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Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is an American actor.
Steven Bauer | |
|---|---|
 Bauer in 2008 | |
| Born | Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson December 2, 1956 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Rocky Echevarría |
| Education | University of Miami |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on ¿Qué Pasa, USA? (1977–1979). He played Manolo "Manny" Ribera, the right-hand man of Cuban drug lord Tony Montana, in the 1983 crime drama Scarface. He also played the drug cartel leader Don Eladio Vuente in Breaking Bad (2011) and in Better Call Saul (2017–2022) and the retired Mossad agent Avi Rudin in Ray Donovan (2013–2017).[1]
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Bauer was born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson, on December 2, 1956, in Havana, Cuba, the son of Lillian Samson Agostini, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Echevarría, a commercial pilot who worked for Cubana Airlines.[1][2][3][4] Bauer's maternal grandfather, whose family names were Samson and Bauer, was Jewish, and immigrated to Cuba from Germany, a refugee looking to escape the devastating effects World War II and Adolf Hitler had on his safety and home country.[5][6][7]
Bauer's family emigrated from Cuba to the United States on Independence Day, 1960, when he was three years old, shortly after the end of the Cuban Revolution, settling in Miami, Florida.[1] Once in the United States, he began using the name Steven, an English form of his given name, Esteban. He graduated from Miami Coral Park High School in 1974 and went on to study acting at Miami Dade Community College and then at the University of Miami, where he befriended Ray Liotta.[8][1]
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Bauer's first substantial role was in the PBS bilingual sitcom ¿Qué Pasa, USA?, playing the teenage son of a Cuban exile family in Miami, from 1977 to 1979.[1] He also appeared in the 1980 TV miniseries From Here to Eternity. He was credited in these and a few other early projects as Rocky Echevarría. In 1981, Bauer starred in the television movie She's in the Army Now, where he met his first wife, actress Melanie Griffith. They both moved to New York City and stayed at Ray Liotta's apartment, while Liotta moved to Los Angeles and stayed at theirs. Both Bauer and Griffith studied under acting teacher Stella Adler, and he appeared in several off-Broadway productions. During this time he adopted the stage name "Steven Bauer".
Bauer was given the role of Manny Ribera (the part played by George Raft in the original 1932 version) in the 1983 movie Scarface,[1] even though (like Raft) he was a relatively unknown actor at the time. The producers of Scarface were convinced that he was right for the role based on his strong audition, as well as his authentic Cuban background. His performance drew a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1986 he had two other important roles. The first was as Det. Frank Sigliano in the Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines cop comedy Running Scared. The second was as an Israeli soldier named Avner in the Canadian CTV television movie Sword of Gideon, which tells the story of Mossad agents hunting down terrorists in the aftermath of the 1972 Munich massacre. The Sword of Gideon script was the basis for Steven Spielberg's later film Munich, which follows the same storyline and borrows heavily from the Sword of Gideon story and script. In 1990 Bauer played the role of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in the television miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story alongside Benicio Del Toro and Craig T. Nelson. That same year, Bauer took over the series lead of the television show Wiseguy from Ken Wahl for the fourth and final season, playing U.S. Attorney Michael Santana after Wahl's character disappears.
Since then, Bauer has made his career primarily, though not exclusively, in action films and crime dramas on both the big and small screens, including the movie The Lost City where he served in a minor role alongside the film's star and director Andy Garcia. He also appeared in the motion pictures Primal Fear and Traffic. In 2007 he appeared on an episode of Burn Notice. In 2011, Bauer appeared on the series Breaking Bad playing Mexican drug lord Don Eladio. He stars with Julianne Michelle in the feature film Awakened, a supernatural thriller.
More recently, Bauer appeared as ex-Mossad agent turned private investigator Avi in the Showtime series Ray Donovan. Bauer also reprised his Breaking Bad role in 2017 in AMC's prequel Better Call Saul. In addition, he played El Santo in the American version of Queen of the South.
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Bauer has married four times: first to Melanie Griffith, from 1981 until 1989; second to Ingrid Anderson, from 1989 until 1991; third to Christiana Boney, from 1992 until 2002; and fourth to Paulette Miltimore, from 2003 until 2012. He has two sons: Alexander Griffith Bauer (born August 22, 1985) with Griffith, and Dylan Dean Steven Bauer (born May 14, 1990) with Anderson.[9][10][11][1][12]
In 2010, Bauer was falsely named as the driver of a vehicle that struck and killed 24-year-old Brent Rosenberg of Malibu. Rosenberg was walking on Pacific Coast Highway toward his parked car on the east side of the road when he was struck by a sport utility vehicle.[13][14] Initial reports said Bauer was the driver of the vehicle but police officials later said it was a different person of the same name involved in the fatality.[15]
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Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | She's in the Army Now | Nick Donato | TV movie |
| 1982 | An Innocent Love | Duncan Widders | TV movie |
| 1983 | Valley Girl | Guy in Pink Shirt | |
| Scarface | Manolo "Manny Ray" Ribera | ||
| 1984 | Body Double | Assistant Director | |
| Thief of Hearts | Scott Muller | ||
| 1986 | Running Scared | Detective Frank Sigliano | |
| Sword of Gideon | Avner | TV movie | |
| 1987 | Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro's | Tony Montoya | TV movie |
| 1988 | Wildfire | Frank | |
| The Beast of War | Khan Taj | ||
| 1989 | Gleaming the Cube | Al Lucero | |
| 1991 | A Climate for Killing | Paul McGraw | |
| Sweet Poison | Bobby | TV movie | |
| False Arrest | Detective Dan Ryan | TV movie | |
| 1992 | Drive Like Lightning | Charlie | TV movie |
| Raising Cain | Jack Dante | ||
| 1993 | Snapdragon | Dr. David "Doc" Hoogstraten | |
| 1994 | Woman of Desire | Jonathan Ashby/Ted Ashby | |
| Improper Conduct | Sam | ||
| Stranger by Night | Bobby Corcoran | Video | |
| Terminal Voyage | Reese | ||
| 1995 | Codename: Silencer | Vinnie Rizzo | |
| Wild Side | Tony | ||
| 1996 | Primal Fear | Joey Pinero | |
| Navajo Blues | Nick Epps/John Cole | ||
| 1997 | Plato's Run | Sam | Video |
| Sisters and Other Strangers | Anthony Quintana | TV movie | |
| The Blackout | Mickey's Studio Actor | ||
| Star Portal | Dr. Ray Brady | Video | |
| Miami | - | ||
| Kickboxing Academy | Carl | ||
| 1998 | The Versace Murder | FBI Agent John Jacoby | |
| Naked Lies | Kevin Dowd | ||
| 2000 | Warm Texas Rain | Rush | Video |
| Forever Lulu | Lou | ||
| Rave | Antonio | ||
| For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story | Angel | TV movie | |
| Traffic | Carlos Ayala | ||
| El Grito | Ibarra | ||
| Glory Glory | Jack | ||
| 2001 | Boss of Bosses | Vito Genovese | TV movie |
| The Learning Curve | Mark York | ||
| 2002 | King of Texas | Menchaca | TV movie |
| Malevolent | Captain Greg Pruitt | ||
| 2003 | Masked and Anonymous | Edgar | |
| Nola | Leo | ||
| 2004 | Raptor Island | Azir | TV movie |
| Doing Hard Time | Detective Anthony Wade | Video | |
| 2005 | How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer | Victor Reyes | |
| Keeper of the Past | The Mayor | Short | |
| Hitters Anonymous | Theodore 'Teddy' Swan | ||
| Pit Fighter | Manolo | ||
| The Lost City | Castel | ||
| La fiesta del Chivo | Juan Jose Viñas | ||
| 2006 | Ladrones & Mentirosos | Oscar | |
| Dead Lenny | Lenny Long | Video | |
| 2007 | Kings of South Beach | Allie Boy | TV movie |
| The Last Sentinel | Drone Scientist | ||
| Category 4 | Robert | Short | |
| Planet Raptor | Captain Mace Carter | TV movie | |
| Natural Born Komics | - | Video | |
| 2008 | Smother | Carl | Short |
| Mutants | Marcus Santiago | ||
| I Didn't Know Who I Was | Mr. David Hernandez | Short | |
| Dark World | Rick | ||
| 2009 | Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia | General Manuel Valez | Video |
| Charlie Valentine | Ferucci | ||
| From Mexico with Love | Tito | ||
| Camouflage | Bobby | ||
| The Intruders | Michael Foster | ||
| 2010 | Bulletface | Ned Walker | |
| Fast Lane | Lt. Baynes | ||
| Toxic | Conrad | ||
| Shadows in Paradise | Agent Stubbs | ||
| A Numbers Game | Neal Black | ||
| Enemies Among Us | Senator Fred Edmonds | ||
| Zenitram | Frank Ramírez | ||
| Suicide Dolls | Hank | ||
| Raven | William | ||
| Disarmed | Col. Caine | ||
| Venus & Vegas | Francis | ||
| Promises | Detective Stevens | ||
| One in the Gun | Arthur | ||
| Crumble | Reda | Short | |
| Boyle Heights | Tino | ||
| 2011 | The Last Gamble | Steven | |
| Session | Jake Tellman | ||
| Joshua Tree | Jefferey | ||
| Mommy & Me | Brad Johnson | ||
| Pimp Bullies | Mr. Watson | ||
| Jackie Goldberg Private Dick | Mr. Lincoln | ||
| Driving by Braille | Rudolf Corso | ||
| 2012 | Paloma | Enrique | Short |
| Sins Expiation | Williams | ||
| ATypical Love | Brad Johnson | ||
| For the Love of Money | Hector | ||
| Garbage | Steven | ||
| A Dark Truth | Tony Green | ||
| Werewolf: The Beast Among Us | Hyde | Video [16] | |
| Gothic Assassins | VOX | ||
| Success Driven | The Husband | Short | |
| Showstopper | Detective Vinnie Randall | ||
| Revan | Shadow | ||
| Knuckleheads | Manny | ||
| 2013 | Day of Redemption | Jeffrey Cambell | |
| Counterpunch | Tomas | ||
| Real Gangsters | Nick "Big Nick" Salens | ||
| Once Upon a Time in Queens | P.O. Ramirez | ||
| Five Thirteen | Ernesto Esteban | ||
| Chavez Cage of Glory | Brother Jose | ||
| Awakened | Lucas Drake | ||
| Seasick Sailor | Waldorf | Short | |
| 2014 | The Lookalike | Frank | |
| Killing Frisco | Esteban | ||
| 2015 | Sweet Lorraine | Lou | |
| 2016 | Beyond the Game | Eric | |
| Restored Me | Armando | ||
| J.L. Family Ranch | Hector Arrieta | ||
| Toyed | Mr. Martinez | Short | |
| King of LA | Adrian | TV movie | |
| 2017 | Andover | Father Gregory | |
| Culture of Fear | Vega | ||
| Avenge the Crows | Ronaldo | ||
| Blue Eyes | Russian | TV movie | |
| 2020 | Deported | Male INS Agent | |
| 2021 | Flinch | Joseph Doyle | |
| Women Is Losers | Don Juan | ||
| My Dead Dad | Uncle Tommy | ||
| Love on the Rock | Claudio Fairbanks | ||
| Mister Mayfair | Mike | ||
| Mister Mayfair 2 - A Song to Kill For | Mike | ||
| 2022 | Nothing Is Impossible | Archie Touraine |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–79 | ¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.? | Joe Peña | Main cast (seasons 1-3) |
| 1978 | The Rockford Files | Jesus Hernandez | Episode: "A Fast Count" |
| 1980 | From Here to Eternity | Pvt,. Ignacio Carmona | Episode: "Pearl Harbor" |
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues | Officer Fuentes | Recurring cast (season 1) |
| One Day at a Time | Eduardo Diaz | Episode: "I Do, I Do" | |
| 1985 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Gambler | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1990 | Drug Wars: The Camarena Story | DEA Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena | Episode: "Part 1-3" |
| Wiseguy | Michael Santana | Main cast (season 4) | |
| 1992 | Red Shoe Diaries | Michael | Episode: "Safe Sex" |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Sergeant Waylon Dumar | Episode: "Nightmare" |
| Welcome to Paradox | Detective Angel Cardenas | Episode: "Our Lady of the Machine" | |
| 1999 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Lorenzo Cabral | Episode: "Rise to the Occasion" |
| 2000 | Relic Hunter | Tony | Episode: "Fertile Ground" |
| 2001 | Nash Bridges | Lima | Episode: "Out of Miami" |
| V.I.P. | Blake Thompson | Episode: "Val Under Covers" | |
| UC: Undercover | Carlos Cortez | Recurring cast | |
| 2005 | Sex, Love & Secrets | Stefano | Episode: "Territorial Defense" |
| 2006 | E! True Hollywood Story | Himself | Episode: "Scarface" |
| South Beach | Lieutenant Rivera | Recurring cast | |
| 2007 | Burn Notice | Reyes | Episode: "Hard Bargain" |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Raphael Gardner | Episode: "Paternity" | |
| 2009 | Cold Case | Osmany "Oz" Leon | Episode: "Stealing Home" |
| American Dad! | Jaramillo (voice) | Episode: "Stan's Night Out" | |
| Mental | Diego Suarez | Episode: "Coda" | |
| 2010 | Hacienda Heights | Mayor Eduardo Garcia | Main cast (season 2) |
| 2011 | Breaking Bad | Don Eladio Vuente | Recurring cast (season 4) |
| 2012 | Common Law | Miguel Avila | Episode: "In-Laws vs. Outlaws" |
| 2013 | The Mentalist | Don Clyde | Episode: "Little Red Corvette" |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Bobby Esposito | Episode: "Passed Pawns" | |
| 2013–17 | Ray Donovan | Avi Rudin | Main cast (seasons 1-5) |
| 2014 | The Night Shift | Milo Osborne | Recurring cast (season 1) |
| Hawaii Five-0 | Jimmy Sykes | Episode: "Ho'oilina" | |
| 2015 | Battle Creek | Roderigo | Episode: "Sympathy for the Devil" |
| 2015–17 | Blue Bloods | Gerry Guerrero | Guest cast (seasons 6-7) |
| 2017–18 | Queen of the South | Santos | Recurring cast (season 2), guest (season 3) |
| 2017–22 | Better Call Saul | Don Eladio Vuente | Guest cast (season 3 & 5-6) |
| 2018 | Goliath | Willie | Episode: "Diablo Verde" |
| 2019 | Supergirl | Bernardo Rojas | Episode: "Confidence Women" |
| 2021 | NCIS | Miguel Torres | Episode: "Sangre" |
| 2023 | S.W.A.T. | Sancho Zamora | Episode: "Legacy" |
| White House Plumbers | Dr. Manuel Artime | Episode: "True Believers" | |
| The Blacklist | Vicente Sandoval | Episode: "Wormwood (No. 182)" |
Video games
| Year | Game | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Scarface: The World Is Yours | The Sandman |
| 2012 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | Additional Voices |
| Hitman: Absolution | Birdie | |
| 2016 | Let It Die | Kommando Kawasaki |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Song | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Maria Conchita Alonso | "Noche de Copas" | Main Lover Interest |
| 1985 | Eurythmics | "Would I Lie to You?" | Biker Boyfriend |
| The Pointer Sisters | "Dare Me" | Caucasian Boxer | |
| Miami Sound Machine | "Conga" | Crowd Dancer | |
| 2007 | Pitbull | "Secret Admirer" | Extra |
| 2013 | Drake | "Hold On, We're Going Home" | Kidnapper |
| 2016 | Kill My Coquette | "3rd & Bonnie Brae" | Himself |
| 2018 | Zayn | "Let Me" | Kingpin |
| "Entertainer" |
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