William Levy

William Levy learned to hit baseballs barefoot in Cojímar before understanding how the melodrama industry worked. Born in Cuba in 1980, they grew up under the harsh conditions of the Special Period, with food rationing and few prospects for the future.

In 1995 he left the island thanks to political asylum granted to his stepfather and arrived in Miami at fifteen. A sports scholarship at Saint Thomas University opened the door to business administration studies, but the financial math didn't last long in the classroom. Levy traded his books for casting calls and quickly discovered that cameras paid the bills much faster.

His entry into television was far from subtle. Two reality shows in 2003, Protagonistas de novela and Isla de la tentación, helped him gain experience in front of Latino audiences and caught the attention of Miami producers.

From the Mexican Soundstage to the Anglo Mirage

In 2007, producer Carla Estrada offered him a supporting role in Pasión, and that opened the doors of Televisa in Mexico City. The following year he starred in Beware of the Angel, a classic telenovela that drew audiences of over four million viewers in its U.S. broadcasts. Similar productions followed, such as Sortilegio in 2009 and Triunfo del amor in 2010.

That popularity boost encouraged him to try his luck in the United States.

Levy competed on the American version of Dancing with the Stars in 2012, where he finished third and caught the attention of several casting directors. Later came supporting roles in the comedy The Single Moms Club in 2014 and brief action scenes in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter during 2016. But the major Los Angeles studios only offered him stereotyped roles as a Latin leading man with a heavy accent.

Hollywood never fully bought into the formula.

The European Business and Control of the Product

His decisive breakthrough outside the conventional Latin market came in 2021 with the new version of Café con aroma de mujer. The broadcast on Telemundo drew modest ratings, but its arrival on Netflix made a massive impact in Spain, where the production held the number one viewing spot for several consecutive weeks.

The actor decided to take control of the money behind the camera.

Through his production company William Levy Entertainment, he sought partnerships in Spain to move beyond the role of a simple salaried actor. In 2023 he shot the miniseries Montecristo with Secuoya Studios, a production filmed between Madrid and Tenerife where he served as lead and executive producer with a budget of over six million euros.

The work with Spanish production teams continued in 2024 with the shoot of Under a Volcano in Garachico, a disaster and romance feature directed by Martín Cuervo, in which they shared the screen with Maggie Civantos. Levy understood that the European co-production model allowed him to keep the rights to his work, which the American market always holds onto.

The theatrical release was set for June 2025, with 220 prints in Spain distributed by Beta Fiction Spain, closing a financing plan backed by island tax incentives and international presales.