Teófilo Torres

Early years

Teófilo Torres was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 6 March 1954. He started into his acting career while he was still in high school in the town of Jayuya, Puerto Rico.

Early career

In the early 1980s he participated in "A mis amigos de la locura", and "Papo Impala esta quita'o". In the mid-1980s, Torres partook in the Puerto Rican telenovela "Tiempo de vivir" starring Fernando Allende and Ivonne Goderich. In the late 1980s he had a role in the movie Glitz, produced by NBC and starring Jimmy Smits, and filmed in Puerto Rico. In this movie Torres played the role of a member of the police force fighting crime. Torres also particIpated in the telenovelas "Ave de paso", where he played the role of "Cheíto", an frustrated artist sunked in alcoholism, and in "Yara Prohibida" broadcast via Puerto Rico's Channel 11. Also during this time, Torres opened his own school of dramatic arts teaching courses in acting, dance and speech. Subsequently, Torres played roles in various other works such as "Contradanza", as Queen Isabel, and boasted 17 monólogs, including "El caso Dios", "La apología de Sócrates", “Papo Impala está quitao” and “A mis amigos de la locura”. In 1992, hTorres delves into the big screen in "La Guagua Aérea", directed by Luis Milona with a fairly good reception, both in Puerto Rico and internationally. He also worked on the monólogs "Pedro, el rojo", "Pepé Loló", "Maco" and later “El Maestro”, where he plays the role of Don Pedro Albizu Campos, one of the most prominent Puerto Rican politicians of all times, and a leader in the Puerto Rican independence movement.

Education

In 1994 Torres moved to New York City where he earned a MFA at Brooklyn College.

Teaching, drama, and acting

In 1999, Torres returns to Puerto Rico where he works on the telenovela "Cuando despierta el amor", presented via Puerto Rico's public television WIPR-TV. Later he appears in the Puerto Rican Telemundo TV series titled "Después del adiós" where he played "Arturo Bolívar", a man ill with the Lou Gehrig's disease, and participated in the movie "Los Díaz de Doris" directed by Abdiel Colberg. In the same year he participated in the movie for television "Punto final", by Edwin Reyes. In that production, transmitted by Univision Puerto Rico Channel 11, Torres played the role of "Juaco", a nuyorican poet seeking to recover his identity. Torres also returns to teaching at the Drama Department of the University of Puerto Rico, in Río Piedras. In the early 2000s he plays the role of Antonio, a homosexual priest, in the movie 12 Horas by director Raúl Marchand. Torres's acting in 12 Horas was highly spoken of by the critics, marking one of his most prominents roles in the big screen. Since then, Torres has played the lead acting roles in the two most recent films by Jacobo Morales: “Dios los cría ll” and “Ángel", as well as in "Ruido", by director César Rodríguez and winner of the “Innovacion” award at the 2006 International Cinema Festival in Montreal, “Chiringa”, “Desamores”, “El sueño del regreso”, and “Che” starring Benicio del Toro and directed by Steven Soderbergh and the 2010 “María”, directed by Fernando Allende. He also developed the theatrical shows “Monogamia”, “Bent”, “Jav y Joss” (co-starring Francisco Capó) “Un enemigo del Pueblo”, and “El caso Dios”, among others.

Director and producer