Teófilo Torres (born 6 March 1954 in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

) is a Puerto Rican actor, director and professor of theatre. He has acted for both television as well the big screen, and has performed in Puerto Rico and internationally.

Early years

Teófilo Torres was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 6 March 1954. He started into his acting career while he was still in high school in the town of Jayuya, Puerto Rico.

Early career

In the early 1980s he participated in "A mis amigos de la locura", and "Papo Impala esta quita'o". In the mid-1980s, Torres partook in the Puerto Rican

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

"Tiempo de vivir" starring

Fernando Allende Luis Fernando Allende Arenas (born November 10, 1952) is a Mexican singer, actor, painter, film producer, and film director. Early life Allende was born in Mexico. His father is Mexican, and his mother is from Cuba. Allende's grandfather on his f ...

and Ivonne Goderich. In the late 1980s he had a role in the movie ''Glitz'', produced by NBC and starring

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama ''L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama '' NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...

, and filmed in Puerto Rico. In this movie Torres played the role of a member of the police force fighting crime. Torres also particIpated in the telenovelas "Ave de paso", where he played the role of "Cheíto", a frustrated artist suffering from alcoholism, and in "Yara Prohibida" broadcast via Puerto Rico's Channel 11. Also during this time, Torres opened his own school of dramatic arts teaching courses in acting, dance and speech. Subsequently, Torres played roles in various other works such as "Contradanza", as Queen Isabel, and boasted 17 monólogs, including "El caso Dios", "La apología de Sócrates", "Papo Impala está quitao" and "A mis amigos de la locura". In 1993, Torres delved into the big screen in " La Guagua Aérea", directed by Luis Milona with a fairly good reception, both in Puerto Rico and internationally. He also worked on the monólogs "Pedro, el rojo", "Pepé Loló", "Maco" and later "El Maestro", where he plays the role of Don Pedro Albizu Campos, one of the most prominent Puerto Rican politicians of all times, and a leader in the Puerto Rican independence movement.

Education

In 1994 Torres moved to New York City where he earned a MFA at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

Teaching, drama, and acting

In 1999, Torres returned to Puerto Rico where he worked on the telenovela "Cuando despierta el amor", presented via Puerto Rico's public television WIPR-TV. Later he appeared in the Puerto Rican

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

TV series titled "Después del adiós" where he played "Arturo Bolívar", a man ill with the

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

, and participated in the movie "Los Díaz de Doris" directed by

Abdiel Colberg Abdiel Colberg (born December 20, 1957) is a Puerto Rican television producer and movie director. Among the movies which he directed and co-wrote is ''Los Díaz de Doris'' (1999), a drama starring Cordelia González, Braulio Castillo, Jr., Raul D ...

. In the same year he participated in the movie for television "Punto final", by

Edwin Reyes Edwin Reyes was the Cook County Commissioner for the County’s 8th district, in northwest Chicago. He held the position as a Democrat from 2009–2014. Education Reyes attended Northern Illinois University in the early 1980s, after which he enli ...

. In that production, transmitted by

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

Puerto Rico Channel 11, Torres played the role of "Juaco", a nuyorican poet seeking to recover his identity. Torres also returns to teaching at the Drama Department of the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

,''UPR.''
/ref> in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. In the early 2000s he plays the role of Antonio, a homosexual priest, in the movie ''

12 Horas ''12 Hours'' (Spanish: ''12 Horas'') is a 2001 Puerto Rican movie. It was written and directed by Raúl Marchand Sánchez, and marked both his screenwriting and directorial debut. The movie follows 12 hours or one night in the life of a taxi dr ...

'' by director Raúl Marchand. Torres's acting in 12 Horas was highly spoken of by the critics, marking one of his most prominent roles in the big screen. Since then, Torres has played the lead acting roles in the two most recent films by Jacobo Morales: "Dios los cría ll" and "Ángel", as well as in "Ruido", by director César Rodríguez and winner of the "Innovacion" award at the 2006 International Cinema Festival in Montreal, "Chiringa", "Desamores", "El sueño del regreso", and " Che" starring

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...

and directed by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...

and the 2010 "María", directed by

. He also developed the theatrical shows "Monogamia", "Bent", "Jav y Joss" (co-starring Francisco Capó) "Un enemigo del Pueblo", and "El caso Dios", among others.

Filmography

Theatre

Director and producer

* 2008 Todo es según el color * 2007 Oh María * 2005 El huésped vacio * 2004 Voces * 2004 Vegigantes * 2003 La mirada del hombre oscuro * 1998 El duende oculto * 1997 Snekin’outa revolvin door * 1995 Pedro el rojo * 1995 Maco * 1995 Pepe Dolores * 1990 Hombre * 1990 El Gfbar * 1989 Papo Impala va palante * 1988 Terrazo * 1988 La perra de Darwin * 1986 EL doctor Moncho Loro * 1985 La apología de Sócrates * 1984 El caso Dios * 1984 Colectilogo * 1983 Walenda * 1983 En defensa de Natalie * 1983 Papo Impala esta quitao * 1982 A mis amigos de la locura * 1982 Había una vez y dos son tres

References

External links

''Teófilo Torres''
Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Teofilo Male actors from Ponce, Puerto Rico 1954 births Living people Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male stage actors Puerto Rican male television actors Brooklyn College alumni