Profiles: Gustavo Angarita | Proimágenes Colombia

This renowned Colombian actor received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Colombian Film Festival in New York
 
Gustavo Angarita was born in 1942. He is a painter and film, theater and television actor. He was seduced by acting while studyingi law and philosophy at the National University. When his first son, Gustavo Jr., was born, he gave up his studies and plunged into the world of acting. His most recent work has led him to transcend borders with two international productions filmed in Colombia: Gallows Hills (2014), directed by the Spanish filmmaker Victor Garcia, and The 33, directed by the Mexican filmmaker Patricia Riggen and starring Antonio Banderas.

Angarita studied at the Bogota School of Dramatic Art and completed specialization studies at the Université Internationale de Théâtre in Paris. He belonged to the groups La Candelaria and Teatro Popular de Bogota (TPB). During his stay in Paris, he was enthralled by the work of Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Joan Miró. Angarita asserts that no artistic influences have shaped his painting. However, many say that his work is a mix of surrealism and pop art.
 
He has acted in important roles during his life, positioning himself as one of the most important and well-known actors in the country. Some of his most prominent films were The Strategy of the Snail (1993) and Bolivar Soy Yo (Bolivar is Me) (2001). During his career, he has received numerous awards. He achieved two India Catalina awards, the first for Best Actor for La Casa de las Dos Palmas (1990), a film that also won him a Simon Bolivar award in the same category. His picked up his second India Catalina award for Best Supporting Actor in Hombres (1998). For his role in Jorge Alí Triana’s film Tiempo de Morir (Time to Die) (1985), he won a Tucán de Oro for Best Actor as well as an award at the Acapulco Film Festival. At the second Bi-National Colombian and Venezuelan Film Festival, he once again won the Best Actor award, this time for the film Sofia and the Stubborn Man (2012), by Andrés Burgos. On top of these awards, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the second Colombian Film Festival in New York.
 
He has participated in countless television projects, including Antonio Corrales’ Rasputín (1979); Teatro Universal, directed by Julio César Luna; Revivamos Nuestra Historia, by Jorge Alí Triana; Suspenso 7:30 by David Stivel; Historia de Dos Hermanos by Boris Roth; El Bazar de los Idiotas by Jaime Botero; La Potra Zaina (1993), and more.
 
His film career began with the short film Enterrar a los Muertos (1976) by Jorge Alí Triana. He then participated in feature films such as The Day Silence Died (1998), La Dama del Pantano (1999), Traga Maluca (2000), Pena Máxima (Capital Punishment) (2001), El Precio del Silencio (2002), and Malamor (2003).