Jorge Perugorría Rodríguez is a renowned and popular Cuban actor born in Havana, Cuba, on August 13, 1965. He is also a painter, sculptor, and director.
He began his career as a theater actor at the age of 17. His first appearance in film was quite significant. His first role in a feature film was as Diego in Fresa y Chocolate, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1995 for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Goya Award for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film.
He was a founder of the theater group El Público, directed by Carlos Díaz, and of the Olga Alonso Theater Group (1985-1987).
With a prolific career under his belt, it is no surprise that he has received numerous awards for his performance. His most recognized role has been Diego in Fresa y Chocolate, which brought him worldwide fame and for which he has been awarded the following prizes:
Coral Award for Best Male Performance (1993, XV International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, Havana, Cuba), Kikito Award for Best Male Performance (1994, XXVII Gramado Film Festival, Brazil), Award for Best Male Performance in Film (1994, Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba Competition), Panambi Award for Best Acting Work (1994, V Asunción Film Festival, Paraguay), Special Jury Award Berlinale, Silver Bear (1994, 44th Berlin International Film Festival), Award for Best Performance (1995, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, California), Award for Best Performance (1995, New York Film Critics Circle)
His lead role in Amor Vertical was selected as Best Male Actor (1997, 10th Edition of the Viña del Mar Film Festival, Chile), and for his performance in Lista de Espera, he received an Acting Award (2001, Cartagena de Indias Film Festival, Colombia).
In 2001, he was awarded the Honor Prize for his film career during the first Ibero-American Film Week "La Chimenea Verde" (Spain).
Her lesser-known passion for painting has led her to hold exhibitions both nationally and internationally (Spain, New York, and Italy).
He has produced and directed music videos (Cuando salí de la Habana), documentaries (Iré Habana, Santiago y la Virgen), and feature films (Afinidades, Se Vende, and Amor crónico).
Filmography:
Sketch (1991, medium-length film), Strawberry and Chocolate (1993), Right of Asylum (1994), Little Piece (1995), A Private Matter (1995), Tell Laura I Love Her (1995), Guantanamera (1995), Bámbola (1996), Vertical Love (1996), Oedipus Mayor (1996), Life According to Muriel (1997), Things I Left in Havana (1997), Clandestine Stories in Havana (1997), Volavérunt (1998), When You Return to My Side (1999), Obstacle (2000), Land of Fire (2000), Waiting List (2000), Honey for Oshún (2001), Vajont - The Dam of Dishonor (2001), Nowhere (2001), Resentment (2002), Fragrant Oak (2003), Tangier (2004), A Rose from France (2005), Fruits in the Café (2005), Clara Is Not a Woman's Name (2010), Return to Ithaca (2014), among others.
In 2019, he participated in the film Havana Kyrie by Paolo Consorti, alongside Jacqueline Arenal, Yerlín Pérez, Cheryl Saldívar, Susana Ruiz, Bárbaro Marín, and Andros.
In March 2021, it was announced that the actor would star in Dr. Portuondo, a Spanish series that began filming that week in Barcelona. He will portray a unique Cuban psychoanalyst who shouts at his patients, swears by Freud, and drinks Johnnie Walker whisky. The series, the first television production of the Spanish platform Filmin, adapts the novel Dr. Portuondo (2017) by the Catalan Carlo Pardial.
Perugorría lives in Cuba with his wife, Elsa, and their four children Anthuan, Andros, Adán, and Amén.
