Ugly Betty (Thursdays, 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET)
TONY PLANA
Ignacio on the ABC Television Network's "Ugly Betty"
Tony Plana was educated at 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.
As Ignacio Suarez, the widowed father to America Ferrera in "Ugly Betty," he received the 2006 Golden Satellite Award from the International Press Academy and an ALMA Award nomination for best supporting actor in a television comedy. Plana also starred as Roberto Santiago in Showtime's groundbreaking series, "Resurrection Boulevard," for which he received 2001 and 2002 ALMA Award nominations for Best Actor.
Having co-directed and co-produced the film "A Million to Juan" with Paul Rodriguez, Plana celebrated his solo directorial debut 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. His episodic television directorial debut was the "Resurrection Boulevard" episode "Saliendo," which received a GLAAD Award for Best Dramatic Episode of the Year. 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.
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 bilingual 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, designed to enable students to expand their educational horizons and academic achievements by moving beyond their personal, cultural and vocational borders. His distinct talent lies in his provocative adaptations of classic Shakespearean plays, specifically conceived for minority communities with little or no theatre going experience.
As an actor Plana has starred in more than 70 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" (with Woody Allen). Most recently he appeared in "Goal! The Dream Begins," "Half Past Dead" and "The Lost City." He also appeared in "El Muerto," as well as "AmericanEast" and "Towards Darkness," with "Ugly Betty" co-star America Ferrara.
On television he starred in the Showtime Original 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.," "Total Security" and "City of Angels." He has also appeared in several Emmy Award-winning programs, such as "Sweet 15," "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story," "The Burning Season: The Life and Death of Chico Mendes" and a special episode of "L.A. Law," which also received an Imagen Award. He has portrayed recurring roles on "The West Wing," "24," "CSI," "Monk," "Almost Perfect" and "The Closer."
Plana has 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 has appeared in a wide variety of productions in many other venues, including "Figaro Gets a Divorce" at the La Jolla Playhouse; "Rum and Coke," "Cuba," "His Teddy Bear" and "Bang Bang Blues" at the New York Public Theatre; "Rum and Coke" and "Charlie Bacon and His Family" at the South Coast Repertory Theatre; "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (The Musical)" at the Pasadena Playhouse; "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Hamlet" at the California Shakespearean Festival; "Fugue" at Syracuse Stage Company; in Ariel Dorfmann's "Mascara" at the Arizona Theatre Company; and most recently he received high critical acclaim for his portrayal of Santiago in Nilo Cruz' "Anna in the Tropics" at South Coast Repertory, the first Latino play to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
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 2005 he was honored as Educator of the Year by Loyola Marymount University's Department of Education and in 2006 received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Millenium Momentum Foundation at the Music Center.
Plana is the proud father of Alejandro and Isabel and has been happily married for 19 years to actress Ada Maris, who starred in "Nurses" on NBC and Nickelodeon's "The Brothers Garcia."
PERSONAL INFORMATION
HOMETOWN Havana, Cuba
BIRTHDATE April 19
