Cesar was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at age 7 he moved with his family to Madrid, Spain, where he studied until university. Cesar has a Degree in Law and Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Human and Professional Leadership, Private Law. After working 4 years as a legal advisor he decided to leave everything to continue acting fully, his passion since he was a child. He studied and the Cristina Rota Academia and Bul 2120 in Madrid and completed the full conservatory at the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles Acting.Credits: {Manifestation} by Camila Varela (presented at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival); Paloma by Jean Lee (Directors of the AFI Workshop) and ♫Somewhere by Laura Gutierrez. Milton Justice) and six degrees of separation(Eddie the goalkeeper, Dir. Milton Justice). I recently finished shooting the movieOriginal Sin. The cast of these filmsiscompletely made up of Maia Nikiphoroff, Cesar Di Bello, Alejandro Torres Menchaca, Licia Alonso and Paraguayan actor Tomás Pérez. Paraguayan national artist Cacho Falcon also participated and collaborated on the film.
- We heard you studied law before jumping into an acting career, is it true?
Yeap, that’s true. Before doing the acting Conservatory at Stella Adler I got my degrees on Law and Business Management and worked as a legal consultant for four years.
- What kind of roles do you prefer?
My favorites are those with a bigger arc and where I can use some of my comedy chops.
- Tell me about a time when you had a really bad day but had to perform that night. How did you get through it?
Well, I remember two moments.
Once, I had a bike accident as I was going to a scene study presentation, I hurt my left arm and leg, the clothes on that side were shattered and you could see some blood coming out but I went straight up to perform. After rehearsing that scene for a few weeks not performing that night wasn´t in my head at all so I explained the situation to my teacher, he gave me his permission to perform and I had a blast on stage that night.
On another occasion, I went through a broke up right before opening my first play at my hometown, Madrid.
I´m grateful because both times everything worked out great. I just tried to stay focused on the stage and trust the rest of it.
- Who is your favorite actor?
I don’t really have one favorite actor. Some of my favorites are Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep, among others, but Marlon Brando might be it for me. What he did “On The Waterfront” stills shocks me.
- How do you prepare for a role?
Preparing for a role is one of my favorite parts of the process. I break down the script to really understand what´s happening and who is my character. I also do a lot of research about the period and place where the story takes place, his profession and other characteristics, etc.
- César, you´ve played from heartbroken addicts to persons with severe physical limitations or people from other period of time, what character was the toughest for you to change into?
Every character is different and brings new challenges but the toughest one so far has been Adrián from “Original Sin”, because playing a man who just can´t become the man he´s been taught to be was very interesting and challenging for me. I ended up having a lot of empathy for people like him. There are a lot of Adriáns out there.
- What was your first role? When was it?
I believe my first performance as an actor was on the stage around March 2014, I played two small roles, a cop and a Puerto Rican concierge in the play “Six Degrees of Separation” with the Stella Adler Lab Theater Company. It was very special for me since I was performing with some of my teachers. Also, Mark Ruffalo came to see us!
- Favorite meal?
I love food so I have several. My mom’s Argentinian empanadas, Tonkotsu Ramen and a good jamón ibérico.
- Recommend our readers a book and a movie.
I loved “Between Riverside and crazy” by Stephen Adly Guirgis. A great movie to watch is “The Great Beauty” by Paolo Sorrentino.
- How was filming “Original Sin”?
It was intense but I loved the whole experience. We were really lucky to have such a great team of talented people on set. And observing Jean Lee (the director) doing her thing was incredible. Also, seeing the behind the scenes of a feature film really confirmed me my wish of directing.
- Adrián seems a bit traumatized and odd, how similar are the two of you?
(César laughs) Well, that´s a question! Besides our differences, I would say that both of us have a deep respect for family and loyalty.
- Cats or dogs?
Nice question! Dogs. Sending love to my boxer Gala if she is reading this.
- Besides acting, what other passions do you have?
I love directing! I directed several plays and I´m training to become a film director. Also, I just discovered surfing and it´s my favorite hobby right now.
- Congratulations for your award as best actor at the Stella Adler Festival for your role of Enrique at the movie “Paloma”. How did you get that role?
I was called in to audition and had a blast in the room. I guess I created a good impression in the director and the producer because after a few days they offered me the lead role of Enrique.