Manolo Cardona: The Life Story Behind the Colombian Actor

Popayán is a white city, a colonial city in the mountains of southern Colombia, known for its churches, its Holy Week processions, and its quiet, elegant streets. It is not a city that most people associate with television stars, and that is part of what makes Manolo Cardona’s story interesting. He was born there on 25 April 1977, and he became one of the most successful Colombian actors of his generation, a leading man in telenovelas, a film actor, a producer, and, in 2021, the star of Who Killed Sara?, a Netflix series that was watched around the world. He did it without losing the calm, thoughtful manner that comes from a city like Popayán, and without ever seeming in a hurry.

His career has been a long, steady climb, from Colombian television in the late 1990s, through the cartel dramas of the 2000s, through international films, through Narcos, and through the streaming era, in which he found a new kind of fame. He has played drug traffickers and policemen, lovers and fathers, and he has played them with a restraint that sets him apart from louder, more dramatic actors. He is also a producer, and with his brother Francisco he founded 11:11 Films, a company that makes films and series in Colombia and abroad, and that has given him a different kind of power in the industry: the power to choose the stories he wants to tell.

He is married, he is a father, and he is a man who has spoken about his family, his faith, and his work with a quiet honesty that is rare in the entertainment world. This is the story of how a boy from Popayán became a star, and how he built a career that has lasted for more than twenty-five years, in a business where most careers last for five.

Popayán, a White City, and a Young Man Who Wanted More

Popayán, the capital of the department of Cauca, is one of the oldest cities in Colombia, founded in the sixteenth century, and it is known for its white colonial buildings, its churches, and its Holy Week, which is one of the most important religious celebrations in the country. Manolo Cardona was born there on 25 April 1977, and he grew up in a city that is beautiful, traditional, and quiet, a city where life moves slowly, and where a young man who wants to act has to look beyond the mountains for his chance. He was a handsome, athletic young man, and he was drawn to performance, to sport, and to the world beyond Popayán, and he began to think about a career that would take him to Bogotá, and then further.

He moved to Bogotá to study and to work, and he began to appear in Colombian television in the late 1990s, taking roles in series such as Padres e hijos, a long-running family drama, and in ¿Por qué diablos?, a telenovela about a young man who becomes involved in crime. Those early roles taught him the craft of television acting, the long hours, the fast pace, and the need to be professional, day after day, and they gave him a reputation as a reliable, talented young actor who could play a leading man. He was tall, he was good-looking, and he had a calm, confident presence that cameras loved, but he also had a seriousness about his work that set him apart from other young actors who relied only on their looks.

Popayán stayed with him as his career grew, and he has spoken about his roots in the city with pride, about its beauty, about its traditions, and about the values he learned there. He is a man who is proud of where he comes from, and who has not tried to hide it, even as his career took him to Mexico, to the United States, and to Spain. He is a payanés, a man from Popayán, and he brings the calm and the dignity of that city to his work, in a way that audiences recognise and trust. That calm is his trademark, and it is the reason he has been cast as men who are steady, reliable, and strong, even when the world around them is falling apart.

El Cartel de los Sapos, Film Roles, and a Leading Man in Demand

In 2008, Manolo Cardona took on one of the most important roles of his early career, playing Martín González, known as Fresita, in El cartel de los sapos, the Caracol series about the Cali cartel, based on the book by Andrés López López. Fresita is a young man who rises in the world of drug trafficking, who becomes rich and powerful, and who discovers that the price of that power is his freedom and his peace. Cardona played him with a restraint that made the character feel real, not like a caricature of a drug lord, but like a young man who makes terrible choices and who has to live with them. The series was a success, and it made Cardona a star, and it showed that he could carry a major production on his shoulders.

He also worked in film, in roles that took him outside Colombia and that showed his range as an actor. In 2005, he appeared in Rosario Tijeras, the film version of Jorge Franco’s novel about a beautiful, violent woman in Medellín, playing Emilio, a young man who falls in love with Rosario. In the same year, he appeared in La mujer de mi hermano, a film about a love triangle, and in 2009, he starred in Contracorriente, a Peruvian film about a fisherman who falls in love with a ghost, playing Santiago, a man who is both alive and dead, and who loves a man who is still living. Contracorriente was praised at film festivals around the world, and it won awards, including at Sundance, and Cardona’s performance was praised for its tenderness and its honesty.

Those film roles were important, because they showed that Cardona was not only a telenovela actor, but a film actor, capable of playing complex, subtle characters in stories that were not melodramas. He could play a lover, a ghost, a drug trafficker, and a father, and he could make each of them feel real, by playing them quietly, by listening, and by trusting the audience to understand. That quiet style is his greatest strength, and it is the reason directors have trusted him with roles that require a great deal of emotional depth, without a great deal of shouting.

He continued to work in television and in film through the 2010s, taking on roles in series such as 2091, a science-fiction series, and in other productions that kept him visible and kept his audience loyal. He also began to work as a producer, with his brother Francisco, founding 11:11 Films, a company that produces films and series in Colombia and in other countries. Producing gave him a new role in the industry, not only as an actor, but as a creator, a man who chooses stories, who hires directors, and who helps to bring Colombian stories to the world. That is a significant step, and it shows a man who is thinking about his career in the long term, not only about his next role.

Narcos, Eduardo Sandoval, and the World Stage

In 2015, Manolo Cardona joined the cast of Narcos, the Netflix series about Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel, playing Eduardo Sandoval, a young lawyer who works for the Colombian government and who becomes involved in the fight against Escobar. Narcos was one of the most watched series in the world, and it introduced Colombian actors to a global audience, and Cardona’s role, though not the largest in the series, was important, because it showed a Colombian professional, a man who is trying to do the right thing in a corrupt and violent world. He played Sandoval with the same quiet strength that defines his work, and the performance was praised by viewers who had followed his career since El cartel.

Narcos was a turning point for Colombian actors, because it showed that a series about Colombia, made for a global audience, could be a success, and that Colombian actors could hold their own alongside international stars. Cardona was part of that success, and he used it to build a career that was increasingly international, working in the United States, in Mexico, and in Spain, and taking on roles that were not limited to Colombian stories. He became a familiar face to Netflix viewers around the world, and that familiarity would pay off in a few years, when he took on the biggest role of his later career.

He has spoken about Narcos with pride, and about the responsibility of telling a Colombian story to the world, and about the importance of showing the complexity of Colombia, not only its violence, but its people, its institutions, and its struggle for justice. He is a man who takes his country seriously, and who takes his work seriously, and that seriousness is visible in his performances, which are never flippant, never careless, and never less than fully committed. He is an actor who respects his audience, and who respects the stories he tells, and that respect is part of why he has lasted so long.

Who Killed Sara? and a Netflix Phenomenon

In 2021, Netflix released Who Killed Sara?, a Mexican series about a man who is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his sister, and who, after eighteen years in prison, sets out to find the real killer. Manolo Cardona played Alex Guzmán, the man at the centre of the story, and the series became a global phenomenon, one of the most watched non-English series on Netflix, with millions of viewers in dozens of countries. Cardona, as Alex, was in almost every scene, playing a man who is angry, determined, and haunted, and who will not stop until he finds the truth. He played him with a intensity that was new for him, a man who is not calm, but who is driven, and who is willing to do anything to clear his name.

The series ran for three seasons, from 2021 to 2022, and it made Cardona a star in a new way, not only in Latin America, but around the world. Young viewers who had never seen a Colombian telenovela knew him as Alex Guzmán, and they followed his story with the same intensity that older viewers had followed El cartel. The series was a thriller, a mystery, and a family drama, and Cardona was its centre, playing a man who is both a victim and a fighter, and who is trying to rebuild a life that was stolen from him. His performance was praised, and it showed that he could carry a streaming series, in a way that is different from carrying a telenovela, with a faster pace, a darker tone, and a global audience.

Who Killed Sara? also showed Cardona’s ability to adapt to a new era of television. Streaming is different from broadcast television, and it requires a different kind of acting, a different kind of storytelling, and a different kind of fame. Cardona adapted, and he did it with the same professionalism he had shown throughout his career, by working hard, by trusting the material, and by playing Alex as a real man, not as a superhero. The success of the series proved that he was not only a telenovela star of the past, but a streaming star of the present, and that his career had a future, not only a past.

He has continued to work since Who Killed Sara?, taking on new roles in film and television, and continuing to produce through 11:11 Films, and he has spoken about the importance of telling Colombian and Latin American stories to a global audience, and about the opportunities that streaming has created for actors from his country. He is a man who has seen the industry change, from broadcast television to streaming, and who has changed with it, without losing the qualities that made him a star in the first place.

A Producer, a Father, and a Career Built to Last

Manolo Cardona is now a producer as well as an actor, and his company, 11:11 Films, which he founded with his brother Francisco, has become an important part of his working life. The company produces films and series in Colombia, in Mexico, and in other countries, and it has given Cardona a role in choosing the stories that are told, and in supporting new talent. He has spoken about the importance of producing, about the need for Colombian stories to be told by Colombians, and about the satisfaction of seeing a project through from an idea to a finished film. Producing is a different kind of work from acting, and it requires patience, judgement, and a willingness to take risks, and Cardona has shown that he has those qualities.

He is also a family man, married to Valeria Santos, with whom he has children, and he has spoken about his family with love and with a desire to protect their privacy. He has spoken about the importance of balance, about working hard and then going home, and about not allowing fame to take over his life. He is a man who is grounded, who is calm, and who is thoughtful, and that groundedness is visible in his work, which is steady, reliable, and human. He does not chase headlines, and he does not seek controversy, and he is respected for that, by his colleagues and by his audience.

His legacy in Colombian acting is already secure, and it rests on a career that has lasted for more than twenty-five years, on roles in El cartel, in Narcos, and in Who Killed Sara?, and on a body of work in film and television that is varied, serious, and respected. He has shown that a Colombian actor can work at home and abroad, can act and can produce, and can build a career that lasts, by being good at his job, by being reliable, and by being honest. That is a quieter kind of success than the loud kind, but it is a lasting kind, and it is the kind that Cardona has chosen.

As he continues to work, his story is still being written, and it is a story that will be told for many years, by fans who remember Fresita, by viewers who watched Who Killed Sara?, and by young actors from Popayán who see in him a proof that a boy from a white city in the mountains can become a star, and can stay a star, by working hard and by staying true to himself. He came from Popayán with a dream, and he turned it into a career that has touched millions of lives, and that is a story worth telling.

11:11 Films and the Producer Behind the Actor

In 2011, Manolo Cardona and his brother Francisco founded 11:11 Films, a production company that has become one of the most important parts of Cardona’s working life, and that shows a different side of him, not only as an actor, but as a creator, a businessman, and a man who chooses stories. The company, based in Colombia and working internationally, produces films and series, and it has worked on projects in Colombia, in Mexico, and in other countries, bringing Colombian stories to a global audience, and giving new directors, new writers, and new actors a chance to work. Producing is a different kind of work from acting, and it requires patience, judgement, and a willingness to take risks, and Cardona has shown that he has those qualities, by building a company that has lasted, and that has produced work that is respected.

The name 11:11 is a reference to a time, to a moment of wishing, and to a belief in luck, and it is a fitting name for a company founded by two brothers who wanted to make films, and who believed that Colombian stories deserved to be told, by Colombians, to the world. Cardona has spoken about the company with pride, about the projects it has produced, about the people it has employed, and about the satisfaction of seeing an idea become a film, a series, and a finished work that audiences can watch. He has also spoken about the difficulty of producing, about the need to find money, to hire the right people, and to make hard decisions, and about the way producing has taught him to think about the whole story, not only his own part in it.

Producing has also changed the way Cardona acts, because he now understands, from the inside, how a film is made, how much work goes into a single scene, and how many people are involved in telling a story. That understanding makes him a better actor, because he respects the work of directors, writers, and other actors, and because he knows that a performance is only one part of a larger whole. He has said that producing has made him more patient, more collaborative, and more grateful, and those qualities are visible in his recent work, which is steady, generous, and human.

The company has also given Cardona a role in supporting new talent, in giving young Colombian filmmakers a chance, and in helping to build an industry that is not only about stars, but about stories. That is an important contribution, because the Colombian film and television industry needs producers who believe in local stories, who are willing to invest in them, and who understand that a good story, told well, can travel the world. Cardona, through 11:11 Films, is one of those producers, and he has used his fame, his experience, and his resources to help other people tell their stories, and that generosity is part of his legacy, as much as any role he has played.

In interviews, he has also talked about the quiet of Popayán, about the white walls, the churches, and the slow pace of life there, and about how that quiet stays with him, even on a busy set, giving him a calm that other actors envy, and that directors trust, because a calm actor can listen, can wait, and can let a scene breathe, instead of rushing it.

My Take:

I think Manolo Cardona is one of the most reliable actors in Latin American television, and I mean that as high praise, because reliability is a quality that is easy to overlook and hard to achieve. He has been working for more than twenty-five years, he has played leading men in telenovelas, in films, and in streaming series, and he has done it with a consistency that is rare. He does not have bad performances, or at least I have not seen one, and he does not disappear for years and then come back. He works, steadily, year after year, and he delivers, every time. I respect that enormously, because it is the mark of a professional, and because it is the kind of career that is built on talent and on discipline, not on luck.

What I admire most about his acting is the quietness of it. He does not shout, he does not overact, and he does not try to dominate every scene. He listens, he watches, and he reacts, and he trusts the audience to understand what he is feeling, without him having to explain it. That is a mature style, and it is a style that comes from confidence, from knowing that you do not have to be loud to be heard. I have watched him in El cartel, in Narcos, and in Who Killed Sara?, and in each of those roles, I have seen a man who is thinking, who is feeling, and who is holding himself together, even when the world around him is falling apart. That stillness is powerful, and it is the reason his performances stay with you after the episode ends.

His role as Fresita in El cartel de los sapos interests me, because it is a role that could have been played as a simple villain, a young drug trafficker who is rich and ruthless. Cardona did not play him that way. He played him as a young man who makes terrible choices, who becomes trapped by those choices, and who pays a price for them. That is a more honest way to play a criminal, and it is a more interesting way, because it shows that a person can be both a criminal and a human being, and that the two are not separate. I think that honesty is important, especially in stories about the drug trade, where it is easy to turn people into symbols, and where Cardona insists on turning them into people.

Contracorriente is a film I think about often, because it is a beautiful, strange, tender film, and Cardona’s performance in it is one of the reasons it works. He plays Santiago, a man who is a ghost, who loves a fisherman, and who is caught between life and death, and he plays him with a gentleness that is rare in his work. It is a role that requires a great deal of vulnerability, and Cardona gives it, without hesitation, and without irony. I think that performance deserves more attention than it gets, because it shows a side of him that his telenovela roles do not always reveal, a side that is soft, open, and loving. I hope he takes more film roles like that, because he is very good at them, and because they show what he can really do.

Who Killed Sara? is a series I watched with great interest, because it was a phenomenon, and because Cardona was at its centre. Alex Guzmán is a man who has been wrongly imprisoned for eighteen years, and who comes out angry, determined, and haunted, and Cardona plays him with an intensity that is new for him. He is not calm in that series. He is driven, he is furious, and he is willing to do anything to find the truth, and Cardona plays that drive with a conviction that makes the series work. I think it is a sign of his talent that he could play Alex, a man who is so different from the calm, steady men he usually plays, and make him believable. It shows that he has a range that is wider than many people think, and that he is still growing as an actor, even after twenty-five years.

I also admire his work as a producer, and the fact that he founded 11:11 Films with his brother Francisco. Producing is a different kind of work from acting, and it requires a different kind of thinking, about stories, about money, about people, and about the future. Cardona has taken that on, and he has done it well, producing films and series that tell Colombian and Latin American stories to a global audience. I think that is an important contribution, because it means that he is not only acting in stories, he is choosing them, and he is helping to decide what stories get told. That is a position of responsibility, and he has taken it seriously, and I respect him for it.

There is something else I respect about him, and it is his privacy. He is married, he is a father, and he has spoken about his family with love, but he has not turned his family into a spectacle. He protects them, he talks about them with care, and he goes home to them, and that is a healthy way to live a famous life. In a world where many stars share everything, Cardona shares what he chooses to share, and he keeps the rest for himself, and I think that is a wise choice. It allows him to work, to live, and to be a father, without the constant pressure of public attention on his private life.

I think about Popayán, too, and about what it means for a city like that to produce an actor like Cardona. Popayán is a white city, a colonial city, a quiet city, and it is not a place that most people associate with television stars. Cardona is a reminder that talent can come from anywhere, from a small city in the mountains, from a traditional family, from a place that is not a cultural capital. He did not come from Bogotá or Medellín. He came from Popayán, and he made the world listen, and that is a story that should inspire young people from small cities everywhere. You do not have to be born in the centre to reach the centre. You can come from the edge, and you can make your way, by working hard and by being good at what you do.

If I could ask him one question, I would ask him what he has learned from producing, and how it has changed the way he acts. I suspect he would say that producing has taught him to think about the whole story, not only his own part in it, and to respect the work of directors, writers, and other actors, because he has seen how hard it is to make a film. I think that is a valuable lesson, and I think it has made him a better actor, because he understands the whole picture, not only his own corner of it. I would also ask him what role he still dreams of playing, because I suspect he has one, and I suspect it is a role that is quiet, complex, and human, and I hope he gets to play it.

In the end, I come back to the simple fact that Manolo Cardona has been working, steadily and well, for more than twenty-five years, and that he has built a career that is respected, varied, and lasting. He is not the loudest actor, and he is not the most controversial, but he is one of the most reliable, and one of the most human, and I think that is a fine thing to be. He came from Popayán with a dream, and he turned it into a career that has touched millions of lives, and he did it by being calm, by being professional, and by being himself. That is a life worth respecting, and it is a career worth remembering.

I also think about his brother Francisco, and about what it means to build a company with your brother, to work together, to argue, to agree, and to create something that is yours, together. Family businesses are difficult, and they can strain a relationship, but they can also strengthen it, and Cardona has spoken about his brother with love, and about the joy of working with someone you trust, someone who knows you, and someone who shares your dream. I think that is a beautiful thing, and I think it says something about Cardona, that he values family, that he trusts his brother, and that he is willing to take a risk, not alone, but with the person closest to him. That trust is visible in the company, and in the work it produces, which is collaborative, and which is made by people who care about each other, and about the stories they tell.

His role in Narcos also deserves more attention, because Eduardo Sandoval is not a large role, but it is an important one, and Cardona played it with a quiet dignity that made it memorable. Sandoval is a lawyer, a professional, a man who is trying to do the right thing in a corrupt world, and Cardona played him as a man who is steady, who is honest, and who is brave, not in a loud way, but in a quiet way, by showing up, by doing his job, and by refusing to be corrupted. I think that quiet bravery is a theme in Cardona’s work, and I think it is a theme that reflects his own character, a man who is steady, who is honest, and who is brave in a quiet way, by working hard, by being reliable, and by doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

I think about Popayán, too, and about the white city, and about what it means for a city like that to produce an actor like Cardona. Popayán is a city of churches, of Holy Week, of tradition, and it is a city that is quiet, elegant, and proud, and Cardona carries that quiet elegance with him, in his manner, in his work, and in his life. He does not shout, he does not seek attention, and he does not try to be louder than he is. He is calm, he is thoughtful, and he is steady, and that calm is his trademark, and it is the reason directors trust him with roles that require a great deal of emotional depth, without a great deal of noise. I think that is a gift, and I think it comes from Popayán, from a city that taught him to be calm, to be patient, and to be dignified.

There is also something I want to say about his family, and about the way he protects it. He is married to Valeria Santos, they have children, and he has spoken about them with love, but he has not turned them into a spectacle. He goes to work, he comes home, and he lives a life that is, by the standards of a star, remarkably normal, and I respect that normality, because it suggests a man who knows what matters, and who is not willing to sacrifice his family for fame. Fame is loud, and family is quiet, and Cardona has chosen to protect the quiet part, and I think that is a wise choice, and a brave one, in an industry that rewards the loud part.

Finally, I want to say something about the future, and about what I hope for him. I hope he keeps acting, I hope he keeps producing, and I hope he finds more roles like Santiago in Contracorriente, roles that are tender, complex, and human, and that show the full range of his talent. I hope 11:11 Films continues to grow, and continues to tell Colombian stories to the world, and I hope that young actors from Popayán, from Cali, and from small cities across Colombia, look at Cardona and see that it is possible to come from a small city, to work hard, to be professional, and to build a career that lasts, without losing yourself. He has done that, and he has done it quietly, steadily, and well, and that is a life worth celebrating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where was Manolo Cardona born and how did he start acting?

Manolo Cardona was born in Popayán, Colombia, on 25 April 1977. He moved to Bogotá and began acting in Colombian television in the late 1990s, in series such as Padres e hijos and ¿Por qué diablos?, building a reputation as a reliable leading man.

Who did Manolo Cardona play in El cartel de los sapos?

He played Martín González, known as Fresita, in El cartel de los sapos in 2008, a young man who rises in the Cali cartel and discovers the price of power. The series made him a star in Colombia and across Latin America.

What film roles is Manolo Cardona known for?

He appeared in Rosario Tijeras and La mujer de mi hermano in 2005, and he starred in Contracorriente in 2009, a Peruvian film about a fisherman who loves a ghost, which won awards at festivals including Sundance.

Who did Manolo Cardona play in Narcos?

In Narcos, the Netflix series from 2015, he played Eduardo Sandoval, a young lawyer working for the Colombian government in the fight against Pablo Escobar. The role introduced him to a global streaming audience.

Who did Manolo Cardona play in Who Killed Sara?

He played Alex Guzmán, the man wrongly imprisoned for his sister’s murder, in the Netflix series Who Killed Sara?, which ran for three seasons from 2021 to 2022 and became a global hit.

Is Manolo Cardona also a producer?

Yes, with his brother Francisco he founded 11:11 Films, a production company that makes films and series in Colombia and abroad. Producing has given him a role in choosing the stories that are told.