José Rafael Amaya Núñez (born 28 February 1977) is a Mexican actor, born in Hermosillo, Mexico. He is best known for his character Aurelio Casillas in the Telemundo series El Señor de los Cielos.
Biography Rafael Amaya was born in Hermosillo, Mexico, but when he was five years old, his family moved to Tecate, Baja California where he grew up. In his adolescence, he took theater and music classes. Upon entering college, he moved to San Diego, California to study but left school before graduating. After leaving college, he returned to Mexico to try his luck with a music group, the Palapa Band, which did not prosper. Amaya decided to enroll in the Centro de Educación Artística of Televisa, attempting to enter the world of music with another group, Garibaldi, with which he recorded two albums.
Career Beginnings and notable roles (2000–2010) After leaving his short musical career, in 2000, his first acting role was on the telenovela La casa en la playa, where he played Romualdo; after gaining attention in the role, he received offers for roles in other productions. In 2001, he was cast in the role of Cástulo in Sin pecado concebido. In 2002, he was given his first lead role in the telenovela Salomé, where he plays José Julián, one of Salomé's three sons, a role that solidifies him as a bonafide actor and earns him two nominations, one for the El Heraldo de México and another for the TVyNovelas Awards. In that same year, he is called to be part of the cast of Las vías del amor. In 2003, he again secures a leading role in the telenovela Amar otra vez with Irán Castillo and Valentino Lanús. His film debut comes in 2004 with the film Desnudos, in which he shares credits with Karyme Lozano and Isabel Madow. In 2006, he goes to Miami, United States to film Las dos caras de Ana with his ex-partner Ana Layevska. In that same year, he returns to the cinema co-starring with Ana de la Reguera and Gabriela Platas in the controversial film Así del precipicio. In February 2008, he began filming 24 cuadros de terror, where for the first time in his career, he played a serial killer. In that same year he filmed the romantic comedy film Amor letra por letra with Plutarco Haza and Silvia Navarro, which premiered in August of that year. He also participated in the film Me gustas tú, a film that pays homage to the late comedian Germán Valdés, which also stars Carmen Salinas and Luis Felipe Tovar. That year proved to be a busy one with much activity having also appeared in the series Mujeres asesinas and Sexo y otros secretos. At the end of that same year, he began filming the feature film North, a thriller about immigrants who were robbed of their organs and then trafficked. He also appeared in the video clip of Enrique Iglesias song, "".
In 2009 he ventured further into the film industry. The frantic activity continued in 2010 playing Julián García Correa, a doctor with a mental disorder, in the telenovela of Telemundo Alguien te mira. This production was the first time in which Amaya played a villain in a telenovela. In 2011 he had a brief role in the very successful telenovela La Reina del Sur, playing the role of “El Guero,” who was the love interest of Kate del Castillo’s character and was the foundation on which the role of Aurelio Casillas in “Senor de Los Cielos” was based (both characters were pilots who had their own fleets of planes which were used to transport drugs for Mexico's most notorious cartels). In that same year, he traveled to Spain to participate in two series Hospital Central and Doctor Mateo and in the film La piel azul.
Mainstream and critical success (2013–present)
After his trip to Spain, he was absent from the acting world for a year and a half. In 2013 he joined the cast of the television film of Hallmark Channel, entitled Meddling Mom, which had begun filming 2012, and where he played Pablo. In that same year, he was selected by Telemundo to play Aurelio Casillas a famous drug trafficker in the super series El Señor de los Cielos, which is based on the life of Amado Carrillo Fuentes. Thanks to his performance he won as Favorite Lead Actor at the 2014 Premios Tu Mundo. Since first taking on this career-making role, he has won the prize three times consecutively in all the awards galas of Premios Tu Mundo. In 2014, he appeared in the short film Kiss of Vengeance, and in the film based on the life of the actor Cantinflas. He also participated in two episodes in the series Señora Acero as Aurelio Casillas. In 2015 he got his first lead role in a film, entitled Oro y polvo.
In 2016 he also had a guest role (and cameo appearance) in the American series Queen of the South, which was an adaptation of the telenovela La Reina del Sur, where he also played Aurelio Casillas. In December of that same year, he again played Aurelio in the spin-off of the series El Señor de los Cielos, entitled El Chema.
Personal life
Amaya was in a relationship with actress Ana Layevska, whom he met in 2006 while working on the telenovela Las dos caras de Ana. In 2007, they made their relationship official and both actors committed to getting married, but in 2010 Amaya ended his relationship with Layevska. In 2010, after ending his relationship with Layevska, he confirmed his relationship with the actress Angélica Celaya, whom he met in the telenovela Alguien te mira. In 2014, they got engaged, but ended their relationship in 2015.
Filmography
Film Year Title Roles Notes 2004 Desnudos Pablo 2006 Así del precipicio Gerardo 2008 Amor letra por letra Julián 2008 Fotonovela Ángel 2008 24 cuadros de terror Lady Killer 2009 El descubrimiento Barman Short film 2009 Se jodió la Navidad Man at the party Short film 2009 The Fighter Leone 2009 Pepe y Santo vs América Julio 2009 Me importas tú, y tú Unknown role 2009 Días extraños Unknown role Short film 2010 Rock Marí Pablo 2010 Sin memoria Raúl 2010 Adiós mundo cruel Luis Armando 2010 Atrocious Psiquiatra Voice role; Spanish dubbing 2014 Kiss of Vengeance Aldo Short film 2014 Cantinflas Frank Sinatra 2015 Oro y polvo Daniel
Television roles Year Title Roles Notes 2000 La casa en la playa Romualdo Reyes 2001 Sin pecado concebido Cástulo Campos Ortiz 2001 Mujer, casos de la vida real Unknown role 2 episodes 2001 Salomé José Julián 2002 Las vías del amor Paco / Pablo Rivera 2004 Amar otra vez Fernando Castañeda Eslava 2006 Las dos caras de Ana Rafael Bustamante / Gustavo Galván 2007–2009 Ugly Betty Lorenzo Guest role (seasons 2–3); 4 episodes 2008 Los simuladores Rubalcaba Episode: "El pacto copernico" 2008 Mujeres asesinas Óscar Episode: "Claudia, cuchillera" 2008 Sexo y otros secretos Martín Main role (season 1); 12 episodes 2009 La ruleta de los sueños Dan Television film 2010 La piel azul Fernando Television film 2010–2011 Alguien te mira Julián García Correa Main role; 116 episodes 2011 Hospital Central Enrique Guerrero Recurring role (season 19); 9 episodes 2011 La Reina del Sur Raimundo Dávila Parra "El Güero" Guest role (season 1); 22 episodes 2011 Doctor Mateo Roberto Recurring role (season 5); 12 episodes 2013 Meddling Mom Pablo Television film 2013–2026 El Señor de los CielosAurelio Casillas Main role (seasons 1–6, 8–10); guest (season 7); 700 episodes 2014–2015 Señora Acero Guest role (seasons 1–2); 2 episodes 2016–2017 Queen of the South Guest role (seasons 1–2); 3 episodes 2016 El Chema Guest role; 2 episodes 2021 Malverde: El Santo Patrón Teodoro Valenzuela Guest role; 6 episodes
Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Works Result 2002 TVyNovelas Award Best Male Revelation Salomé 2007 Best Actor Las dos caras de Ana 2011 People en Español Awards Best Supporting Actor La Reina del Sur Best Villain Alguien te mira 2013 Premios Tu Mundo Favorite Lead Actor El Señor de los Cielos The Perfect Couples (with Ximena Herrera) People en Español Awards Best Actor The Perfect Couples (with Ximena Herrera) 2014 Miami Life Awards Best Male Lead in a Telenovela People en Español Awards Best Male Lead in a Telenovela Best on-screen chemistry (with Fernanda Castillo) Premios Tu Mundo Favorite Lead Actor The Perfect Couples (with Fernanda Castillo) Qué Papacito 2015 Premios Tu Mundo The Best Actor with Bad Luck Favorite Lead Actor: Series The Perfect Couple (with Carmen Villalobos) 2016 Miami Life Awards Best Male Lead in a Telenovela Premios Tu Mundo Favorite Lead Actor: Series The Best Actor with Bad Luck The Perfect Couple (with Fernanda Castillo) 2017 6th Your World Awards Favorite Lead Actor Produ Awards Lead Actor - Serie, Superserie or Telenovela of the Year Actor - Best Transmedia Use of the Year
References
External links