
Acting
René Lavan
Born 1968-11-05
Rene Lavan is a Cuban-American actor born in Artemisa, Cuba. He first gained widespread recognition starring in the hit Spanish-language telenovela Morelia, followed by leading roles in María Belén and Enamorada, becoming a familiar face to audiences across Latin America and beyond. American audiences came to know Lavan through his role as Javier on One Life to Live. He later earned critical acclaim as the lead in Bitter Sugar (1996), directed by Leon Ichaso, portraying a young Cuban student confronting political repression in Cuba. Lavan's film credits include Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Christmas with the Kranks, Che: Part One and Che: Part Two, while his television work includes guest appearances on CSI: Miami and Las Vegas. In 2005, he made his Broadway debut in Latinologues. Educated at the New World School of the Arts and trained with Uta Hagen, Lavan has worked extensively in both English and Spanish-language productions. In addition to acting, he has hosted television specials and award shows and has produced Latino-focused film and television projects through his own production company.
Acting credits
6.2When their only daughter Blair leaves the family nest, Luther and Nora Krank decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip the holidays. But their decision to boycott tradition has the whole neighborhood in an uproar, and when Blair calls on Christmas Eve to announce a surprise visit with her new fiancée, the Kranks have just twelve hours to perform a miracle and pull themselves and their neighbors together to throw the best celebration ever!
Christmas with the Kranks
2004
6.4In pre-revolution Cuba, Katey Miller is about to defy everyone's expectations. Instead of a parent-approved suitor, Katey is drawn to the sexy waiter, Javier, who spends his nights dancing in Havana's nightclubs. As she secretly learns to dance with Javier, she learns the meanings of love, sensuality and independence.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
2004
6.8Ernesto Guevara, known as 'Che', leads a group of Cuban exiles under Fidel Castro in a revolution to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, the dictator of Cuba.
Che: Part One
2008
NRWith a taxidermy parrot and pistol in hand, Praxi, breaks into the home of a mute spiritual guru who trapped his lover’s soul inside the parrot years ago. Praxi must convince the guru’s estranged daughter to guide her father in freeing his lover’s soul in this darkly comedic tale of love and the afterlife.
The Old Man and the Parrot
2026
NRTwo strangers regain consciousness in a dimly lit room, disoriented and unable to remember how they got there. With no way out and no clue who has confined them, they are forced to rely on each other for survival. As fear and uncertainty mount, a tense bond forms between them—one that blurs the lines between trust, desire, and control. The confined space becomes both refuge and prison as emotions intensify and reality begins to distort. When an ominous red light suddenly flickers on, the truth behind their captivity—and the fragile nature of their connection—is finally revealed.
Red Light
2025
5.3A patriot (René Lavan) with a rebellious brother falls in love with a dissident's daughter (Mayte Vilán) in Castro's Cuba.
Bitter Sugar
1996
6.0After risking his life crossing the Florida straits on a raft, a young Cuban searches Miami for his missing father. When a political shift makes him America’s first Cuban undocumented immigrant, he must battle the new and bigger fear of deportation, while trying to find where he really belongs.
The Last Rafter
2020
6.2A young woman’s dreams of love are trapped in an empty life of broken promises and futile hopes, as she desperately awaits the return of her long-missing father. In order to win her heart, a local tollbooth operator sets out to find him. One fateful evening at the tollbooth, in a feverish collision between reality and dreams, their lives change, enabling them to start anew.
Tollbooth
1994
8.0A Miami movie producer must confront his dark past when his long-lost love returns.
The Magnificent Mendez
2026
8.7Every witch way like you have never seen it before all your magic comes back in this movie
Every Witch Way: Spellbound
2014
4.3An unemployed actress is offered a commercial if she can convince a Christmas-obsessed ad agency staff to finish an ad campaign on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Overtime
2024
Behind the camera
10.0StartUP Love follows a group of young, ambitious coders living together in a cutting-edge startup incubator, racing to develop an AI product that could make them millions. Their professional lives spiral into personal chaos when one housemate brings home a one-night stand—only to discover that her roommate is already dating him. Suddenly, a tangled, passionate, and chaotic bisexual love triangle emerges, testing friendships, loyalties, and the limits of love amid the high-stakes world of tech innovation. The house and relationships become in jeopardy as one of the housemates steals the technology to sell it to a venture capitalist. The team comes together to protect their investment and stop the deal.
StartUp Love
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NRTwo strangers regain consciousness in a dimly lit room, disoriented and unable to remember how they got there. With no way out and no clue who has confined them, they are forced to rely on each other for survival. As fear and uncertainty mount, a tense bond forms between them—one that blurs the lines between trust, desire, and control. The confined space becomes both refuge and prison as emotions intensify and reality begins to distort. When an ominous red light suddenly flickers on, the truth behind their captivity—and the fragile nature of their connection—is finally revealed.
Red Light
2025
8.0A Miami movie producer must confront his dark past when his long-lost love returns.
The Magnificent Mendez
2026