SAN ANTONIO — Fifteen-year-old Diego Mercado is an up-and-coming movie star. After he had a viral moment when he was 10 years old, Mercado decided to pursue a career in acting. 

He recently appeared in the Netflix movie “Mixtape” after a number of auditions and near misses for parts. He was overwhelmed to find out he landed the role. 

“[I] almost passed out. No, seriously, seriously," Mercado said. 

It sounds like a pretty sweet deal for this Medina Valley High School freshman, but it’s not Mercado’s ultimate goal.

“I’ve been an Army kid since I saw my Dad put on his boots and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to be a soldier," he said.

His dream is to join the U.S. Army and follow in his dad’s footsteps. The only problem is that Mercado only has one leg. Amniotic band syndrome claimed Mercado’s right leg and three of his fingers while he was in the womb.

"In all those sonograms I had, they never saw that Diego’s hand was not growing nor was his hand missing fingers," his mom, Jasmine Mercado said.

Currently, all military branches have a blanket policy that does not allow prior amputees into service, despite their capabilities, but Mercado refuses to give up his dream.

“I just did the Army combat fitness test at age 15 and you guys don’t see any worth in me?" he said.

His dream pushed him to enlist in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC), and it’s one of the reasons he is pursuing acting. 

“If I become a big actor, I’ll give a whole bunch of that to the Army — wounded vets, people with PTSD," said Mercado.  "Any way it goes around, I’m still going to be giving back to my country, or our soldiers, wherever they are.”

For Mercado, his journey comes down to two things: legacy and respect.