Leo L. Minaya is an American film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He acquired recognition from his role in the

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada *Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood *Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated place ...

mega hit ''Manito'' (when he was only seventeen) and as

America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...

's love interest, Sal, in ''How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer''. His first starring role came in the form of

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

Morgan Oliver in the 2012 film ''Morgan'' directed by

Michael Akers Michael D. Akers (born September 5, 1970 in Ephrata, Pennsylvania) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. In 2000, he founded "United Gay Network" (UGN) with his longtime partner, Sandon Berg. Most of his films are L ...

. In addition to being his first starring performance, it was also his first time playing a

character.

Biography

Apparently born on an airplane, Lisandro "Leo" Minaya grew up with his mother and four siblings in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defen ...

. He wrote, directed, and produced his first play in

fifth grade Fifth grade (called Grade 5 in some regions) is a year of education in many nations, and some other regions call it Year 5. In the United States, the fifth grade is the fifth and last year of elementary school in most schools. In other schools, it ...

. His first acting jobs were school plays, starting in

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, by which time he says he decided to become a professional actor.

Filmography

* ''From an Objective Point of View'' (2002) * '' Manito'' (2003) ... Manny Moreno * ''

How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer ''How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer'' is a 2005 American comedy film starring America Ferrera. It was not released on DVD until May 16, 2008. The film won the Silver George for the Best Film of the Perspective competition at the 27th Moscow ...

'' (2008) ... Sal *''

Morgan Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer), ...

'' (2012) ... Morgan Oliver

References

External links

* Living people American male film actors People from Orange County, New York Place of birth unknown Male actors from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-film-actor-1980s-stub