Manolo Cardona

Manuel "Manolo" Julián Cardona Molano (born April 25, 1977) is a Colombian actor.

Cardona was born in Popayán, Cauca, Colombia on April 25, 1977.

At the age of seven, Cardona's family nicknamed him "Manolo," which later became his stage name.

He moved to Cali, Colombia when he was eighteen to study finance and international relations, but later moved to Spain to study film.

Manolo's mother, Nancy Molano, is a psychologist, merchant, and astrologer.

His father, Enrique Javier Cardona, was a politician and was the mayor of Popayán.

Cardona has three brothers and one sister.

After completing his studies in finance and international relations in Cali, Colombia, Cardona decided to further his artistic education abroad.

He relocated to Spain to pursue a degree in film.

In addition to his successful acting career, Cardona is also recognized for his philanthropic efforts and advocacy work.

He has been involved in several charitable initiatives, particularly those focused on supporting children's education and well-being.

Cardona began modeling at an early age after his elder brother introduced him to the modeling agency where he signed his first contract.

At the age of fourteen he shot his first television commercial and began modeling professionally for TV commercials, photography, and runways for several agencies in Colombia.

In 1995, at the age of 18, he began his acting career on a popular Colombian Television series called Padres e hijos in which he starred for three years.

In 1998 he won his first lead role in the television telenovela Carolina Barrantes.

A year later he starred in the telenovela ¿Por qué diablos?, portraying a young man who becomes part of a drug organization so he can avenge his friend's death.

In 2001 he appeared in Amor a mil, another Colombian telenovela.

In 2002 he signed an exclusive contract with Telemundo and Argos Comunicación, and a year later in 2003 he starred in his first Mexican telenovela, Ladrón de Corazones, where he portrayed Gustavo Velazco, a man who returns to his home town in Mexico after ten years to avenge his father's death and clear his name.

He was the host of Telemundo's Spanish version of Temptation Island.

He also played Sebastián on the Mexican telenovela Gitanas.

Cardona made his film debut in 2005 with the film Rosario Tijeras, based on Jorge Franco's book of the same name.

The film was nominated for a Goya Award for best foreign film.

In 2005 the film had its North American premiere at the American Film Institute Festival, in Hollywood.

In 2005 he starred in the film La mujer de mi hermano opposite Bárbara Mori and Christian Meier which was released in the United States in 2006.

In 2006 he finished filming Madrid-Mexico with director Enrique Renteria.

After a two-year absence, Cardona returned to work for Telemundo and Argos on the Telemundo production Marina, replacing Mauricio Ochmann as Ricardo.

The telenovela was filmed in Acapulco, Mexico.

On September 27, 2007, Cardona was awarded the "Latin Pride Award" in the Back Bay Events Center in Boston.

The award honors the accomplishments of Hispanics of different areas and is a production of the Latin Pride Magazine.

Cardona appeared in the 2008 Disney film Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

In 2008, Cardona appeared in El Cartel de los Sapos for Caracol TV where he played a drug dealer.

The series was filmed in Miami, New York, Colombia, Panamá and Madrid.

The series was followed by a film of the same name.

Both of which were based on a book written by Andres Lopes alias Florecita, who wrote the book while in prison.

The series debuted on Caracol TV on June 5, 2008, continuing until October 2008.

Since it premiered in July 2008, El Cartel was the highest rated show on Colombian television.

When it premiered on Telemundo in December 2008, it was the highest rated show in the history of the network.

In November 2008, Cardona played a lead role in the film Undertow.

Cardona plays the character of Santiago, a gay painter who arrives in a small town and falls in love with Miguel, a married fisherman played by Cristian Mercado who is torn between his love for Santiago and his love for his pregnant wife Mariela (Tatiana Astengo).

The film is produced by Dynamo Capital (Colombia) and Calvo Films (Peru), and is directed by Javier Fuentes-León.