Luis María Larrañaga Merlo (born June 13, 1966), known as Luis Merlo, is a Spanish actor.

Biography

Early years

Luis Merlo was born on June 13, 1966, in Madrid. As a child, he frequently traveled with his parents,

Carlos Larrañaga Carlos Larrañaga Ladrón de Guevara (11 March 1937 – 30 August 2012) was a Spanish actor. Biography Personal life Larrañaga was born in Barcelona to actress María Fernanda Ladrón de Guevara, and was the half-brother of actress Amparo ...

and

María Luisa Merlo María Luisa Merlo Colomina (born 6 September 1941) is a Spanish film, theatre and television actress. Merlo, with more than 60 years of artistic career, has received the prestigious Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts from the Spanish Ministr ...

, who were also actors, and he became accustomed to seeing them on their theatrical tours, both performing and backstage, along with his three siblings:

Amparo Larrañaga Amparo, a Portuguese and Spanish word meaning ''refuge'', ''shelter'', or ''protection'', may refer to: People *Amparo (name) *Amparo people, Afro-Cuban descendants of Angola Places Brazil *Amparo, São Paulo *Amparo, Paraíba * Amparo do Ser ...

, Kako Larrañaga, and

Pedro Larrañaga Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Galician language, Galician name for ''Peter (given name), Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic fo ...

, who is married to the actress

Maribel Verdú María Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...

. Thus, as a child, Merlo regarded the art of acting as something natural. The influence of his maternal grandfather,

Ismael Merlo Ismael Merlo (1 September 1918 – 10 September 1984) was a Spanish actor. He appeared in 82 films and television shows between 1941 and 1984. He starred in the 1966 film ''La caza'', which won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 16th ...

, who took care of him after the divorce of his parents, reinforced this idea. The fact that, in his early years, he released an album for young children, confirmed his interest in the arts. As a young man, Merlo took dance classes for a year, after which he studied a degree in Drama. When Merlo had finished his studies,

Mario Gas Mario Gas Cabré is a Spanish actor and director. and winner of a Goya Award. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, on February 5, 1947, while his actor parents were on tour he has Uruguayan citizenship. He is one of the most important figures of the p ...

gave him his very first acting role in a version of '' Salomé'', produced by the

Núria Espert Núria Espert Romero (born 11 June 1935 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish theatre and television actor, and theatre and opera director. When she was 19 years old, she married the actor :es:Armando Moreno, Armando Mo ...

company in 1985.

Career

In 1986, Merlo made his cinematic debut with ''

Hay que deshacer la casa ''Hay que deshacer la casa'' is a 1983 Spanish comedy film directed by Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez. It is based on a stage play by Sebastián Junyent. Amparo Rivelles won the 1st Goya Awards for Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award ...

'', in which he played a young boy who sexually molested an old woman, a role played by his aunt,

Amparo Rivelles María Amparo Rivelles Ladrón de Guevara MML (11 February 1925 – 7 November 2013), better known as Amparo Rivelles, was a Spanish actress. She was the daughter of actor Rafael Rivelles and actress María Fernanda Ladrón de Guevara, and the ...

. He finished that year touring with '' La última luna menguante'', directed by Manuel Collado, with whom he also did the play '' Séneca, o el beneficio de la duda'' in 1987, starring

José Luis Pellicena José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

. Soon afterwards, he had his first starring role in a movie, ''

La señora LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'', in which he played a bellboy in a hotel. Apart from cinema, he has been a regular face on Spanish television, with notable roles in ''

Aquí no hay quien viva ''Aquí'' ("Here") is the title of the debut studio album by Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, released on March 24, 1997. It was well received by the public. The two singles released were "De Mis Pasos" and "Cómo Sé". Track listin ...

'', ''

Hospital Central ''Hospital Central'' ("Central Hospital"; previously ''Línea Roja'') is a Spanish television series that follows the professional and personal lives of the staff of the fictitious Hospital Central in Madrid. New episodes are shown by Telecinco ...

'' and '' El Internado''. In 2016, he made his debut in ''

La que se avecina ''La que se avecina'', is a Spanish television situation comedy created by Alberto Caballero, Laura Caballero and Daniel Deorador. The show is set in Mirador de Montepinar, a condominium located in the suburbs of Madrid. The show is an indirec ...

'', reuniting with many of his former colleagues from ''Aquí no hay quien viva''.

Filmography

Television

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merlo, Luis 1966 births Living people Spanish male film actors Spanish male television actors 20th-century Spanish actresses 21st-century Spanish male actors