Chilean actor Santiago Cabrera was born on May 5, 1978 in Caracas, Venezuela to a Chilean diplomat father and homemaker mother. His family lived in different places around the world until eventually returning to Chile when he was 15. He initially leaned towards athletics, playing in his high school’s football team as captain, until he pursued acting upon the encouragement of his drama teacher. He trained at the Drama Centre in London, where he honed his acting skills in different stage productions. During his final year of studies, he made his television debut in British television, playing small roles. He first appeared in the spy drama Spooks, and was followed by other roles in shows such as Judge John Deed, Battles of Britain and the teen drama As If.
Upon his graduation, Cabrera pursued a stage career, appearing in a staging of Shakespeare’s Othello. He made his film debut in 2004, where he played a minor role in the independent ensemble film Haven. In 2005, he made his American television debut, starring as the struggling young Octavius in the ABC miniseries Empire. The historical drama revolves around his character’s struggle to become the emperor of Rome, as he is the rightful heir to Julius Caesar, who was murdered earlier.
Cabrera had two major projects in 2006. He appeared in the romantic comedy Love and Other Disasters, where he acted alongside Brittany Murphy and Matthew Rhys. The film premiered in the independent film circuit and became a wide success in South Korea. That same year, he took on the role of Isaac Mendez in the popular television series Heroes. His character is a painter and comic book artist whose power of precognition often leads to his artworks becoming images of events in the future. He won an ALMA Award—the most prestigious award given to actors of Latin descent—for best actor in 2007. Afterwards, he decided to take on a role in the biographical drama The Argentine, directed by Steven Soderbergh. His character is that of Camilio Cienfugos, alongside Benicio Del Toro’s portrayal of Ernest Che Guevara.
Cabrera is also skilled in tennis, hockey and scuba diving. The actor is fluent in speaking English, Spanish, French and Italian as well.
- Well you never know. Isaac is a very crucial character and what I loved about this part is that he’s still full of surprises. He’s someone that can go anywhere and you never know what direction he’s going to go. You can take him different places. There’s a lot of depth to him and a lot of layers to this part so I’m thinking yes, but there’s no guarantee for anybody.
- On my first day back after the holidays, Wendi, my makeup artist, showed me a copy of the Heroes feature in SCI FI magazine in the makeup trailer. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Thank you, SCI FI magazine. Now how am I gonna live up to that? One of 10 sexist men to watch. Tough question. Maybe this can bring on a whole new world for Isaac. I could ask the writers to give him some steamy shower scenes, and if that doesn’t work, they could always make him a doctor.