Santiago Cabrera
Santiago Cabrera (born May 5, 1978) is a Chilean actor known for Heroes, Merlin, The Musketeers, Salvation, and Star Trek: Picard. Discover his biography, career milestones, and memorable quotes.
Introduction
Santiago Cabrera is a Chilean actor whose international career spans television, film, and theatre. He is best known for roles such as Isaac Méndez in Heroes, Sir Lancelot in Merlin, Aramis in The Musketeers, and Captain Cristóbal “Chris” Rios in Star Trek: Picard. Through diverse roles across British, American, and international productions, he has built a reputation for versatility, charisma, and crossing genre boundaries.
Early Life and Family
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Born: 5 May 1978, Caracas, Venezuela.
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His father was a Chilean diplomat, so the family moved often.
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He is the middle child of three.
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He spent his childhood in multiple countries including England, Romania, Toronto, and Madrid.
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Around age 15, his family returned to Chile.
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In high school in Chile, he was captain of his football (soccer) team.
Education & Turning to Acting
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Initially, Cabrera had interests in sports. But his English (language) teacher gave him scripts for plays, which led him to audition and act.
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He studied acting at Drama Centre London, training from about 2000 to 2003.
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Concurrently (or during his final year), he began taking small television roles in British series (e.g., Spooks, Judge John Deed, As If).
Career and Achievements
Early Screen Roles & Breakthrough
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His first film role after drama school was Montano in Othello on stage; in screen he appeared in Love and Other Disasters (2006) as Paolo Sarmiento.
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He appeared in the miniseries Empire (2005) as Octavius.
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His major breakthrough was Isaac Méndez in Heroes (2006–2007).
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He then played Lancelot in Merlin (BBC) for several seasons.
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He also portrayed Aramis in The Musketeers (2014–2016).
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In Salvation (CBS), he starred as Darius Tanz.
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In Star Trek: Picard, he played Captain Cristóbal “Chris” Ríos.
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In 2024, he appeared in the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as Richard Deetz.
Other Work & Notes
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He returns repeatedly to both film and television, balancing genre (sci-fi, fantasy, drama) and roles across countries.
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His multinational upbringing and language fluency help him adapt easily across markets.
Legacy and Influence
Though still active, Cabrera has:
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Brought more Latinx / Chilean representation to major franchises (e.g., Star Trek)
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Shown that actors with transnational backgrounds can play leading, varied roles, not solely typecasted ones
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Inspired other actors from Latin America to pursue international careers
Personality & Approach
From his public statements, we find:
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He resists pigeonholing: “In America, I am brown; I’m ‘of colour’, so I would be offered Latin roles, and I’ve fought against that. I don’t want to be put in a category.”
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He views appearance as part of acting but sees himself more as a character actor: “How you look is part of what acting is … Every actor is a character actor.”
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He embraces global identity: “I’ve never been in any country for more than four years, and I’m learning different languages all the time. It gives you a different attitude.”
Selected Quotes
“I’ve never been in any country for more than four years, and I’m learning different languages all the time. It gives you a different attitude.”
“I own two or three pairs of jeans and a bunch of T-shirts.”
“My English teacher always gave me scripts for plays, … the director gave me the part of Mozart … from then on I just loved it.”
“How you look is part of what acting is … someone once told me … ‘You’re a character actor in a leading man’s body,’ and I can live with that.”
“In America, I am brown; I’m ‘of colour’, so I would be offered Latin roles, and I’ve fought against that. I don’t want to be put in a category.”