René Lavan
Birthday: Born in 1968-11-05 in
Deathday: Alive
Rene Lavan is a Cuban-American actor born in Artemisa, Cuba. He first gained widespread recognition starring in the hit Spanish-language telenovela Morelia, followed by leading roles in María Belén and Enamorada, becoming a familiar face to audiences across Latin America and beyond. American audiences came to know Lavan through his role as Javier on One Life to Live. He later earned critical acclaim as the lead in Bitter Sugar (1996), directed by Leon Ichaso, portraying a young Cuban student confronting political repression in Cuba. Lavan's film credits include Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Christmas with the Kranks, Che: Part One and Che: Part Two, while his television work includes guest appearances on CSI: Miami and Las Vegas. In 2005, he made his Broadway debut in Latinologues. Educated at the New World School of the Arts and trained with Uta Hagen, Lavan has worked extensively in both English and Spanish-language productions. In addition to acting, he has hosted television specials and award shows and has produced Latino-focused film and television projects through his own production company.
TV Credits
Las Vegas
Character: Brazilian Highroller
Ed Deline is a strict ex-CIA officer who went from being Head of Security to becoming President of Operations of the Montecito, whose job is to run the day-to-day operations of the casino. Following his departure, former Marine Danny McCoy, Ed's former protégé, becomes the Montecito's new President of Operations....
Burn Notice
Character: Alejandro Lopez
A formerly blacklisted spy uses his unique skills and training to help people in desperate situations....
Enamorada
Character: Raimundo Alvarado
Enamorada is a 1999 telenovela co-produced by Venevisión International and Fonovideo. It is a remake of the 1988 telenovela Alba Marina. Gaby Espino and René Lavan star as the main protagonists....
Every Witch Way
Character: Francisco Alonso
The series follows 14-year-old Emma Alonso, as she moves to Miami and her life turns upside-down. Not only does she discover that she is a witch, she also has a crush on the boy next door, Daniel. But Daniel’s ex-girlfriend Maddie, who is an 'evil witch' and leader of the school clique the 'Panthers', is still willing to fight for the boy she loves....
CSI: Miami
Character: Miguel
The show follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second....
María Belén
Character: Pablo Díaz Cortázar
María Belén is the story of a six-year-old girl who has recently lost her adoptive parents in a tragic accident. He has stayed with his uncle Rogelio, an ambitious and evil man, who planned said accident to take over the inheritance of his half-brother Alfonso García Marín... but did not take into account the possibility that María Belén would emerge unscathed from the catastrophe and, much less, that she would be the universal heir to Alfonso's assets. That is why now Rogelio has to hide the gi...
Movie Credits
Tollbooth
Character: Julio
A young woman’s dreams of love are trapped in an empty life of broken promises and futile hopes, as she desperately awaits the return of her long-missing father. In order to win her heart, a local tollbooth operator sets out to find him. One fateful evening at the tollbooth, in a feverish collision between reality and dreams, their lives change, enabling them to start anew....
Christmas with the Kranks
Character: Enrique Decardenal
When their only daughter Blair leaves the family nest, Luther and Nora Krank decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip the holidays. But their decision to boycott tradition has the whole neighborhood in an uproar, and when Blair calls on Christmas Eve to announce a surprise visit with her new fiancée, the Kranks have just twelve hours to perform a miracle and pull themselves and their neighbors together to throw the best celebration ever!...
Che: Part One
Character: Cuban Diplomat #2
Ernesto Guevara, known as 'Che', leads a group of Cuban exiles under Fidel Castro in a revolution to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the dictator of Cuba....
Bitter Sugar
Character: Gustavo
A patriot (René Lavan) with a rebellious brother falls in love with a dissident's daughter (Mayte Vilán) in Castro's Cuba....
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Character: Carlos Suarez
In pre-revolution Cuba, Katey Miller is about to defy everyone's expectations. Instead of a parent-approved suitor, Katey is drawn to the sexy waiter, Javier, who spends his nights dancing in Havana's nightclubs. As she secretly learns to dance with Javier, she learns the meanings of love, sensuality and independence....
Every Witch Way: Spellbound
Character: Francisco Alonso
Every witch way like you have never seen it before all your magic comes back in this movie...
The Last Rafter
Character: Thomas
After risking his life crossing the Florida straits on a raft, a young Cuban searches Miami for his missing father. When a political shift makes him America’s first Cuban undocumented immigrant, he must battle the new and bigger fear of deportation, while trying to find where he really belongs....
Christmas Overtime
Character: Dale McClintock
An unemployed actress is offered a commercial if she can convince a Christmas-obsessed ad agency staff to finish an ad campaign on Christmas Eve....
The Old Man and the Parrot
Character: Yoelvis
With a taxidermy parrot and pistol in hand, Praxi, breaks into the home of a mute spiritual guru who trapped his lover’s soul inside the parrot years ago. Praxi must convince the guru’s estranged daughter to guide her father in freeing his lover’s soul in this darkly comedic tale of love and the afterlife....
The Magnificent Mendez
Character: Rey
A Miami movie producer must confront his dark past when his long-lost love returns....
Red Light
Character: Alex’s Father
Two strangers regain consciousness in a dimly lit room, disoriented and unable to remember how they got there. With no way out and no clue who has confined them, they are forced to rely on each other for survival. As fear and uncertainty mount, a tense bond forms between them—one that blurs the lines between trust, desire, and control. The confined space becomes both refuge and prison as emotions intensify and reality begins to distort. When an ominous red light suddenly flickers on, the truth b...