This is a story of a man who has had great sadness in his
life. It has not been easy. It has been almost unbearable. Yet, it is also a story of redemption and
hope.
Santiago Cirilo was born in Puerto Rico but grew up on the shores
of Lake Erie in Lorain, Ohio. He lived
with his parents, five brothers and one sister in a three bedroom duplex. His mom worked nights to provide the only
income. They could not afford toys, so
Santiago dug through dumpsters to find some.
He had to walk two miles to school, as early as nine years old. It was difficult for Santiago to live in
poverty but nothing compared to the difficulty of living with his abusive,
alcoholic father. Santiago remembers
asking for church clothes and getting punched in the face. He says he had to become a man earlier than
most boys do.
Santiago stayed focused in high school and was able to go to
college. It was a bit of a rebellion
period for him because he had never really had fun. He was going to have to leave college and go
home, but he was approached by an Army recruiter and decided to join. He was in the Army for six years, plus two
years inactive. During that time, he met
his wife and became best friends with Ricky Van Shelton’s nephew, Jonathan, who
got him into country music. Santiago and
Jonathan dreamed of starting a music and film company together.
After the Army, Santiago and his wife moved to
Nashville. He got a job sanding guitars
for Gibson. His fast work kept getting
him moved up, until he was setting up guitars for artists like Keith Urban, Kid
Rock, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz and Toby Keith. Santiago started seeing his guitars on
television and decided he wanted to be the one on there. He saw a commercial about acting courses and
started doing research about how to get involved in the industry. He took night classes earning degrees in Law
and Dramatic Arts, while working at a law firm during the day. Meanwhile, he contacted the top agents in LA,
Atlanta, New Orleans and Nashville. He
ended up in LA for two months going to auditions, but he said there were 1000
just like him at every audition. He
ended up coming home and started doing local and national commercials and print
modeling. Eventually, he started getting
emails from the agents in New Orleans and Atlanta with auditioning
opportunities. He landed his first big
job on America’s Most Wanted, playing the villain on their anniversary
show. From then he started doing a lot
of promotional videos and pilots, while basically living out of his car and
keeping his day job at the law firm.
When Santiago’s acting career was really starting to take
off, his grandmother passed away. Soon
after, his father passed away. This
really hit him hard. For the last ten
years of his life, he had stopped drinking and became a better man. Santiago finally had a father. After his death, Santiago broke down and felt
empty. He was depressed for two years,
and his career was on hold. His grandfather
passed away during that time, as well.
One day, he asked God to just let him laugh. He turned on the television and “Ellen” was
on. He said a lady called in to the show
and said, “I love Jesus, but I drink a little.”
Santiago laughed for hours. He
says God gave him that moment, and he bounced back. He began auditioning again and got a
co-staring role along side Jason Lee on TNT’s Memphis Beat.
Santiago was beginning to get roles on shows on USA, The
Discovery Channel, Lifetime and Fox.
Things were going well, and then his mother gets cancer. Not long after that, he gets a call that his
best friend, Jonathan, had taken his own life.
A month later, his mom passed away.
However, his says that God gave him the strength to deal with her
death. He was able to able to have time
to say goodbye. There was a moment
before she died that they danced, and he will cherish it forever.
Friends were worried about how Santiago was going to deal
with more death, but he was able to keep his composure and continue
acting. He got more work in television
and some films, including Country Strong, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim
McGraw. Recently, he did two episodes of
AMC’s The Walking Dead. He plays the
part of “Julio” in episodes four and eight with a possibility of more.
In addition to acting, Santiago has been writing scripts for
movies. He has a project called The
Psalm that has gotten some interest from producers that want to get it in
theaters by 2015. He’s also involved in
music, hosting shows and helping artists begin their careers. His dream is to build a family entertainment
company.
Even though his life has not been an easy one, Santiago
stays positive and focused on his career.
“Once God gives you a talent, you express it,” Santiago said. “And people will see God’s gift more through
what you do as a person.”
To find out more about Santiago Cirilo, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/santiagocirilo21
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