[5] After completing a short film, Fernandez made his debut television appearance in a 2006 episode of Cold Case, followed by minor roles in Drake & Josh and Lincoln Heights.

He eventually landed his first big break playing a troubled small-town Texas rink manager in the 2010 Sundance hit Skateland with Twilight alum Ashley Greene.

[9][11] Though he lost the Twilight role to Robert Pattinson, Hardwicke liked Fernandez enough to cast him in what would be his first romantic lead, in Red Riding Hood, opposite Amanda Seyfried.

[16] In March 2015, Fernandez landed a role in the Canadian thriller film Edge of Winter, starring Rossif Sutherland, Joel Kinnaman, Tom Holland, Percy Hynes-White and Rachelle Lefevre.

[18] Fernandez has stated that if he were not acting, he would have majored in Spanish, moved to South America, and run a banana farm or worked in construction, because he is good with his hands; or, if he was better at it, a writer.

[12] He tied the knot with his long time girlfriend Emily Tremaine during a ceremony on October 8, 2022 at the Cavalli Estate in San Luis Obispo, California.