Mexican actress Karyme Lozano, who in a few months will join the cast of the popular Netflix series "Real Rob," remains committed to raising the image of US Latinos and rejects roles that she feels disparage her community.

"It's very important for me at a time like this to represent Latinos in movies and on television in a dignified and respectful manner, because we're tired of being portrayed in a way that so often denigrates us," the star told EFE during a telephone interview.

Lozano, 39, said that her commitment has led her to refuse a number of very promising projects that were even "attractive from a career point of view."

"But when I read the script and learned about the character, I realized that, while it might help my career, it would hurt the image of our people and I couldn't accept it. They make Latinos look like criminals and villains, and that is far from the truth," she said.

"People often believe those cliches because they just don't know any better. If their only reference is what they see on the screen, and it's always negative, they're going to believe that," said Karyme, who is married to US computer engineer Michael Domingo and has a 16-year-old daughter Angela from a previous marriage.

She is currently getting set to film "Vuelve," a movie based on a screenplay she wrote, which tells the story of a Mexican family in pursuit of the American dream, and which finally finds happiness where least expected.

She also debuted recently as a director with the short film "Amor Verdadero," for which she also wrote the screenplay and which appears on her Web site www.karymelozano.tv.

Lozano got her first chance in showbiz with the 1994 telenovela "Volver a Empezar" and since then has taken part in several melodramas.

Her latest such role was in the 2014 hit telenovela "Quiero Amarte." She has also appeared in the stage plays "Cenicienta" and "Vaselina."

Her movie credits include "Desnudos" (2004) and "Cristiada," in which the Cuban-American actor Andy Garcia also played a starring role.