Manolo Cardona

Manuel "Manolo" Julián Cardona Molano (born April 25, 1977) is a Colombian actor.

Personal life

Cardona was born in Popayán, Cauca, Colombia on April 25, 1977. At the age of seven, Cardona's family nicknamed him "Manolo," which later became his stage name. He moved to Cali, Colombia when he was eighteen to study finance and international relations, but later moved to Spain to study film. Manolo's mother, Nancy Molano, is a psychologist, merchant, and astrologer. His father, Enrique Javier Cardona, was a politician and was the mayor of Popayán. Cardona has three brothers and one sister. One of his greatest passions is playing football (soccer).

Career

Cardona began modeling at an early age after his elder brother introduced him to the modeling agency where he signed his first contract. At the age of fourteen he shot his first television commercial and began modeling professionally for TV commercials, photography, and runways for several agencies in Colombia. When Cardona was eighteen, in 1995, he began his acting career on a popular Colombian Television series called ''Padres e Hijos'' in which he starred for three years. Then in 1998 he won his first lead role in the television soap opera ''Carolina Barrantes''. A year later he starred in soap opera '' ¿Por qué Diablos?'', portraying a young man who becomes part of a drug organization so he can avenge his friend's death. Later in 2001 came ''Amor a Mil'', a soap opera in Colombia. In 2002 he signed an exclusive contract with Telemundo and Argos Comunicación, and a year later in 2003 he starred in his first Mexican soap opera, ''Ladrón de Corazones,'' where he portrayed Gustavo Velazco, a man who returns to his home town in Mexico after ten years to avenge his father's death and clear his name. He was the host of Telemundo's Spanish version of ''Temptation Island''. He also played Sebastián on the Mexican telenovela ''Gitanas''. In 2005, the film '' Rosario Tijeras'', Cardona's big-screen debut, was released in Colombia. The film was based on Jorge Franco's book of the same name. Cardona worked opposite Flora Martínez (playing Rosario Tijeras) and Unax Ugalde and was directed by Emilio Maille. The film was nominated for a Goya Award for best foreign film. In 2005 the film had its North American premiere at the American Film Institute Festival, in Hollywood.

In 2005 he starred in the film ''La mujer de mi hermano'' opposite Bárbara Mori and Christian Meier which was released in the United States in 2006. In 2006 he finished filming "Madrid-Mexico" with director Enrique Renteria.

After a two year absence, Cardona returned to work for Telemundo and Argos on the Telemundo soap opera production ''Marina'', replacing Mauricio Ochmann as Ricardo. The soap opera was filmed in Acapulco, Mexico.

On September 27, 2007, Cardona was awarded the "Latin Pride Award" in the Back Bay Events Center in Boston. The award honors the accomplishments of Hispanics of different areas and is a production of the Latin Pride Magazine. Cardona appeared in the 2008 Disney film ''Beverly Hills Chihuahua''.

In 2008, Cardona was in a series, ''El Cartel de los Sapos'' for Caracol TV where he played a drug dealer. The series was filmed in Miami, New York, Colombia, Panamá and Madrid. The series was followed by a film of the same name. The series and film were based on a book written by Andres Lopes alias Florecita, who wrote the book while in prison. The series was screened at the LA Screenings and the series aired in 2008 in Colombia. Caracol TV will air the series of 40 episodes starring Cardona, Karen Martinez, Diego Cadavid and Robinson Diaz. The series debuted on Caracol TV on June 5, 2008, continuing until October 2008. Since it premiered in July 2008, ''El Cartel'' was the highest rated show on Colombian television. When it premiered on Telemundo in December 2008, it was the highest rated show in the history of the network.

In November 2008, Cardona played a lead role in '' Undertow'' (Spanish title ''Contracorriente'') in Peru. Cardona plays the character of Santiago, a gay painter who arrives in a small town and falls in love with Miguel, a married fisherman played by Cristian Mercado who is torn between his love for Santiago and his love for his pregnant wife Mariela (Tatiana Astengo). The film is produced by Dynamo Capital (Colombia) and Calvo Films (Peru), and is directed by Javier Fuentes-León. ''Contracorriente'' also premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival on September 23, 2010. The film also had great reception in Sundance Film Festival winning the Audience Award for World Cinema Drama.

Cardona appeared in an episode of ''Tiempo Final'' titled "La entrega" in the second season of the show which also co-starred his girlfriend Katarina Sacht. ''Tiempo Final'' was a remake of the Chilean series of the same name, and aired on Fox.

He acted in ''La Ultima Muerte'' alongside Kuno Becker, in 2009. The film premiered in Mexico in November 2009.

Cardona was in the third season of Spain's version of ''Sin tetas no hay paraiso'', which aired on Telecinco. In it, he played a policeman named Martin La Roca. The series premiered in Spain in fall 2010.

He produced and directed a short film called ''Risas Inocentes'' (Innocent laughter) with his brother Juan. The short premiered in Colombia in 2009 and was produced by his company "11:11 (onceonce) films".

He starred in Netflix's ''Who Killed Sara?'' as the main character Alex Guzmán. More recently, his 11:11 Film company has struck a deal with Viacom International Studios.

Awards

* 2000: "Best Actor of Colombia" from TV y Novelas.
* 2001: "The Best Colombian Leading Actor of the Year" in Houston; a tribute paid by the Hispanic community in the United States.
* 2008: "Best Supporting Actor" from Imagen Foundation Awards for ''Beverly Hills Chihuahua''.

Filmography

Film roles

Television roles

References

External links

Telemundo Website

Official "El Cartel" Website
*

Manolo Cardona Official site


Manolo Cardona Manager Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardona, Manolo
1977 births
Colombian male film actors
Colombian people of Catalan descent
Colombian male telenovela actors
Living people