Renoly Santiago (born March 15, 1974) is a Puerto Rican actor, singer and writer known for his appearances in films such as '' Dangerous Minds'', '' Hackers'' and ''

Con Air ''Con Air'' is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a prison break aboard a ...

'', and in television series such as ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

'' and '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent''.

Early life

Renoly Santiago was born in

Lajas, Puerto Rico Lajas (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Lajas Valley in southwestern Puerto Rico, on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of San Germán and Sabana Grande; east of Cabo Rojo; and west ...

. He was raised in

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census the city had a total population of 68,589,"Biography"
Renoly Santiago – Official Website. Retrieved February 11, 2014.

Career

Santiago first became known in the United States when he was cast in the 1993 television series ''

CityKids ''CityKids'' is an American television series that aired late Saturday mornings on ABC from 1993 to 1994. The show consists primarily of live action performances, interspersed with Muppet segments, courtesy of Jim Henson Productions. These Muppet ...

'' as Tito. He co-wrote the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominated pilot episode of the show. From his participation in ''CityKids'', Santiago graduated to film, acting as Raúl Sanchero in 1995's '' Dangerous Minds''. By 1996, he was co-starring alongside some other well-known Hollywood actors in his role as Ramόn Sánchez, a.k.a. the "Phantom Phreak" in '' Hackers''. He also plays Mikey in ''

Daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...

''. Santiago starred as Ramón Martínez, a criminal nicknamed "Sally-Can't Dance", in the 1997 film ''

''. Santiago then took three years off from acting on-screen and starred on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

's '' The Capeman'' as Tony "Umbrella Man" Hernandez, leader of the gang The Vampires, a role for which he was a 1998 Drama Desk Nominee for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.

As a singer, Santiago has recorded with performers

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gr ...

Danny Rivera Danny Rivera (born 27 February 1945) is a singer and songwriter born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well known in Puerto Rico for his political activism. In 2008, Rivera acquired Dominican Republic citizenship. After 12 ye ...

and

La India Linda Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Awa ...

. In 2000, he returned to the screen in the low-budget film '' Punks'', in which he plays Dante, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. By 2001, Santiago was back on television, playing Miguel Acosta in the January 7 episode of ''

'', making a small appearance in the March 29 episode of ''

Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the '' New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by th ...

'' and as Chiggy Rios in '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' in the episode "The Faithful'. In 2002, Santiago made a film called ''The Street King'', where he played the character Cesar Rojas. It was not a major hit, and Santiago took another three-year sabbatical from screen acting. Santiago returned to film in 2005, as "Scorpio" in '' Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy''. In early 2011, he starred as Johnny Pacheco in the

Hector Lavoe In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

salsa biopic '' The King''. Santiago will appear in ''Grand Street'' in which he stars with

Kelly McGillis Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American stage actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in ''Witness'' (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in ''Top Gun'' (1986); ''Made in ...

. From March 6 to May 8, 2014 Santiago taught professional acting classes at The William V. Musto Cultural Center in his boyhood home of Union City, New Jersey. The ten-week course was initiated as part of the Grace Theatre Workshop, and consisted of monologue and scene studies."Hollywood Star to Teach Adult Acting Classes in Union City"
"Briefs". ''

The Hudson Reporter ''The Hudson Reporter'' is a newspaper chain based in Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Hudson Reporter'' publications mainly focus on local politics and community news. The oldest newspaper in the chain is the '' Hoboken Reporter'', founded in 1983 ...

''. February 16, 2014.

Personal life

Santiago lives in New York City.

Filmography

References

External links