Nemesio Antúnez en el Palais de Glace (cropped)

Patricio Contreras (born December 15, 1947) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an-

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

television, film and stage actor.

Biography

Contreras was born in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

in 1947 and emigrated to neighboring Argentina following the 1973 coup d'état against left-wing President

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

, of whom Contreras was a vocal supporter.''Clarín'': Contreras, con Sandino (May 9, 1988). He was shortly afterwards cast in a number of minor

Argentine cinema Cinema of Argentina refers to the film industry based in Argentina. The Argentine cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Argentina or by Argentine filmmakers abroad. The Argentine film industry has histor ...

roles, notable among them a part in

Adolfo Aristarain Adolfo Aristarain (born October 19, 1943) is an Argentina, Argentine film director and screenwriter who is famous for his filmic sophistication and subtle examination of issues of political oppression. ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' has deemed ...

's 1978 crime thriller, ''

La parte del león 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 ...

'' (''The Lion's Share''). He married an up-and-coming Argentine actress,

Leonor Manso Leonor Manso (born 16 April 1948) is an Argentinian actress. She appeared in more than 70 films since 1969. Manso directed her first production, ''Waiting for Godot'', in 1996.Funny Dirty Little War ''Funny Dirty Little War'' ( es, No habrá más penas ni olvido; original title translatable as "There will be no more sorrow or forgetfulness", a line from '' Mi Buenos Aires Querido'' tango lyrics) is a 1983 Argentine comedy-drama film directed ...

''.''Clarín'': Como si no hubiese pasado el tiempo (8/8/2007)
/ref> Contreras then gave what became perhaps his best-known performance as the targeted Professor Benítez in the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning ''

The Official Story ''The Official Story'' ( es, La historia oficial) is a 1985 Argentine drama historical film directed by Luis Puenzo and written by Puenzo and Aída Bortnik. It stars Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Chunchuna Villafañe and Hugo Arana. In the ...

'' (1985), for which he was awarded a

Silver Condor The Argentine Film Critics Association ( es, Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de la Argentina) is an organization of Argentine-based journalists and correspondents. The association presents the ''Silver Condor Awards'' (''Premios Cóndor ...

.IMDb Awards
/ref> This was followed a leading role in

Juan José Jusid Juan José Jusid (born September 28, 1941) is an Argentine film director and screenwriter. Career Jusid was born in Buenos Aires. He started his professional career as an actor, puppeteer and stage photographer in the 1960s then switched to fil ...

's emotional look at exile, ''

Made in Argentina Made in Argentina is a 1987 Argentine comedy drama film co-written and directed by Juan José Jusid and starring Luis Brandoni, Marta Bianchi, Leonor Manso, Patricio Contreras and Frank Vincent. Synopsis Osvaldo and Mabel, an Argentine cou ...

'' (1986), which earned Contreras a

Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiva ...

Best Actor Award.Cine Nacional: Patrcio Contreras
/ref> He appeared next to

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

in the 1989 movie ''

Old Gringo ''Old Gringo'' is a 1989 American romantic adventure film starring Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, and Jimmy Smits. It was directed by Luis Puenzo and co-written with Aída Bortnik, based on the 1985 novel '' The Old Gringo'' by Mexican novelist Ca ...

''. He starred in fellow Chilean exile

Miguel Littín Miguel Ernesto Littin Cucumides (born 9 August 1942) is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born to a Palestinian father, Hernán Littin and a Greek mother, Cristina Cucumides. Career Miguel Littin dir ...

's '' Sandino'' (1990), and the end of General

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

's dictatorship in 1990 allowed Contreras to return to Chile itself, where he starred as the lead in Ricardo Larraín's '' La Frontera'' (1991). Continuing to live and work in Argentina, he starred in

Betty Kaplan Betty Kaplan is a Venezuelan-American film and television director born in New York City and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She is Co-Chair of the Directors Guild of America Latino Committee. Kaplan has directed the films ''Doña Bárbara'', '' A ...

's adaptation of Chilean writer

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

's '' Of Love and Shadows'' (1995), and to his film credits were added those in the local theatre, notably his work in a local, 1996-98 production of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

's '' Waiting for Godot'' (directed by his wife). His marriage suffered, however, and the couple were divorced in 2001. Among Contreras' later film roles some of the best-known are as writer

Rodolfo Walsh Rodolfo Jorge Walsh (January 9, 1927 – March 25, 1977) was an Argentine writer and journalist of Irish Argentine, Irish descent, considered the founder of investigative journalism. He is most famous for his ''Carta Abierta de un Escritor a la Ju ...

's version of

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

Santiago Carlos Oves Santiago Carlos Oves (14 September 1941 – 2 May 2010) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter. He directed nine films between 1983 and 2009. His 2004 film ''Conversations with Mother'' was entered into the 26th Moscow International ...

' ''

Asesinato a Distancia ''Asesinato a distancia'' (English language, English: "Murdered at distance") is a 1998 Argentina, Argentine crime drama film written and directed by Santiago Carlos Oves and starring Martín Adjemián, Héctor Alterio, Patricio Contreras and Laur ...

'' (''Murder at a Distance'', 1998), and as the merciless detective in

Eduardo Mignogna Eduardo Mignogna (August 17, 1940 – October 6, 2006) was an Argentinian film director and screenwriter. Filmography * 1975 - ''La Raulito en libertad'' (writer) * 1983 - ''El Desquite'' (writer) * 1983 - ''Evita, quien quiera oír que oiga'' ...

's fact-based '' La fuga'' (''The Escape'', 2001). He was reunited with his ex-wife for the stage in 2007 in her production of

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological� ...

's ''

Blasted ''Blasted'' is the first play by the British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. Synopsis The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid ...

''. Contreras continues to live in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and remains a prolific film and stage actor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Patricio 1947 births Living people Chilean male film actors Argentine male film actors Chilean exiles Chilean emigrants to Argentina Male actors from Santiago 20th-century Argentine male actors 20th-century Chilean male actors