The sensible expectation is that a young actor coming off a franchise breakout will be offered further television and film work, and that his next choices will show whether he stays in genre storytelling or moves into other kinds of roles. For now, his recent work speaks for itself: four years from a short film debut to a leading role in a Stephen King universe, achieved while still at school.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How old is Arian S. Cartaya in 2026?
He is 13 years old in 2026. He was born on February 14, 2013, which makes him thirteen for most of 2026, turning fourteen in February 2027.
2. Who does Arian S. Cartaya play in It: Welcome to Derry?
He plays Ricardo "Rich" Santos, one of the young friends at the centre of the story, set in Derry in 1962 before the events of the It films, with Bill Skarsgård returning as Pennywise.
3. What else has Arian S. Cartaya acted in?
He began acting in 2021 in the short film Un Pequeño Corte, had his first significant role in Gordita Chronicles in 2022, appeared in multiple episodes of Juego de mentiras and in the short film Birdhouse in 2023, and appeared in Bad Monkey before his breakout in It: Welcome to Derry.
4. What is Arian S. Cartaya's net worth?
There is no verified public figure. Online estimates vary so widely, from a few hundred thousand dollars to implausibly large sums, that none of them is reliable, and this article does not present any of them as fact.
Final Verdict/Conclusion
Arian S. Cartaya's age is the least interesting thing about him, even though it is what most people search for. Thirteen years old, and already carrying a major role in one of horror's most famous franchises, he has achieved in four years what many actors spend decades working towards. He did it not through celebrity connections or viral fame, but through steady work: a short film, a family comedy, Spanish-language drama, and then an audition for a character he immediately understood.
The honest verdict for 2026 is that his career is at its beginning, and that is a strength rather than a limitation. A young actor with a franchise breakout, a clear sense of his own heritage, and a public manner that is enthusiastic without being manufactured has every reason to build a long career from here. The next few years, and the roles he chooses next, will tell us what kind of actor he becomes. For now, Rich Santos is enough.