Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a pers ...

-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on ''

¿Qué Pasa, USA? ''¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' ( es, What's Happening, USA?) is America's first bilingual situation comedy, and the first sitcom to be produced for PBS. It was produced and taped from 1977 to 1980 in front of a live studio audience at PBS member station WP ...

'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most famous for his role as the Cuban

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

Manolo "Manny" Ribera in the 1983 crime drama ''Scarface'', in which he starred alongside

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

and

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and popular sex symbols during the 1980s ...

. He also played the

drug cartel A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the l ...

leader Eladio Vuente in ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited h ...

'' and in '' Better Call Saul'' and the retired

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

agent Avi Rudin in '' Ray Donovan'' (2013–2020).

Early life and education

Bauer was born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson, on December 2, 1956, in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba, the son of Lillian Samson Agostini, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Echevarría, a commercial pilot who worked for

Cubana Airlines Cubana may refer to: * a woman born in Cuba * Cubana de Aviación, an airline of Cuba * Cubana, West Virginia Cubana is an unincorporated community in Randolph County, West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atl ...

. Bauer's maternal grandfather, whose family names were Samson and Bauer, was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and immigrated to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, a refugee looking to escape the devastating effects

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

had on his safety and home country. Bauer's family emigrated from

to the United States on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...

, 1960, when he was three years old, shortly after the end of the Cuban Revolution, settling in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Once in the United States, he began using the name Steven, an English form of his given name, Esteban. He graduated from

Miami Coral Park High School Miami Coral Park Senior High School is a secondary school located in the Westchester census-designated place of Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.Miami Dade Community College and then at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, where he befriended Ray Liotta.

Acting career

Bauer's first substantial role was in the PBS bilingual

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'', playing the teenage son of a Cuban exile family in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, from 1977 to 1979. He also appeared in the 1980 TV miniseries '' From Here to Eternity''. He was credited in these and a few other early projects as Rocky Echevarría. In 1981, Bauer starred in the television movie ''She's in the Army Now'', where he met his first wife, actress

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

. They both moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and stayed at Ray Liotta's apartment, while Liotta moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and stayed at theirs. Both Bauer and Griffith studied under acting teacher Stella Adler, and he appeared in several off-Broadway productions. During this time he adopted the stage name "Steven Bauer". Bauer was given the role of Manny Ribera (the part played by

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

in the original 1932 version) in the 1983 movie '' Scarface'', even though (like Raft) he was a relatively unknown actor at the time. The producers of ''Scarface'' were convinced that he was right for the role based on his strong audition, as well as his authentic Cuban background. His performance drew a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1986 he had two other important roles. The first was as Det. Frank Sigliano in the Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines cop comedy '' Running Scared''. The second was as an Israeli soldier named Avner in the Canadian CTV television movie '' Sword of Gideon'', which tells the story of

agents hunting down terrorists in the aftermath of the 1972

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members ...

. The ''Sword of Gideon'' script was the basis for

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

's later film ''

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

'', which follows the same storyline and borrows heavily from the ''Sword of Gideon'' story and script. In 1990 Bauer played the role of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in the television miniseries '' Drug Wars: The Camarena Story'' alongside

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 ...

and Craig T. Nelson. That same year, Bauer took over the series lead of the television show '' Wiseguy'' from

Ken Wahl Ken Wahl (born October 31, 1957) is a retired American film and television actor, popular in the 1980s and 1990s, best known for the CBS television crime drama '' Wiseguy''. Early life and career Wahl, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, Note: ...

for the fourth and final season, playing U.S. Attorney Michael Santana after Wahl's character disappears. Since then, Bauer has made his career primarily, though not exclusively, in

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

s and

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

s on both the big and small screens. An example of this is the movie ''The Lost City'' where he served in a minor role alongside the film's star and director Andy Garcia. Also, including such motion pictures as '' Primal Fear'' and ''

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

''. In 2007 he appeared on an episode of ''Burn Notice''. In 2011, Bauer appeared on the series ''

'' playing Mexican drug lord Don Eladio. He stars with Julianne Michelle in the feature film '' Awakened'', a supernatural thriller. More recently, Bauer appeared as ex-

agent turned private investigator Avi in the Showtime series '' Ray Donovan''. Bauer also reprised his ''Breaking Bad'' role in 2017 in AMC's prequel '' Better Call Saul''. In addition, he played El Santo in the American version of '' Queen of the South''.

Personal life

Bauer has married four times: first to

, from 1981 until 1989; second to Ingrid Anderson, from 1989 until 1991; third to Christiana Boney, from 1992 until 2002; and fourth to Paulette Miltimore, from 2003 until 2012. He has two sons: Alexander Griffith Bauer (born August 22, 1985) with Griffith and Dylan Dean Steven Bauer (born May 14, 1990) with Anderson.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

* Nominated –

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

– Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – '' Scarface'' (1984) * Nominated –

– Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for TV – '' Drug Wars: The Camarena Story'' (1990) * Won –

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

– Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture – ''

'' (2000) * Won – Short Film Award – Best Supporting Actor – ''Crumble'' (2010) * Won – Festival Award – Best Actor – ''The Last Gamble'' (2011) * Won – Feature Film Award – Best Actor – ''The Last Gamble'' (2012) * Nominated –

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

– Best Guest Starring Role on Television – ''

References

External links

* *
Steven Bauer's official MySpace profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Steven 1956 births Jewish American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Cuban male television actors Cuban emigrants to the United States Cuban people of German-Jewish descent Living people Miami Dade College alumni Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Male actors from Miami University of Miami alumni Cuban male film actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Cuban male actors American people of German-Jewish descent 21st-century American male actors 21st-century Cuban male actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Cuban male voice actors Griffith family 21st-century American Jews