Edgar Ramirez
Encyclopedia
Édgar Filiberto Ramírez Arellano (born 25 March 1977) is a Venezuela
n actor. He played Carlos
in the 2010 French
-German
biopic series Carlos
, a role for which he won the César Award for Most Promising Actor
at the César Awards 2011
. He also played "Paz", a CIA assassin in the movie The Bourne Ultimatum
.
Ramírez studied communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University. Afterwards he worked in media and considered becoming a diplomat. When Iñárritu (a short film he had made with friends) was critically praised, he decided to pursue his performing hobby as a career.
, Venezuela
to Soday Arellano (an attorney) and Filiberto Ramírez (a military officer), he has a sister named Nataly. Most of his
childhood was spent traveling in different countries, thanks to which he speaks five languages fluently: Spanish, German, English, French and Italian.
Ramirez graduated in 1999 from the Andrés Bello Catholic University with a degree in mass communication, minoring in political communications, since he intended to become a diplomat in international relations. While in college he worked as a journalist, reporting on politics. Later, he became executive director of Dale al Voto, a Venezuelan foundation similar to Rock the Vote
. He and his team created campaigns for radio, television and movie theaters. However, he was always attracted to the performing arts and while in college was involved with the arts as a hobby. Ramirez was in charge of international promotions of a short film he did alongside with friends. Screenwriter Alejandro González Iñárritu
—then a professor in Mexico—, was invited to the school's short film festival as part of the jury, that's when he saw Ramirez work in the short film and proposed for Ramirez to star in the film Amores Perros
. Ramirez passed it up, since he was in the middle of his thesis and had to attend Harvard National Model UN that year as a delegate from his school. Three years later Iñárritu returned to Venezuela from the Cannes Film festival in France, where the film had won the Prize of the Critic's Week. The film went on to also be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
. Ramirez then decided pursue his acting interests.
, for Venevisión
which aired in September 2003 to August 2004 lasting 270 episodes. In 2005, he made his major motion picture debut playing Choco, Domino Harvey
's love interest in the film Domino
directed by Tony Scott
.
He was in Vantage Point
directed by Pete Travis
. In this high-budgeted Sony Pictures political thriller, Ramírez joined an all-star international cast including Dennis Quaid
, Matthew Fox
, William Hurt
, Forrest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega
and Ayelet Zurer
. Ramírez plays Javier, an ex-special forces soldier forced to kidnap the American President in order to get his brother back. Upcoming is Cyrano Fernandez
, with Ramírez in the title role. This independent production was directed by Alberto Arvelo and is based on the French play Cyrano de Bergerac
.
Ramírez has appeared in several other productions. Among those are the first part of the two film bundle Ché
by Steven Soderbergh, where he played the role of Ciro redondo (A Cuban revolutionary who fought amongst Ché Guevara
), La Hora Cero (The Magic Hour), a short film directed by Guillermo Arriaga
, the acclaimed screenwriter of Amores Perros, 21 Grams
and Babel (Mexico); Plan B, directed by Alejandro Garcia Wiederman (Venezuela); Yotama Se Va Volando (Yotama Flies Away), directed by Luis Armando Roche (Venezuela-France); Punto Y Raya
(Step Forward), directed by Elia K. Schneider (Venezuela-Spain-Chile-Uruguay), submitted by Venezuela for Oscar consideration for 2004 Best Foreign Film
, in which he played Colombian soldier Pedro.
In 2007 he played the role of Paz, a Blackbriar assassin, in The Bourne Ultimatum
. In the original Bourne Ultimatum, the villain is Illich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos the Jackal. Ramírez went on to play the role of the actual Carlos in the 2010 French
-German
limited series Carlos
. At the French César Awards 2011
, he was awarded, for the film version of the TV series, the César Award for Most Promising Actor
. Ramírez has also given his voice to language learning education, guest-starring
on the audio CD supplement to the Fluenz Spanish 1 DVD software.
Ramirez was also part of "5 Senses in Action", an organization which benefits children with special needs. On 13 July 2008, Ramirez took part in an outdoor activity that stimulated sensory experience through gestures, playing and singing for congenitally deaf and/or blind children.
On November 12, 2010, Ramírez was named a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), at an event held at the Hotel Eurobuilding Caracas, and attended by personalities from the country's diplomatic corps. The UNICEF representative in Venezuela, Nadya Vasquez, said the organization has established in recent years an alliance with the actor "through which it is provided to support activities directly related to violence prevention campaigns."
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n actor. He played Carlos
Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975....
in the 2010 French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
biopic series Carlos
Carlos (TV miniseries)
Carlos is a 3-part French television drama mini-series, first broadcast on Canal+ in 2010. Produced by Film En Stock's Daniel Leconte in coproduction with Jens Meuer in association with Canal +, Studio Canal, ARTE, the Sundance Channel, it was created by Daniel Leconte and written by Dan Franck and...
, a role for which he won the César Award for Most Promising Actor
César Award for Most Promising Actor
This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Most Promising Actor .-1980s:-1990s:*1991: Gérald Thomassin: Le petit criminel*1992: Manuel Blanc: J'embrasse pas...
at the César Awards 2011
César Awards 2011
The 36th Annual César Awards ceremony was held by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma to honor its selection of the best films of 2010 on February 25, 2011. Jodie Foster was the President of the awards...
. He also played "Paz", a CIA assassin in the movie The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum (film)
The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy...
.
Ramírez studied communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University. Afterwards he worked in media and considered becoming a diplomat. When Iñárritu (a short film he had made with friends) was critically praised, he decided to pursue his performing hobby as a career.
Early life
Born in San Cristóbal, TáchiraSan Cristóbal, Táchira
San Cristóbal is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Táchira. It is located in a mountainous region of Western Venezuela. The city is situated 818 m/2,625 ft above sea level in the northern Andes overlooking the Torbes River, 56 km/35 mi from the Colombian border. San...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
to Soday Arellano (an attorney) and Filiberto Ramírez (a military officer), he has a sister named Nataly. Most of his
childhood was spent traveling in different countries, thanks to which he speaks five languages fluently: Spanish, German, English, French and Italian.
Ramirez graduated in 1999 from the Andrés Bello Catholic University with a degree in mass communication, minoring in political communications, since he intended to become a diplomat in international relations. While in college he worked as a journalist, reporting on politics. Later, he became executive director of Dale al Voto, a Venezuelan foundation similar to Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....
. He and his team created campaigns for radio, television and movie theaters. However, he was always attracted to the performing arts and while in college was involved with the arts as a hobby. Ramirez was in charge of international promotions of a short film he did alongside with friends. Screenwriter Alejandro González Iñárritu
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Alejandro González Iñárritu is a Mexican film director.González Iñárritu is the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and by the DGA of America for Best Director. He is also the first and only Mexican born director to have won the Prix de la mise en scene...
—then a professor in Mexico—, was invited to the school's short film festival as part of the jury, that's when he saw Ramirez work in the short film and proposed for Ramirez to star in the film Amores Perros
Amores perros
Amores perros is a 2000 neorealist Mexican film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Amores Perros is the first movie in Iñárritu's trilogy of death, and was followed by 21 Grams and Babel. It is a triptych; an anthology film, sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Pulp Fiction," containing...
. Ramirez passed it up, since he was in the middle of his thesis and had to attend Harvard National Model UN that year as a delegate from his school. Three years later Iñárritu returned to Venezuela from the Cannes Film festival in France, where the film had won the Prize of the Critic's Week. The film went on to also be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. Ramirez then decided pursue his acting interests.
Acting career
His first recognition as an actor was the successful soap opera Cosita RicaCosita Rica
Cosita Rica was a Venezuelan telenovela that was produced by and seen on Venevisión. This telenovela lasted 270 episodes and was distributed internationally by Venevisión International.-Synopsis:...
, for Venevisión
Venevisión
Venevisión is one of Venezuela's largest television networks and a Venezuelan cable and terrestrial television network, which is owned and presided over by Gustavo Cisneros...
which aired in September 2003 to August 2004 lasting 270 episodes. In 2005, he made his major motion picture debut playing Choco, Domino Harvey
Domino Harvey
Domino Harvey was an English bounty hunter, notable within that field for being female and from a privileged background. Though there is speculation as to whether she really was a model, there are in fact photographs which show her involved in what would appear to be modeling-related work...
's love interest in the film Domino
Domino (film)
Domino is a 2005 American action film directed by Tony Scott and written by Richard Kelly. It is inspired by the story of Domino Harvey, the English daughter of stage and screen actor Laurence Harvey, who became a bounty hunter working in Los Angeles. The film stars Keira Knightley as Domino and...
directed by Tony Scott
Tony Scott
Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
.
He was in Vantage Point
Vantage Point (film)
Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of...
directed by Pete Travis
Pete Travis
Pete Travis is an English television and film director. His work includes Cold Feet , The Jury and Omagh for television, and Vantage Point and Endgame for cinema...
. In this high-budgeted Sony Pictures political thriller, Ramírez joined an all-star international cast including Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
, Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
, William Hurt
William Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
, Forrest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega
Eduardo Noriega (Spanish actor)
Eduardo Noriega Gómez is a Spanish film actor, perhaps best known for his roles in two Alejandro Amenábar films, the multiple Goya Award-winning Tesis and Open Your Eyes . He also starred in The Wolf...
and Ayelet Zurer
Ayelet Zurer
Ayelet Zorer is an Israeli actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Nina’s Tragedies, Adam Resurrected, Munich, and Angels & Demons....
. Ramírez plays Javier, an ex-special forces soldier forced to kidnap the American President in order to get his brother back. Upcoming is Cyrano Fernandez
Cyrano Fernandez
Cyrano Fernandez is a 2007 Venezuelan drama film based on the plays of Cyrano de Bergerac but set in contemporary times.-Synopsis:The movie is based on the romantic triangle between Cyrano , Cristian and Roxanna during the turbulent riots between a group of drug dealers and the neighbours of a...
, with Ramírez in the title role. This independent production was directed by Alberto Arvelo and is based on the French play Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
.
Ramírez has appeared in several other productions. Among those are the first part of the two film bundle Ché
Che (film)
Che is a two-part 2008 biopic about Ernesto 'Che' Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro. Rather than follow a standard chronological order, the films offer an oblique series of interspersed moments along the overall timeline...
by Steven Soderbergh, where he played the role of Ciro redondo (A Cuban revolutionary who fought amongst Ché Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
), La Hora Cero (The Magic Hour), a short film directed by Guillermo Arriaga
Guillermo Arriaga
Guillermo Arriaga Jordán is a Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer. Self-defined as “a hunter who works as a writer,” he authored Amores Perros, received a BAFTA Best Screenplay nomination for 21 Grams, and received the 2005 Cannes Best Screenplay Award for The Three Burials of...
, the acclaimed screenwriter of Amores Perros, 21 Grams
21 Grams
21 Grams is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, and Benicio del Toro....
and Babel (Mexico); Plan B, directed by Alejandro Garcia Wiederman (Venezuela); Yotama Se Va Volando (Yotama Flies Away), directed by Luis Armando Roche (Venezuela-France); Punto Y Raya
Punto y Raya
Punto y Raya is a 2004 Venezuelan film directed by Elia Schneider. It was Venezuela's submission to the 77th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but failed to receive a nomination.-See also:...
(Step Forward), directed by Elia K. Schneider (Venezuela-Spain-Chile-Uruguay), submitted by Venezuela for Oscar consideration for 2004 Best Foreign Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, in which he played Colombian soldier Pedro.
In 2007 he played the role of Paz, a Blackbriar assassin, in The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum (film)
The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy...
. In the original Bourne Ultimatum, the villain is Illich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos the Jackal. Ramírez went on to play the role of the actual Carlos in the 2010 French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
limited series Carlos
Carlos (TV miniseries)
Carlos is a 3-part French television drama mini-series, first broadcast on Canal+ in 2010. Produced by Film En Stock's Daniel Leconte in coproduction with Jens Meuer in association with Canal +, Studio Canal, ARTE, the Sundance Channel, it was created by Daniel Leconte and written by Dan Franck and...
. At the French César Awards 2011
César Awards 2011
The 36th Annual César Awards ceremony was held by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma to honor its selection of the best films of 2010 on February 25, 2011. Jodie Foster was the President of the awards...
, he was awarded, for the film version of the TV series, the César Award for Most Promising Actor
César Award for Most Promising Actor
This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Most Promising Actor .-1980s:-1990s:*1991: Gérald Thomassin: Le petit criminel*1992: Manuel Blanc: J'embrasse pas...
. Ramírez has also given his voice to language learning education, guest-starring
Guest appearance
In show business , a guest appearance is a participation of an outsider performer , usually called guest artist , in an event , i.e., the participation of a performer which does not belong to the regular crew In performance...
on the audio CD supplement to the Fluenz Spanish 1 DVD software.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Wrath of the Titans Wrath of the Titans Wrath of the Titans is an upcoming fantasy film and sequel to the 2010 film, Clash of the Titans. The film stars Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Danny Huston, Édgar Ramírez, Bill Nighy, Toby Kebbell and Rosamund Pike with Jonathan Liebesman directing a screenplay by Dan Mazeau, David... |
Ares Ares Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and... |
|
| 2010 | Carlos (TV miniseries) Carlos (TV miniseries) Carlos is a 3-part French television drama mini-series, first broadcast on Canal+ in 2010. Produced by Film En Stock's Daniel Leconte in coproduction with Jens Meuer in association with Canal +, Studio Canal, ARTE, the Sundance Channel, it was created by Daniel Leconte and written by Dan Franck and... |
Carlos, El Chacal | Runner-Up—Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year London Film Critics Circle Awards 2010 The nominees for the 31st London Film Critics Circle Awards, honouring the best in film for 2010 were announced by the London Film Critics Circle on December 20, 2010.-Actor of the Year:*Jeff Bridges – True Grit*Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network... Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best lead actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Winner—César Award for Most Promising Actor César Award for Most Promising Actor This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Most Promising Actor .-1980s:-1990s:*1991: Gérald Thomassin: Le petit criminel*1992: Manuel Blanc: J'embrasse pas... Nominated—Prix Lumière du meilleur acteur Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2008 | Vantage Point Vantage Point (film) Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of... |
Javier | |
| Cyrano Fernandez Cyrano Fernandez Cyrano Fernandez is a 2007 Venezuelan drama film based on the plays of Cyrano de Bergerac but set in contemporary times.-Synopsis:The movie is based on the romantic triangle between Cyrano , Cristian and Roxanna during the turbulent riots between a group of drug dealers and the neighbours of a... |
Cyrano | Best Actor—Amiens International Film Festival Amiens International Film Festival The Amiens International Film Festival is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Europe, Africa and Latin America. The festival has been held annually in Amiens, France, since 1980.... Málaga Spanish Film Festival - for Best Actor |
|
| Ché Che (film) Che is a two-part 2008 biopic about Ernesto 'Che' Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro. Rather than follow a standard chronological order, the films offer an oblique series of interspersed moments along the overall timeline... |
Ciro Redondo García | ||
| 2007 | The Bourne Ultimatium The Bourne Ultimatum (film) The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy... |
Paz | |
| 2006 | Elipsis | Sebastián Castillo | |
| El Don | Alvaro | ||
| 2005 | Domino Domino (film) Domino is a 2005 American action film directed by Tony Scott and written by Richard Kelly. It is inspired by the story of Domino Harvey, the English daughter of stage and screen actor Laurence Harvey, who became a bounty hunter working in Los Angeles. The film stars Keira Knightley as Domino and... |
Choco | |
| Ser bonita no basta (Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,... ) |
Leonardo | special appearance | |
| Atenea y Afrodita (Short film) | Boyfriend | ||
| 2003 | Cosita Rica (Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,... ) |
Cacique | |
| Yotama se va volando | Manuel Zozaya |
Future
Edgar Filiberto Ramirez is currently working on a Clash of the Titans sequel. Deadline says that the 33-year-old Venezuelan actor, who acted in Domino, The Bourne Ultimatum, Vantage Point, Che and Carlos, has been offered the role of Ares, the God of War, in the upcoming sequel Wrath of the Titans from Legendary and Warner Bros.Philanthropic activities
Edgar Filiberto Ramirez supports the campaign “No Dispares” (Don't Shoot), by Amnesty International, an organization against violence, whose effort is to eliminate the number of injuries and deaths caused by the irresponsible use of guns.Ramirez was also part of "5 Senses in Action", an organization which benefits children with special needs. On 13 July 2008, Ramirez took part in an outdoor activity that stimulated sensory experience through gestures, playing and singing for congenitally deaf and/or blind children.
On November 12, 2010, Ramírez was named a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), at an event held at the Hotel Eurobuilding Caracas, and attended by personalities from the country's diplomatic corps. The UNICEF representative in Venezuela, Nadya Vasquez, said the organization has established in recent years an alliance with the actor "through which it is provided to support activities directly related to violence prevention campaigns."