Hector Luis Bustamante
Encyclopedia
Early life
He was born Héctor Luis Bustamante Durango in MedellínMedellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
to Dagoberto Bustamante and Aracelly Durango. Bustamante and his family moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he was 12. Bustamante was an allumni of the 1989 Governor's School of New Jersey
Governor's School of New Jersey
The Governor's School of New Jersey, a member of the National Conference of Governor's Schools, is a summer program for artistically or academically talented high school students from New Jersey, who have completed their junior year. The School is an intensive three-week residential program...
as an art scholar. His first theatrical role was in a Hackensack High School
Hackensack High School
Hackensack High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Hackensack Public Schools...
production of West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
,, which was well-received and led him to roles in several other productions, though his drama teacher told him that he would never be a professional actor because his accent was too thick for American TV.
Bustamante focused on art and started working as a graphic designer. By age 19, he was the art director for New Jersey Golf magazine.
Career
In 1995, Bustamante enrolled in the Parsons School of Design in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, paying for school by working in retail as a security guard and eventually became the security manager in one of a retail store on Fifth Avenue.
In the fall of 1999, he used his work in the security field to transfer to San Francisco. While in the Bay Area, Bustamante attended the Shelton's Actors' Studio, where he studied under acting coach and mentor Jean Shelton, whose students have won Emmy and Tony Awards (such as Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
).
In March 2000, Bustamante met acting coach Nancy Berwid, who invited him to an acting workshop. A year later, at a workshop Berwid hosted Hector met Donna Eckholdt, VP of talent development and casting for Paramount's Big Ticket Television. After seeing Bustamante's work, Eckholdt considered him for a series regular role on a project based on the life of a New York City private investigator.
A year later while still in San Francisco, Bustamante made his first major TV appearance on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' The Agency, playing the head of the Colombian police. Within weeks he landed his second role in NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
opposite Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt...
and Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Zack Morris in NBC's Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Detective John Clark in NYPD Blue, Jerry Kellerman in TNT's Raising the Bar, and more recently Peter...
. In the spring of 2003 Bustamante resigned from his security job and moved to Los Angeles. Since then he has performed in co-star and guest star roles on such shows as 24, Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...
, Without A Trace
Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
, Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
, and films such as, Hostage opposite Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
and Sueño opposite John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
. Héctor is represented by Lin Bickelmann of Encore Artists Management.
Filmography
- Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera StoryLittle Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story-Plot:The story depicts the struggle of Luz Cuevas to find her baby daughter, Delimar Vera Cuevas, who disappeared in 1997 after their house caught fire during a party. The police reported that Delimar was killed in the fire. However, Cuevas suspects that she was kidnapped, and that the fire was...
(2008) - Right at Your DoorRight at Your DoorRight at Your Door is a 2006 American thriller film about a couple and follows the events surrounding them when multiple dirty bombs detonate in Los Angeles....
(2006) - Hostage (2005)
- SueñoSueñoSueño is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Renée Chabria that stars John Leguizamo, Ana Claudia Talancón, and Elizabeth Peña.-Cast:* John Leguizamo - Antonio* Ana Claudia Talancón - Nina* Elizabeth Peña - Mirabela* Nestor Serrano - El Zorro...
(2005)
Television roles
- Heroes (TV series)Heroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
- Big ShotsBig Shots (TV series)Big Shots is an American television drama created and executive produced by Jon Harmon Feldman. The pilot was directed by Charles McDougall.-History:...
- The ShieldThe ShieldThe Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...
- Crossing JordanCrossing JordanCrossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...
- 24
- The King Of QueensThe King of QueensThe King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
- Without A TraceWithout a TraceWithout a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
- MonkMonk (TV series)Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
- NYPD BlueNYPD BlueNYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
- The Agency (2001 TV series)