Tony Plana

With an acting career in film, television, and theatre spanning almost thirty years, Tony Plana stars today as the much loved “Ignacio Suarez,” father of Betty on the hit television show Ugly Betty. He most recently starred in Showtime’s landmark, groundbreaking series Resurrection Boulevard, for which he received 2001 & 2002 ALMA award nominations for best actor. It was the first English language weekly series in the history of television to be produced, written, directed and starring Latinos.

Having co-directed and co-produced the film A Million to Juan, with Paul Rodriguez, Plana celebrated his solo directorial debut in with The Princess and the Barrio Boy, the first Latino family film to be produced by Showtime. The film received two 2001 ALMA award nominations and won the 2001 IMAGEN award for Best Made for Television Movie. Plana’s episodic television directorial debut was the Resurrection Boulevard episode “Saliendo,” which garnered excellent critical acclaim, received a GLAAD award for best dramatic episode of the year and a SHINE award nomination for sensitive portrayal of sexuality. He has directed several episodes of Nickelodeon’s hit series, The Brothers Garcia, receiving a Humanitas award nomination and winning the IMAGEN Award for its third season finale, “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover.”

Plana is also the co-founder and executive artistic director of the East L.A. Classic Theatre, a group comprised primarily of Hispanic American theatre professionals. The East L.A. Classic Theatre has been dedicated to serving the Latino community through educational outreach programs to primary and secondary schools and through bi-lingual productions of traditional and contemporary classics.

Through the East L.A. Classic Theatre, Plana has developed a unique and innovative literacy program called Beyond Borders: Literacy through Performing Arts. It is designed to enable students to expand their educational horizons and academic achievements by moving beyond their personal, cultural and vocational borders.

Working directly with language arts teachers, Beyond Borders utilizes the performing arts to impact literacy skills in academically at risk and bilingual students. Proven to facilitate and even accelerate student achievement of district and state literacy standards, the program is being implemented in five school districts in southern California.

Recently, Plana disclosed that his mother is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and speaks out about the personal struggles he endures in coping with her disease. A member of the Alzheimer's Association, he is active in raising awareness and is speaking out in an effort to offer hope to others.

Plana’s distinct talent lies in his provocative adaptations of classic Shakespearean plays, specifically conceived for minority communities with little or no theatre going experience. He directs these plays against relevant historical backgrounds that foster interest in expressive speech and dramatic literature and which serve as catalysts for the investigation of personal and interpersonal psychology, race and cultural relations, socio-political issues and world history.

As an actor Plana has starred in more than 60 feature films, including JFK, Nixon, Salvador, An Officer and a Gentleman, Lone Star, Three Amigos, Born in East L.A., El Norte, 187, Primal Fear, Romero, One Good Cop, Havana, The Rookie, Silver Strand and Picking Up the Pieces. Most recently he appeared in Goal! The Dream Begins, Half Past Dead, and El Muerto with Wilmer Valderrama.

On television he recently starred in a multi-episode arc on Commander-in-Chief, on 24 as the terrorist Omar in season four, in The West Wing and John Doe. In addition, he starred on the Showtime miniseries Fidel, as the notorious Cuban dictator, Batista, as well as Showtime’s Noriega: God’s Favorite. He has portrayed leading roles in four critically acclaimed television series, Veronica Claire, Bakersfield P.D., and Steven Bochco’s Total Security and City of Angels.

Plana has also been very active in live theatre. On Broadway, his credits include “Zoot Suit and The Boys of Winter.” He has performed in leads at the Mark Taper Forum in “Zoot Suit,” “Richard III,” “Widows,” and “The Reader.”

He is the recipient of two Nosotros Golden Eagle awards for outstanding work in film and television, as well as five Los Angeles Dramalogue Awards for Theatre. In addition to his extensive involvement in the media arts, he also serves on various boards including the American Red Cross, the East L.A. Community Youth Center, the Center Theatre Group Diversity Advisory Committee, and the Young Musicians Foundation created by Henry Mancini.

Immigrated to the US from Cuba at a young age, Plana overcame great adversity to go on to attend Loyola-Marymount University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree through the Honors Program in Literature and Theatre Arts, graduating magna cum laude. He received professional training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.