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The Next Big things
A new wind is blowing in the entertainment industry. No longer expected to take one-dimensional roles, Latino actors now portray some of the screen’s most coveted and diverse characters, and more than ever Latino directors are taking their place behind the camera to give a new and broader perspective. Whether from the U.S., Europe or Latin America, these actors and directors are fanning the flames of change and solidifying their place in entertainment.
Melonie Diaz
Actor
The Breakout
Although the role was small, Diaz stood out as Melonie in 2002’s Raising Victor Vargas, the small but poignant film that propelled the career of Victor Rasuk. Her first film, Double Whammy, premierd at Sundance a year earlier when she was just 15.
The Next Big Thing
Diaz, a 23-year-old New York native, was named “the queen of Sundance,” a title given to young starlets whose performances outshone their peers. It was in part bestowed for her touching portrayal of Cristina in the film American Son about a marine counting down his four days until he is shipped off to Iraq, as well as for her three other films (Hamlet 2, Be Kind Rewind and Assassination of a High School President) that showed at the festival, where she was also a juror. She demonstrates her versatility in Hamlet 2, Diaz takes on a satirical gang-banger stereotype and in Be Kind Rewind, and she holds her own against over-the-top co-star Jack Black.
Freddy Rodriguez
Actor
The Breakout
With a resume that stretches back to the late ‘80s, Rodriguez is already a veteran at age 33. One of the most established stars on the list, Rodriguez has received a host of award nominations and wins. He had extensive experience under his belt when he scored a recurring spot on NBC’s Scrubs, followed by his role in HBO’s Six Feet Under as Federico Diaz, a restorative artist at a funeral home. He was again noticed in the blockbuster Bobby about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in which he played busboy Jose Rojas.
The Next Big Thing
These days he can be seen on ABC’s hit Ugly Betty as Gio. He also costars in Bottle Shock, a film about the early days of California winemaking that boasts all-star cast, and which was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. It has been reported that he would begin shooting the anticipated film Humboldt Park alongside a Latino-heavy cast.
VICTOR RASUK
Actor
The Breakout
Victor Rasuk burst out of the film Raising Victor Vargas, a heartrending film about a Latino youth finding love in a New York City summer that was hailed as a small budget gem and earned Rasuk critical admiration for his powerful and natural performance. It also earned him an Independent Spirit Award. It was based on the short film Five Feet High and Rising, in which he also starred.
The Next Big Thing
The New York native born to Dominican parents has since become an indie movie favorite, starring in such films as The Lords of Dogtown. This year is a big one for Rasuk, who has already come out in Stop Loss, a timely story about a soldier unwilling to go back to the front. He will reportedly soon also shine in The Argentine, the highly anticipated film about Che Guevara, and the immigration story, The War Boys.
Dania Ramirez
Actor
The Breakout
Although Dania Ramirez, a 28-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, had been in television for years in a recurring role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer among others, it was her roles in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me and X Men: The Last Stand that ushered her into film.
The Next Big Thing
Having solidified a place in NBC’s blockbuster show Heroes as hero Maya who is twin to another hero, Alejandro, Ramirez has a plum spot in the forefront of this ratings-grabber. But she also has a place in independent film having starred opposite Rick Gonzalez in Franc. Reyes’ 2007 urban drama Illegal Tender. This year she comes farther forth into the limelight with the scheduled release of three films: The Fifth Commandment, Ball Don’t Lie and Brooklyn to Manhattan.
Ana Claudia Talancon
Actor
The Breakout
Her heartbreaking performance as Father Amaro’s young lover, Amelia, in 2002’s El Crimen del Padre Amaro pushed this Mexican actress into the limelight, as both her performance and the controversial film won award nominations and critical accolades.
The Next Big Thing
Talancón, a star in her native Mexico, is now an international star on the rise. She took her spot alongside other Latin American stars in Love in the Time of Cholera, the film based on Gabriel García Márquez’ book of the same name, and appeared in Fast Food Nation. Other projects sure to make her a household name include the current teen horror flick One Missed Call and the upcoming Los Angeles gang drama Days of Wrath where she is slated to star alongside actors Wilmer Valderrama, Jesse Garcia and Ricardo Chavira.
Ricardo de Montreuil
Director
The Breakout
The Peruvian-born director was the visionary behind the controversial and hugely successful La Mujer de Mi Hermano, his first feature. Upon its release it broke a number of box office records and was considered to be the most successful movie in Latin American film. De Montreuil is also a noted music video director and is the creative director at the Latino youth-oriented NBC cable channel mun2.
The Next Big Thing
This year his new film and second feature, Máncora, saw its premiere. The film stars Peruvian actor Jason Day as a young man shaken by his father’s recent suicide. The film was already nominated for this year’s Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Alejandro
Monteverde
Director
The Breakout
In 2006, Monteverde wrote and directed the stunning Bella, starring Eduardo Verástegui, which won the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award. It also took away the Heartland Film Festival’s top prize, and the Legacy Award from the Smithsonian Institution. The film is a touching exploration of a damaged man whose life was changed in an instant, and the slow process of gaining a new sense of self.
The Next Big Thing
Because of Bella’s critical and popular success, Monteverde has become one of the most sought-after young directors in the genre. As such, the 31-year-old Mexican-born director is expected to do big things in the coming years.
 Simon Brand
Director
The Breakout
Brand, a native of Colombia, started his moviemaking career at 17 when he directed his first music video, an endeavor which would later allow him to direct superstars Ricardo Arjona, Cabas and La Ley, among others. His first film was 2006’s Unknown.
The Next Big Thing
2008 is looking to be Brand’s year as his sophomore effort is the enormous Paraiso Travel, a love story set against the gritty background of illegal immigration and human smuggling. It is fast becoming the biggest movie in the history of Colombia, breaking records set even by Titanic. The film, starring John Leguizamo, among others, is set to open at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.
Jordi Molla
Actor
The Breakout
A huge star in his native Spain, Molla has been hailed as the Spanish Johnny Depp. He first made a big splash in 1992’s international hit Jamón, Jamón, and then went on to star in films directed by such legends as Pedro Almodóvar (La Flor de mi secreto). It took some time for the 39-year-old to grab hold stateside, though a critical part in the Johnny Depp film Blow took care of that.
The Next Big Thing
Mollá is a consummate artist. In addition to acting he is also a skilled painter with some of his works showing at the PicassoMio Gallery in Madrid, among others. He has also written two books and directed two short films. Last year he stunned in Elizabeth: The Golden Age as King Philip II of Spain, and this year he’ll reportedly star in the highly anticipated The Argentine.
 Vivien Lesnik Weisman
Writer/Director/
Documentarian
The Breakout
In 2007, a documentary emerged that in a way, had no predecessor. Vivien Lesnik Weisman’s The Man of Two Havanas, goes beyond the story of Castro and his Cuba and is homage to her father, Max Lesnik, a former Castro ally turned anti-Castro fighter who moved to Miami when he fell out of step with the dictator. Soon, his position as both a Castro criticizer and a critic of the U.S. policy toward Cuba became the target of anti-Castro sentiment, the CIA and most of the Cuban-American community.
The Next Big Thing
“Because I don’t see Castro as the root of all evil, I’m a little out of step with my tribe and I could give a s*%#!” says Weisman in her film about her place in Cuban-American culture in Miami. She could have just as easily have said it about her film’s place in the realm of similar documentaries. The film, a polarizing topic in the Cuban community because of its subject, is her first documentary. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won IFP’s Best Emerging Latino Filmmaker Award.
 Odette Yustman
Actor
The Breakout
2007 was a big year for Yustman’s as she landed roles in the big-budget Transformers, the lead in a Lifetime movie, and a role in ABC’s critically praised show October Road. A year earlier she had small parts in TV series such as Monk, a bit part in the Cameron Diaz-Kate Winslet movie The Holiday and a lead role in the short-lived UPN drama South Beach.
The Next Big Thing
The 22-year-old of Cuban, French and Italian descent has made her mark this year already in the horror picture Cloverfield. And next year she is reportedly set to star in the much-anticipated remake of Friday the 13th.
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