The translation of de los Reyes is "of the kings," and there is certainly a regal quality about actor Kamar de los Reyes. Think Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia, Antonio Banderas in Zorro, Benicio Del Toro in Traffic.
There is also something mesmerizingly sexy and overwhelmingly magnetic here that defies description. Kamar oozes charisma. A working actor for more than a decade, he's stared at, fawned over, and followed down the street by smitten fans, yet none of it has gone to his head. Despite being touted by People magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People," de los Reyes comes across as a genuine Mr. Nice Guy, a devoted husband and father, who downplays his movie star looks. De los Reyes is determined and confident, devoid of arrogance. And there's no doubt about it--the camera loves him and he can act.
Understandably, Kamar de los Reyes has been branded a romantic lead, and yet, what he's really dying to play are gritty character parts. A self-described "Cuba-Rican" (his dad's Cuban, his mom's Puerto Rican), he has both that innate sensuality often found in Cubans who live to love, and the drive of Puerto Ricans who, at present, "rule" in the Latino acting world (think Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Smits, Benicio Del Toro, Rosalyn Sanchez, Hector Elizondo, Luis Guzman, Jon Seda, Rosie Perez, et al).
The youngest of five children born in San Juan to a musical dynasty, Kamar ate, slept, and breathed rhythm from birth. His father is the famous Cuban percussionist Walfredo de los Reyes. His brothers, Daniel and Wally Jr., are successful musicians who play with Santana, Earth Wind and Fire, Steve Winwood, and Don Henley. Kamar himself was a musical prodigy--at age four he played the trumpet on stage with Dizzy Gillespie and Harry James. His family was aghast when their obviously gifted son chose acting over music. However, twenty-nine years later, de los Reyes at 33 has carved out a steady career, "pounding the pavement, learning my craft, and paying my dues," as he puts it. His no-baloney, cut-to-the-chase approach makes acting sound distinctly un-glamourous--but he's got a deep passion for it that won't be denied. He's been an actor for a total of thirteen years, working consistently for the last seven.
So why is it that this king has not yet been crowned? It's just a matter of time. Expect this Rey in waiting to be a bankable, certifiable, "overnight" star of the Benicio Del Toro or Brad Pitt magnitude, once he's cast in the right part.
Meanwhile, opporutnity has knocked at regular intervals. He worked with heavyweight director Oliver Stone on Nixon, playing one of the Watergate burglars; he's done Shakespeare in the Park opposite Patrick Stewart (as Ferdinand in "The Tempest"); he's performed to acclaim on the New York stage in "Blade to the Heat," garnering critical praise ("mesmerizing" crowed the Associated Press) for his portrayal of gay Irish-Mexican boxer Pedro Quinn. For years Kamar played Antonio Vega on daytime's popular "One Life to Live." He burned up the screen opposite fellow Latin star Thalia in the recent indie film, Mambo Café, and his latest scene-stealing, screen-singeing turn as a school teacher who moonlights as a dance instructor (opposite Annabeth Gish) in "The Way She Moves," a VH1 original movie that premiered August 29 and is playing throughout this month, isindisputably top drawer.
Venice: When did you begin dancing?
Kamar de los Reyes: I started dancing in my mother's womb. It's in the blood. I always felt that you can teach a person the steps, you just don't teach a person to dance. I pretty much grew up dancing with my mom, and I came up with my own little rhythm, moving from the waist down, and started taking classes. I don't consider myself a trained dancer, but I can learn steps quickly.
I like to move. I got started in the business dancing for Kenny Ortega on a music video, and from there Kenny invited me to do the movie, Salsa, and "Dirty Dancing" (the TV show). I purposely gave up dancing for a while, to focus on my acting, so that when this opportunity (The Way She Moves) came around, I would be taken seriously as an actor. I don't consider myself a dancer.
I consider myself a serious actor and I've worked my butt off to get there. I've been working consistently as an actor for the last seven years. I've honed my craft by working. I also study at a studio in New York called Black Nexus, Susan Badsen's studio.
It's a wonderful studio; she coaches everyone from Johnny Depp to Nichol Kidman, Juliette Binoche. She taught me how to personalize roles, that's their philosophy.
Working your butt off, what did that involve?
I became a dancer. I was in class every day of the week. I was dancing 20-30 hours a week. I was running 24 miles a week. Not to mention training in the gym so that I could dance ten hours a day, if I had to. At the end of the film, I had dancer's feet, the skin on the bottom was completely ripped off!
And the mental preparation?
Mentally, I wrote this character's biography. This was an upright guy. That was a big part of what attracted me to the role.
How was it working with Oliver Stone?
Working with Oliver Stone was an incredible experience. Oliver's very intense but he lets you do your thing. I was the only Cuban actor, so he let me improvise some dialogue. It didn't make it into the film, but so what? I got to sit in the conference room for five days next to Ed Harris--and watched him work--what an actor!
Who's on your list of people you'd like to work with?
It's a mixed bag--Ang Lee, Sam Mendes, (Pedro) Almodovar, Abel Ferrara. Independents, whenever possible.
Whose career would you like to have?
Withouth hesitation, Raul Julia's. What a great actor. He did everything. Shakespeare, Public Theater. A brilliant actor. Sad to say, a lot of people don't know who he was.
You live in New York. Why?
When we were living [in Los Angeles] I realized that my son as an infant would spend the majority of his day in the backseat of a car; seeing, feeling, touching nothing. He was too young to look out the window. I didn't want him to grow up with that distance. I'm a touchy, feely, rub-elbows-type-of-guy. I like hearing people's voices.
I like having people over for dinner; I like running into people on the subway, checking people's expressions out--that's such a big part of acting, what you bring. And that's kind of hard to do in L.A. Besides, I like to jaywalk, and here they give out tickets, can you believe it?
