Hernández appeared in 26 films throughout his career. He portrayed a revolutionary soldier in the silent film "The Life of General Villa", and his first "talkie" films were small roles in films produced by Oscar Micheaux, who made race films for black audiences. His talking film debut was Micheaux's "The Girl from Chicago" (1932), in which he was cast as a Cuban racketeer. He also has a speaking part, although uncredited, as a police officer in the 1932 crime drama and musical "Harlem Is Heaven", which stars Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.