# Rafael Amaya

José Rafael Amaya Núñez (born 28 February 1977) is a Mexican actor, born in Hermosillo, Mexico. He is best known for his character Aurelio Casillas in the Telemundo series El Señor de los Cielos.

## Biography

Amaya was born in Hermosillo, Mexico, but when he was five years old, his family moved to Tecate, Baja California where he grew up. In his adolescence, he took theater and music classes. Upon entering college, he moved to San Diego, California to study but left school before graduating. After leaving college, he returned to Mexico to try his luck with a music group, the Palapa Band, which did not prosper. Amaya decided to enroll in the Centro de Educación Artística of Televisa, attempting to enter the world of music with another group, Garibaldi, with which he recorded two albums.

## Career
### Beginnings and notable roles (2000–2010)

After leaving his short musical career, in 2000, his first acting role was on the telenovela La casa en la playa, where he played Romualdo; after gaining attention in the role, he received offers for roles in other productions. In 2001, he was cast in the role of Cástulo in Sin pecado concebido. In 2002, he was given his first lead role in the telenovela Salomé, where he plays José Julián, one of Salomé's three sons, a role that solidifies him as a bonafide actor and earns him two nominations, one for the El Heraldo de México and another for the TVyNovelas Awards. In that same year, he is called to be part of the cast of Las vías del amor. In 2003, he again secures a leading role in the telenovela Amar otra vez with Irán Castillo and Valentino Lanús. His film debut comes in 2004 with the film Desnudos, in which he shares credits with Karyme Lozano and Isabel Madow. In 2006, he goes to Miami, United States to film Las dos caras de Ana with his ex-partner Ana Layevska. In that same year, he returns to the cinema co-starring with Ana de la Reguera and Gabriela Platas in the controversial film Así del precipicio. In February 2008, he began filming 24 cuadros de terror, where for the first time in his career, he played a serial killer. In that same year he filmed the romantic comedy film Amor letra por letra with Plutarco Haza and Silvia Navarro, which premiered in August of that year. He also participated in the film Me gustas tú, a film that pays homage to the late comedian Germán Valdés, which also stars Carmen Salinas and Luis Felipe Tovar. That year proved to be a busy one with much activity having also appeared in the series Mujeres asesinas and Sexo y otros secretos. At the end of that same year, he began filming the feature film North, a thriller about immigrants who were robbed of their organs and then trafficked. He also appeared in the video clip of Enrique Iglesias song, "Lloro Por Ti".
In 2009 he ventured further into the film industry. The frantic activity continued in 2010 playing Julián García Correa, a doctor with a mental disorder, in the telenovela of Telemundo Alguien te mira. This production was the first time in which Amaya played a villain in a telenovela. In 2011 he had a brief role in the very successful telenovela La Reina del Sur, playing the role of “El Guero,” who was the love interest of Kate del Castillo’s character and was the foundation on which the role of Aurelio Casillas in “Senor de Los Cielos” was based (both characters were pilots who had their own fleets of planes which were used to transport drugs for Mexico's most notorious cartels). In that same year, he traveled to Spain to participate in two series Hospital Central and Doctor Mateo and in the film La piel azul.

### Mainstream and critical success (2013–present)

After his trip to Spain, he was absent from the acting world for a year and a half. In 2013 he joined the cast of the television film of Hallmark Channel, entitled Meddling Mom, which had begun filming 2012, and where he played Pablo. In that same year, he was selected by Telemundo to play Aurelio Casillas a famous drug trafficker in the super series El Señor de los Cielos, which is based on the life of Amado Carrillo Fuentes. Thanks to his performance he won as Favorite Lead Actor at the 2014 Premios Tu Mundo. Since first taking on this career-making role, he has won the prize three times consecutively in all the awards galas of Premios Tu Mundo. In 2014, he appeared in the short film Kiss of Vengeance, and in the film based on the life of the actor Cantinflas. He also participated in two episodes in the series Señora Acero as Aurelio Casillas. In 2015 he got his first lead role in a film, entitled Oro y polvo.
In 2016 he also had a guest role (and cameo appearance) in the American series Queen of the South, which was an adaptation of the telenovela La Reina del Sur, where he also played Aurelio Casillas. In December of that same year, he again played Aurelio in the spin-off of the series El Señor de los Cielos, entitled El Chema.

## Personal life

Amaya was in a relationship with actress Ana Layevska, whom he met in 2006 while working on the telenovela Las dos caras de Ana. In 2007, they made their relationship official and both actors committed to getting married, but in 2010 Amaya ended his relationship with Layevska. In 2010, after ending his relationship with Layevska, he confirmed his relationship with the actress Angélica Celaya, whom he met in the telenovela Alguien te mira. In 2014, they got engaged, but ended their relationship in 2015.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Roles | Notes |
| 2004 | Desnudos | Pablo | |
| 2006 | Así del precipicio | Gerardo | |
| 2008 | Amor letra por letra | Julián | |
| 2008 | Fotonovela | Ángel | |
| 2008 | 24 cuadros de terror | Lady Killer | |
| 2009 | El descubrimiento | Barman | Short film |
| 2009 | Se jodió la Navidad | Man at the party | Short film |
| 2009 | The Fighter | Leone | |
| 2009 | Pepe y Santo vs América | Julio | |
| 2009 | Me importas tú, y tú | Unknown role | |
| 2009 | Días extraños | Unknown role | Short film |
| 2010 | Rock Marí | Pablo | |
| 2010 | Sin memoria | Raúl | |
| 2010 | Adiós mundo cruel | Luis Armando | |
| 2010 | Atrocious | Psiquiatra | Voice role; Spanish dubbing |
| 2014 | Kiss of Vengeance | Aldo | Short film |
| 2014 | Cantinflas | Frank Sinatra | |
| 2015 | Oro y polvo | Daniel | |

### Television roles

| Year | Title | Roles | Notes |
| 2000 | La casa en la playa | Romualdo Reyes | |
| 2001 | Sin pecado concebido | Cástulo Campos Ortiz | |
| 2001 | Mujer, casos de la vida real | Unknown role | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Salomé | José Julián | |
| 2002 | Las vías del amor | Paco / Pablo Rivera | |
| 2004 | Amar otra vez | Fernando Castañeda Eslava | |
| 2006 | Las dos caras de Ana | Rafael Bustamante / Gustavo Galván | |
| 2007–2009 | Ugly Betty | Lorenzo | Guest role (seasons 2–3); 4 episodes |
| 2008 | Los simuladores | Rubalcaba | Episode: "El pacto copernico" |
| 2008 | Mujeres asesinas | Óscar | Episode: "Claudia, cuchillera" |
| 2008 | Sexo y otros secretos | Martín | Main role (season 1); 12 episodes |
| 2009 | La ruleta de los sueños | Dan | Television film |
| 2010 | La piel azul | Fernando | Television film |
| 2010–2011 | Alguien te mira | Julián García Correa | Main role (season 1); 116 episodes |
| 2011 | Hospital Central | Enrique Guerrero | Recurring role (season 19); 9 episodes |
| 2011 | La Reina del Sur | Raimundo Dávila Parra "El Güero" | Guest role (season 1); 22 episodes |
| 2011 | Doctor Mateo | Roberto | Recurring role (season 5); 12 episodes |
| 2013 | Meddling Mom | Pablo | Television film |
| 2013–present | El Señor de los Cielos | Aurelio Casillas | Main role (seasons 1–6, 8–9); guest (season 7); 600 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Señora Acero | Aurelio Casillas | Guest role (seasons 1–2); 2 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Queen of the South | Aurelio Casillas | Guest role (seasons 1–2); 3 episodes |
| 2016 | El Chema | Aurelio Casillas | Guest role (season 1); 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Malverde: El Santo Patrón | Teodoro Valenzuela | Guest role (season 1); 1 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Works | Result |
| 2002 | TVyNovelas Award | Best Male Revelation | Salomé | Nominated |
| 2007 | TVyNovelas Award | Best Actor | Las dos caras de Ana | Nominated |
| 2011 | People en Español Awards | Best Supporting Actor | La Reina del Sur | Nominated |
| 2011 | People en Español Awards | Best Villain | Alguien te mira | Nominated |
| 2013 | Premios Tu Mundo | Favorite Lead Actor | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2013 | Premios Tu Mundo | The Perfect Couples (with Ximena Herrera) | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2013 | People en Español Awards | Best Actor | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2013 | People en Español Awards | The Perfect Couples (with Ximena Herrera) | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2014 | Miami Life Awards | Best Male Lead in a Telenovela | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2014 | People en Español Awards | Best Male Lead in a Telenovela | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2014 | People en Español Awards | Best on-screen chemistry (with Fernanda Castillo) | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2014 | Premios Tu Mundo | Favorite Lead Actor | El Señor de los Cielos | Won |
| 2014 | Premios Tu Mundo | The Perfect Couples (with Fernanda Castillo) | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2014 | Premios Tu Mundo | Qué Papacito | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2015 | Premios Tu Mundo | The Best Actor with Bad Luck | El Señor de los Cielos | Won |
| 2015 | Premios Tu Mundo | Favorite Lead Actor: Series | El Señor de los Cielos | Won |
| 2015 | Premios Tu Mundo | The Perfect Couple (with Carmen Villalobos) | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2016 | Miami Life Awards | Best Male Lead in a Telenovela | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2016 | Premios Tu Mundo | Favorite Lead Actor: Series | El Señor de los Cielos | Won |
| 2016 | Premios Tu Mundo | The Best Actor with Bad Luck | El Señor de los Cielos | Won |
| 2016 | Premios Tu Mundo | The Perfect Couple (with Fernanda Castillo) | El Señor de los Cielos | Won |
| 2017 | 6th Your World Awards | Favorite Lead Actor | El Señor de los Cielos | Won |
| 2017 | Produ Awards | Lead Actor - Serie, Superserie or Telenovela of the Year | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |
| 2017 | Produ Awards | Actor - Best Transmedia Use of the Year | El Señor de los Cielos | Nominated |