Second lead role in Chalán and the award-winning role in La Tirisia
In 2012, Hernández joined the cast of Colosio: El Asesinato, and the TV film Chalán, produced by Canal 22 and directed by Jorge Michel Grau. In Chalán, he played Alan, a driver and assistant to a federal deputy, and this role was his opportunity to play a different role from the villains of previous films, as he told El Informador: "I try to take care of my career, not being involved in any given project, and when I got this role, I really liked it. It is a completely different character to what I was doing before, as in Miss Bala or El Infierno. Those are the challenges that I like, those who do not pigeonhole you, allowing you to put a spin on your work. Characters that are alive and well built".
Hernández signed to play Canelita, the gay best friend of Cheba (Adriana Paz) in La Tirisia, a film written, produced and directed by Jorge Pérez Solano (2014). The plot, inspired by a popular term named tirisia (which means "a perpetual sadness defined as 'the death of the spirit'"), is set in the Mixteca region of Mexico, and centers on two women (Paz and Gabriela Cartol) who were impregnated by Sylvestre (Gustavo Sánchez Parra). When Cheba's estranged husband returns to town, he finds her sunk into a deep depression since she had to give away a newborn (Sylvestre's child). Hernández was hesitant to take the role and the preparation was not easy for the director either, as he further explained to Cine Toma magazine: "I was pleased that an actor like Noé Hernández, who suddenly was falling into the stereotype of the tough, strong, bully, bad Indian man, agreed to play this role. It took some work from both of us at first. For me, to accept him physically and for him to accept the character and built it, but I think it was an experiment that tourned out pretty well". Hernández said to El Universal: "the director told me: you wanted an acting challenge and acting to stop doing the same violent roles, this is it, take it". The film was not exhibited on commercial movie theaters in Mexico since the distribution was expensive; instead, La Tirisia was screened at film festivals such as the Chicago International Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Toulouse Latin American Film Festival, and later had a month-and-a-half exhibition at the Mexican art house Cineteca Nacional. Hernández received critical praise for his performance. Jaime López Blanco of Sputnik magazine found him "exquisite as 'Canelita', as it demonstrates his charm and his comedic talents, showing a totally opposite of his previous work, Miss Bala". At the Ariel Awards of 2015, Hernández received the Best Supporting Actor accolade for the role in the film. After winning the award the actor struggled to find new roles, considered retiring from acting and return to his hometown to work in the country fields, explaining to El Informador: "Of course I'm delighted, who does not like to win awards? The awards are ego boosters, but what I really want is that they can be transformed into stronger work opportunities and complex characters, good roles, and lead roles. This year I only had five-day calls for little characters; the award has not really helped me a lot, let's hope it strengthens my career and leads to more opportunities". At the time, a project with director Nacho Ortíz fell through, and four other films co-starred by Hernández were not distributed in Mexico. "Fortunately I'm not married, I have a son who I help moderately and every month I try to survive. Sometimes I say, 'I have income to pay rent for three months I can hold on a little', but then I start to worry and say 'time is running out and what can I do'. This situation has been quite difficult for me," the actor told El Universal.
