René Lavan

Originally from Artemisa, Cuba, Rene Lavan debuted on Broadway in 2005 with the critically acclaimed play "Latinologues", a comedy about life in America. Early this year he worked with Benicio Del Toro on the feature film "Guerrilla" directed by Steven Soderbergh. Rene plays the young lead in Revolution Studio's "Christmas With The Kranks" starring opposite Tim Allen, Jaime Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd and Cheech Marin. This film is directed by Joe Roth. Lavan plays the role of the Revolutionary, Carlos Suarez, on LGF/Miramax's "Havana Nights, Dirty Dancing". He has been a guest-star on CBS's "CSI Miami" and on NBC's "Las Vegas". He co-stars in "El Nominado", an independent film shot in Chile in October 2003, now playing at many international film festivals. Rene was chosen as one of The Top Ten To Watch In 2004 by the San Diego Latino Film Festival. American audiences first knew Lavan when he played the role of Javier on "One Life to Live" for the ABC network. It was while working as a cast member on this series that he was offered the role of a lifetime as the lead in the critically acclaimed feature film "Bitter Sugar", directed by Leon Ichaso (Pinero). The film was inspired by true events of the oppressive Cuban regime governed by Fidel Castro. It chronicles the character of Gustavo (Lavan), an honor student and Castro supporter who could no longer tolerate the decay and repression in his beloved Cuba. Lavan received rave reviews and the film was very well received, both domestically and internationally. Rene first gained recognition as an actor co-starring in one of the most popular Spanish telenovelas ever "Morelia". He has since starred in the very popular telenovelas (TV series) "Maria Belen" and "Enamorada". He has become an internationally re-known actor and is a household name in Spanish speaking homes around the world. His soaps and films have been seen in over one hundred countries. Fluent in both English and Spanish Rene has been working steadily in both the General and Spanish markets since receiving his education at the prestigious New World school of the arts, Performance and Visual Arts Center and with Uta Hagen. Lavan co-starred in the half-hour sitcom pilot "Macio" for UPN and starred in the independent film "The Emerald Cut." Rene has appeared in hundreds of television and radio commercials and has hosted the following TV shows: The Billboard Music Awards, Fox Sports and Suenos de Fama (Star Search) to name a few. Lavan has graced the pages of American publications such as "Vanity Fair", "Harper's Bazaar", "Details", "W" and hundreds of Spanish publications such as "Vanidades", "Cosmopolitan", "Cristina" and recently was named "one of the 25 most Beautiful" of " People en Espanol Magazine". Rene Lavan is a true crossover actor in every sense of the word, from film to television, from drama to comedy. He is one of the few actors that have successfully made a name in both the General and Spanish Markets. His latest challenge is starring and producing Latino theme television shows and films for his newly formed production company