Cristián de la Fuente

Cristián de la Fuente
Press conference of De la Fuente in 2011
Born	Cristián Andrés de la Fuente Sabarots (1974-03-10) March 10, 1974 Santiago de Chile, Chile
Occupation(s)	Actor Presenter Model Producer
Years active	1998–present
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Spouse	Angélica Castro (m. 2002)
Children	Laura Isabel de la Fuente Castro (daughter)

Cristián de la Fuente (Spanish pronunciation: [kɾisˈtjãn ðe la ˈfwẽnte]; born as Cristián Andrés de la Fuente Sabarots on March 10, 1974 in Santiago de Chile, Chile) is a Chilean–American actor, presenter, model and producer.

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.

Career

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

See also: Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 6)

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.

Dancing with the Stars performances

Week #	Dance/Song	Judges' score			Result
		Inaba	Goodman	Tonioli
1	Cha-cha-cha/ "Bang Bang"	7	7	7	N/A
2	Quickstep/ "Americano"	7	6	7	Last to be safe
3	Jive/ "Don't Stop Me Now"	8	8	9	Safe
4	Paso Doble/ "La Virgen de la Macarena"	9	8	9	Safe
5	Rumba/ "If You're Not the One"	7	8	8	Bottom Two
6	Foxtrot/ "Come Fly with Me"	9	9	9	Safe
7	Viennese Waltz/ "I'll Make Love to You" Samba/ "Sobe Son"	8 7	8 7	9 7	Safe
8	Tango/ "Beat It" Mambo/ "Saca Tu Mujer"	10 10	9 9	9 10	Safe
9 Semi-finals	Viennese Waltz/ "Satellite" Samba/ "Sweetheart from Venezuela"	9 10	9 9	9 10	Last to be Safe
10 Finals	Cha-Cha-Cha/ "Dancing on the Ceiling" Freestyle/ "Suavemente"	8 9	9 8	9 9	Third Place

Filmography

Film

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Driven	2001	Memo Heguy
Minimal Knowledge	2002	Matt Gallagher
Vampires: Los Muertos	2002	Father Rodrigo
Basic	2003	Castro
El Nominado	2003	Rodrigo
Once Upon a Wedding	2005	Manolo
Sueño	2005	Dr. López
Dawson Isla 10	2009	Teniente Labarca
¿Alguien ha visto a Lupita?	2012	Maxi	Also executive producer
Siete años de matrimonio	2013	Bernardo
Historias de Lavapiés	2014	Profesor en sala de profesores
Lusers, los amigos no se eligen	2015	Unknown role
Enamorándome de Abril	2015	Leo	Also producer

Television roles

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Soltero a la medida	1994	Ramiro Pérez Candia
Champaña	1995	Tadeo Mc Millan
Champaña	1995	Tadeo Mc Millan
El amor está de moda	1995	Lucas Correa
Marrón Glacé, el regreso	1996	Blas
Eclipse de luna	1997	Román Celis
Reyes y Rey	1998	Rey / Alex "Rey" Reyes
Pensacola: Wings of Gold	1999	Sgt. Dominguez	Episode: "Gypsy Tumble"
Family Law	1999–2000	Andres Diaz	Recurring role; 42 episodes
Queen of Swords	2000	Antonio	Episode: "Duel with a Stranger"
Hidden Hills	2002–2003	Manolo	Recurring role; 10 episodes
Phil at the Gate	2003	Unknown role	Television film
Hope & Faith	2003	Paolo	Episode: "Hope Has No Faith"
CSI: Miami	2003–2004	Sam Belmontes	Recurring role; 6 episodes
Threat Matrix	2004	Special Agent Wilmar Sánchez	Episode: "Mexico"
Infidelidad	2004	Miguel	Television film
Eve	2004	Dr. Anderson	Episode: "Footloose"
Soñar no cuesta nada	2005	Felipe Reyes Retana	4 episodes
One on One	2005–2006	Andrew	3 episodes
The Class	2006	Aaron	Recurring role; 7 episodes
Ugly Betty	2007	Rodrigo Veloso	2 episodes
Psych	2007	Zapato Dulce	Episode: "American Duos"
Side Order of Life	2007	Eduardo Encarnación	2 episodes
Como ama una mujer	2007	Andrés	Recurring role; 5 episodes
Fuego en la sangre	2008	Damián	Recurring role; 9 episodes
In Plain Sight	2008–2012	Raphael Ramirez	Recurring role; 23 episodes
Brothers & Sisters	2009	Cal	Episode: "S3X"
Corazón salvaje	2009–2010	Renato Vidal Montes de Oca / Renato Vidal
Private Practice	2010–2011	Dr. Eric Rodriguez	4 episodes
Love Bites	2011	Marcelo (segment "Not to Speak")	Episode: "Stand and Deliver"
The Nine Lives of Chloe King	2011	Frank Cabrera	3 episodes
Haven	2011	Cornell Stamoran	Episode: "Friend or Faux"
Prófugos	2011	Ignacio Córdova
Maldita	2012	Ignacio Echaurren	Recurring role; 9 episodes
Amor Bravío	2012	Daniel Díaz Acosta	Main role; 166 episodes
Quiero amarte	2013–2014	Maximiliano	Main role; 161 episodes
Royal Pains	2014	Tobias	2 episodes
Devious Maids	2015	Ernesto Falta	13 episodes
Sueño de amor	2016	Ricardo Alegría	Main role; 131 episodes
En tierras salvajes	2017	Daniel Otero	Main role

Awards And Nominations

Year	Premio	Category	Telenovela	Result	Lost To
2010	28th TVyNovelas Awards	Best Actor Protagonist	Corazon Salvaje (Wild Heart)	Nominated	Pedro Fernandes (Hasta que el dinero nos separe)
2012	Premios People en Español 2012	Best Lead Actor	Amor Bravio (Valiant Love)	Nominated	Eugenio Siller (Una maid en Manhattan)
2012	Premios Telenovela de Oro	Best Actor Protagonist		Won
2013	31st TVyNovelas Awards And Favorite Of The Public	Best Actor Protagonist		Nominated	David Zepeda (Abyss of Passion)
		Favorite Couple	Silvia Navarro and Cristián de la Fuente	Nominated	Zuria Vega and Gabriel Soto (A Shelter For Love)
		Favorite Kiss		Nominated
		El Mas Guapo (What A Hottie)	Cristián de la Fuente	Nominated	David Zepeda (Abyss of Passion)

External links

• Cristián de la Fuente at IMDb
• Cristian de la Fuente in his profile as a stunt pilot of the Air Force of Chile