With his subtle, masculine style, Venezuelan actor EDGAR RAMIREZ is among a select group of young actors on the rise in Hollywood. He next stars in award-winning French director Olivier Assayas’ feature Ilich – Story Of Carlos. Ramirez plays Carlos, a legend in the espionage world for over 30 years. A complex character, he was the anti-James Bond who worked for literally everyone: radical Palestinians from the FPLP, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Ceaucescu’s Romania. Ramirez speaks 5 languages for the role, which was shot in such numerous locations as France, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Sudan. The project will be released as a feature by IFC in the fall of 2010, as well as a three-part television series on Canal +. It will premiere at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Ramirez can currently be seen in the Ernesto “Che” Guevara biopic, The Argentine, with Benicio Del Toro. The film, written and directed by Stephen Soderbergh, premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Ramirez was most recently in Sony Pictures’ political thriller, Vantage Point, opposite Forest Whitaker, Dennis Quaid, and Matthew Fox. The film is told in a Rashomon narrative style and follows the attempted assassination of the president from five different perspectives.

Ramirez can currently be seen internationally starring in Cyrano Fernández, a Venezuelan-Spanish production based on the French play Cyrano de Bergerac. This film marks Ramirez’ first foray into producing. The film had its world premiere at the AFI Film Festival in November and won the Audience Award at the 2008 Malaga Film Festival. For his performance in the film, Ramirez won the Best Actor award in the official selection of Territorio Latinoamericano. Also to be released later this year is Elipsis, directed by Eduardo Arias-Nath and to be distributed by Fox Latin America.

Ramirez made his American film debut as Choco in Tony Scott’s Domino, opposite Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke. He also starred in Universal Pictures’ The Bourne Ultimatum, opposite Matt Damon.

Ramirez has additionally appeared in a number of international film productions. His past international film credits include El Don (The Boss), directed by J.R Novoa (Venezuela - Spain); La Hora Cero (The Magic Hour), a short film directed by Guillermo Arriaga, the acclaimed screenwriter of Amores Perros and 21 Grams (Mexico); El Nudo (The Knot), directed by Alejandro Wiederman (Venezuela); Yotama Se Va Volando (Yotama Flies Away), directed by Luis Armando Roche (Venezuela – France); Punto Y Raya (Step Forward), directed by Elia K. Schneider (Venezuela – Spain – Chile – Uruguay), a 2004 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film; and Anonimo (Anonymous) directed by Enelio Farina (Venezuela).

A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Ramirez grew up all over the world due to his father’s job as a military attaché. He has made his home in such diverse countries as Austria, Canada, Colombia, Italy, and Mexico and is fluent in German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish as a result. Throughout his travels Ramirez developed a great love and ability for intercultural communication, a skill he parlayed into a degree in journalism. He specialized in political communications and initially intended on becoming a diplomat.

In 2000, before turning to acting full time, Ramirez was the executive director of NGO Dale Al Voto, a Venezuelan organization akin to Rock the Vote. In order to foster democratic values among young people, Ramirez and his team created cutting-edge campaigns for radio, television, and cinema. The campaign was well-received by audiences throughout the country. He also lent his expertise to various Venezuelan multilateral organizations including Organization of American States, Transparency International, and Amnesty International.

Ramirez currently serves as the host of a short film festival on the AXN Network (a Sony-owned network in Latin America). The festival is in its second year.