Cristián de la Fuente

Early life

Cristian De la Fuente was born in Santiago, Chile, the only child of chemist Hugo de la Fuente (died 1996) and Adriana Sabarots, a homemaker of French descent. He served in the Chilean Air Force reserve prior to attending the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he pursued a degree in civil engineering. While still a sophomore, de la Fuente was discovered by a talent scout and encouraged to enter the country’s Super Teen contest, which he won. This was soon followed by roles in several soap operas, including “Eclipse de luna” (Canal 13, 1997), as well as a stint as host of Chile’s top-rated variety series, “Venga conmigo” (Canal 13, 1995-2002). Cristian de la Fuente was a popular television actor in South America before breaking into the U.S. markets with appearances in several independent films. He eventually worked his way up to supporting roles in Hollywood features like “Basic” (2003) and popular television shows like “CSI: Miami” (CBS, 2002- ) and “Soñar no cuesta nada” (Venevision, 2005). In 2008, he was tapped to participate in the sixth season of the wildly successful American edition of “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC, 2005- ) – no doubt raising his international profile more than any film possibly could.

In 1998, de la Fuente was tapped by Telemundo to star in “Reyes y Rey” (1998), a remake of “Starsky and Hutch” (ABC, 1975–79) for Mexican television. The series proved unpopular with viewers, but de la Fuente had already moved on to greener pastures – specifically, the American television industry, for which he made his debut in a 1999 episode of “Pensacola: Wings of Gold” (syndicated, 1997-2000). He was then cast as law clerk Andres Diaz in the Paul Haggis-produced drama “Family Law” (CBS, 1999-2002). For his portrayal, de la Fuente earned an ALMA nomination in 2000.

More Stateside work increased de la Fuente’s profile with American audiences; he made his motion picture debut alongside Sylvester Stallone in Renny Harlin’s racing drama “Driven” (2001), and partnered with Jon Bon Jovi as a vampire-hunting priest in “Vampires: Los Muertos” in 2002. De la Fuente also turned up in John McTiernan’s military thriller “Basic” (2003) opposite John Travolta, and enjoyed several appearances on “CSI: Miami” as lab tech Sam Belmontes between 2003 and 2004.

De la Fuente was seen in supporting roles in the indie romantic drama “Sueño” (2005) with John Leguizamo and the Latin-themed comedy “Once Upon a Wedding” (2005). He was a popular host for Spanish-language specials and series during this period, including the 2005 Latin Grammy Awards, the music variety show “Premios Juventud 2006” (2006) and the Chilean reality series “Golpe bajo” (2007), for which he also served as executive Producer and writer. In 2005, he starred in the popular Venezuelan daytime soap ““Soñar no cuesta nada,” which filmed in Miami, FL. The busy actor also found time to guest-star in three episodes of UPN’s “One on One” (2001–06), appear in a recurring role on the short-lived CBS comedy “The Class” (2006), and an episode of the wildly popular “Ugly Betty” (ABC, 2006- ). Amidst all the acting gigs, he continued to maintain his status with the Chilean Air Force, for which he occasionally performed as part of the aerial acrobatic troupe, Halcones.

In 2008, de la Fuente’s exposure in American markets grew exponentially larger when it was announced that he would perform as one of the celebrity dancers on the sixth season of “Dancing with the Stars.” He also began work on “Love and Virtue” (2008), an epic historical drama with an all-star cast, including Peter O’Toole, John Malkovich, and Stephen Dillane.

1998–2003

De la Fuente was spotted by a talent scout during his sophomore year as a civil engineering major at Santiago's Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and won a contest as Chile's next "Super Teen". Beginning with small network roles in prime time, he quickly went on to star in four prime time dramas including Eclipse de Luna and the highly acclaimed televised theatrical production of La Tía de Carlos. He starred in Chile's number-one rated variety program Venga Conmigo (Come With Me), the comedy Mi Tío y Yo (My Uncle and Me) and the MTV-style music and dance program Generación 2000 (Generation 2000).

In 1998, de la Fuente was contracted by Sony and Telemundo for a drama series remake of Starsky and Hutch called Reyes y Rey. The weekly hour format did not catch on with Hispanic viewers and it was soon cancelled. He was a guest star on Pensacola: Wings of Gold. He has also appeared regularly on CSI: Miami and Family Law. He has starred opposite Sylvester Stallone in Driven, in John Carpenter's Vampires: Los Muertos with Jon Bon Jovi, as well as the independent thriller Minimal Knowledge.

For his starring role in the independent thriller Minimal Knowledge, de la Fuente won the Individual Achievement Award for Best Male Actor at the Ajijic (Mexico) International Film Festival.

De la Fuente's hosting credits include MGM's Road to the Academy Awards for Latin America and the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade. He has also presented at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, The World Music Awards, and the Alma Awards. De la Fuente also turned up in John McTiernan’s military thriller Basic opposite John Travolta, and enjoyed several appearances on CSI: Miami as lab tech Sam Belmontes between 2003 and 2004.

2004–2007

In 2004, De la Fuente hosted alongside Kate del Castillo the first annual Premios Juventud on the Univision television network. In 2005, he starred in the Venevisión's Miami-made telenovela Soñar No Cuesta Nada, starring alongside Mexican actresses Karyme Lozano and Laura Zapata. It was a huge hit in the daytime slot on Univisión. It ran about 191 episodes and 9 months on air. On Univisión there were talks for him to host a night time talk show, but nothing came of it. He also had a recurring role as "Aaron" in the CBS sitcom The Class.

In 2005, Cristián was seen in supporting roles in the indie romantic drama Sueno with John Leguizamo and the Latin-themed comedy Once Upon a Wedding. He was a popular host for Spanish-language specials and series during this period, including the 2005 Latin Grammy Awards, the music variety show 2006 Premios Juventud and the Chilean reality series Golpe Bajo, for which he also served as executive producer and writer. In 2005, he starred in the popular Venezuelan telenovela Soñar no Cuesta Nada, which filmed in Miami, Florida. The busy actor also found time to guest-star in three episodes of UPN’s One on One, appear in a recurring role on the short-lived CBS comedy The Class in 2006, and an episode of the wildly popular ABC show Ugly Betty. Amidst all the acting gigs, he continued to maintain his status with the Chilean Air Force, for which he occasionally performed as part of the aerial acrobatic troupe, Halcones. In the fall 2007, he participated in the mini series directed by Jennifer Lopez Como Ama Una Mujer with the actress Leonor Varela.

2008–present

De la Fuente appeared as a contestant on the sixth season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars with dance partner Cheryl Burke. They trained at Palm Beach, Florida's Paramount Ballroom, which is owned by former U.S. Nine-Dance Champion Alec Lazo. De la Fuente suffered a ruptured tendon in his left arm biceps on the April 28, 2008 episode of Dancing with the Stars. The following week, performing with his injured arm, he and Burke led the field. He was eliminated on May 20, 2008 in 3rd place.

Fuentes hosted the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008 on November 13, 2008 in Houston, Texas.

In 2009, Fuentes guest starred in the telenovelas Fuego en la sangre as Demian Ferrer, and Corazón salvaje as Renato.

From 2008-2010, Fuentes played Raphael "Raph" Ramírez, a minor league baseball player and semi-boyfriend of Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack) on In Plain Sight.

Fuentes returned to Chile to film the season 2 of his TV show Golpe Bajo, similar to MTV's series Punk'd.

Fuentes also had a recurring role on Brothers & Sisters from 2009-2010.

Fuentes had recurring roles on ABC's Private Practice during its fourth season and on ABC Family's The Nine Lives of Chloe King during its first and only season.

Cristián de la Fuente will star as the protagonist in Carlos Moreno Laguillo's telenovela: El Aroma de tu Amor.