Jorge Jimenez

Jorge Jimenez is an actor from Mexico. His breakout performance was in De La Noche as the moonlight performer Coco, the lead role for which he received El Universal's nomination for Best Upcoming New Actor as well as an award for Best Play. This long-running stage play attracting audiences from LA and New York, went to obtained great reviews, and led to Jimenez landing lead roles in numerous film, television, and theatre projects in Mexico and the U.S.Jimenez came to acting by serendipity and Providence. Not sure if he was going to pursue a career in economics or law, Jimenez left his family in Mexico City at the age of 17 to spend six months in the United States to find himself and envision his future. While waiting at a bus stop in Los Angeles, Jimenez was discovered by director Pina Luna and was cast in the play Independence. On opening night, electrified and excited with having created a character on stage, Jimenez knew that he had discovered his life's purpose and vocation.After working with him, Luna was so convinced of what she called Jimenez's "great natural talent" that she obtained a four-year, full-ride scholarship for him to UCLA. Surprisingly, Jimenez declined the scholarship and returned home to be with his family while pursuing his career. There, he auditioned and won a coveted spot to study acting at the prestigious INBA (Bella Arts Academy). Jimenez transferred to Academia Artística in Mexico City, where he graduated with his degree in Dramatic Arts and was one of the last students to be mentored by Antonio Gonzalez Caballero, the Father of Method Acting for Latino actors.Jimenez landed his first role right after graduation, playing Mauricio, a drug-addicted youth in the play Como Olvidar Mi Pasado. After the production closed with a long run in Mexico City, Jimenez was so convinced of the importance of the play's message that he funded the play on tour for more than a year, with performances at more than seventy high schools throughout Mexico.After being nominated for El Universal's Best Upcoming New Actor and a nomination from the National Theatre Critics Association, Jimenez gained instant fame and national recognition as the face of El Pasante de Ingeniero Mexico's "Solidaridad" television campaign, which incentivized students to attend college. The campaign ran for four years and earned Jimenez a nomination for Actor Revelation from Mexico television's Teleguia Awards.Jimenez's film career was launched soon after with his lead role in the film El Sueño where he played the tragic hero Manuel. This led to Jimenez being cast as Ernesto, the intense, over-protective brother in Hasta Morir, the film that won the Ariel (equivalent to the Oscar) and the Audience Award at the Cannes Film Festival, which and garnered Jimenez a six-year term contract with Televisa Network.The acclaim Jimenez received for his leading roles in Mexico quickly gained him the attention of directors and producers in the United States. Casting director Heidi Levitt was initially considering Jimenez for the lead role of Che in the film adaptation of Webber's Evita before the production was postponed. Then, director Ted Demme cast Jimenez in his first American film where he worked alongside Johnny Depp in Blow. Shortly after his American feature film debut, Jimenez landed the lead role in Exile from the Sun, which won Best Short Film at the Canadian Film Awards. He also played the lead in The Gun Man, an innovative short that was filmed in one long shot by DP Eric Edwards (Knocked Up).Director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) cast Jimenez as Antonio Banderas' brother in the film And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, an HBO feature that was released in theaters internationally. Jimenez also played Cortez alongside Danny Trejo in the sequel The Crow: Wicked Prayer.In addition to his work in feature films, Jimenez has an established presence in live theatre and television. Most notably, he had a lead recurring role on the television series 3 vs. 3 and starred in several plays adapted for Television in the series TV-Teatros. Jimenez was also Zenaido, the lead role for the Pilot of Telemundo Network's Placas, a miniseries shown in the United States and Mexico. For the stage, some of Jimenez's most outstanding projects include the title role in Pedro Paramo at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts and the leading role as Iron in the West Coast premiere of Class Enemy at the Court Theater (an LA Times' Critic's Choice).Recently, Jimenez has been offered the lead role of Juliano in the upcoming romantic drama film Uptown Girl with Director Lance Mungia (award winner for the cult classic "Six String Samurai"). Jimenez has also been cast as Joaquin Murrieta (the real-life inspiration for the legendary Zorro) in The Beginning of Zorro now in development. Jimenez is currently playing the lead José José (adult) in the new television series Nace un Idolo (pre-production at NBC Telemundo Network). He will be working on his first bilingual movie role in The Mermaid from Marbella based on the Award-winning story written by Hugo Argüelles, Mexico's foremost dramatist. Among other projects his production team is developing a bilingual television series based on Bullfighters entitled Corazón de Toro. And two upcoming films in Spanish for 2014 Angel de Plata y Callejón sin Salida. Show less «