Background:

“I'd like to be seen as just an actor who happens to be Latino. Some people aren't open to that yet.” Kamar De Los Reyes    

American actor Kamar de los Reyes is most popular for his portrayal of Antonio Vega on the television soap opera “One Life to Live” (1995-1997, 1998, 2000-2009), from which he won an ALMA Award in 2008 and several nominations in the former years. First coming to critical attention in 1994 for his attractive performance as a gay Irish-Mexican boxer in the stage production of “Blade to the Heat,” the San Juan, Puerto Rico-born performer entered the soap opera realm with a regular part in “Valley of the Dolls” (1994) before scoring his massive break with “One Life to Live.” De los Reyes also has played recurring roles on several TV series, including “ER” (1995), “Promised Land” (1998-1999), “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (2009) and “Reed Between the Lines” (2011), and has made guest appearances in various TV shows. His film credits include “Nixon” (1995),  “The Cell” (2000) and “Salt” (2010), to name a few.  

Currently, De los Reyes is married to actress  Sherri Saum. He has one son from a previous marriage.    
    

Trumpeter

Childhood and Family:

Born Luis Ruben De Los Reyes on November 8, 1967, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Kamar De Los Reyes relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada when he was two years old. He is the son of Cuban percussionist and drummer Walfredo de los Reyes and a Puerto Rican mother, Matilde Pages and is the youngest of five children. His brother Daniel de los Reyes plays percussion for the Zac Brown Band, while another one, Walfredo Reyes, plays percussion for “Chicago.” His sisters, Lily and Ilde, both work in the hotel business.

Growing up in a very musical family, Kamar started playing trumpet at age 4. He played with trumpet greats like Harry James, Doc Severinsen, and Dizzy Gillespie, but decided to put the instrument aside while in high school to try other opportunities. He joined the pop/jazz ensemble Harmony Express as singer and dancer and eventually made his acting debut in his senior year of high school. About the same time, he studied dance at Backstage Dance Studio and performed with small musical combos. Kamar was in the same high school as Charisma Carpenter as well as  Lorenzo Fertita and Dana White, co-founders of UFC.

At age 30, Kamar became a father with the birth of his son, Caylan. He has been divorced from the child's mother, Elane. On May 19, 2007, Kamar tied the knot with former “One Life to Live” co-star Sherri Saum in New York City.


Blade to the Heat

Career:

Kamar De Los Reyes made his acting debut as El Gallo in the stage production “The Fantastiks” during his senior year of high school. While visiting his brother Daniel in Los Angeles, he landed a dancing role, and before long he was hired to work with Kenny Ortega in the film “Salsa” (1988), which was directed by to Boaz Davidson. De los Reyes went on to land important roles on such films as Alan Stewart's “Ghetto Blaster” (1989), opposite R.G. Armstrong and Harry Caesar, Addison Randall's “East L.A. Warriors” (1989), with Tony Bravo and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and the Joe Hart written action/thriller “Coldfire” (1990), alongside Wings Hauser and Michael Easton. He continued to appear in other films like “The Silencer” (1992, starred Lynette Walden, Chris Mulkey and Paul Ganus), “Street Knight” (1993), “Da Vinci's War” (1993) and “Father Hood” (1993).

In 1994, De Los Reyes gained critical notice for his portrayal of gay Irish-Mexican boxer Pedro Quinn in the Public Theatre's production of “Blade to the Heat.” Following this, he landed the regular role of Ray Ariaz on the soap opera “Valley of the Dolls” (1994), with Sally Kirkland, and scored a recurring role on the hit medical series “ER” (1995), playing Hernandez.

However, De Los Reyes did not enjoy a huge success until he won the role of Antonio Vega in the ABC long running soap opera “One Life to Live.” He originated the role on July 10, 1995, but left in August 1997 and later made an appearance in 1998. In 1998, he also received an ALMA nomination  in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Soap Opera.

During his first tenure on the soap, De los Reyes kept his presence on the big screen with appearances in Oliver Stone's “Nixon” (1995), where he had a small but memorable part as convicted Watergate burglar, Eugenio Martinez, and Joseph Medina's “In Search of a Dream” (1997), as well as guest spots in “New York Undercover” (1996) and “Swift Justice” (1996). He portrayed Tomas Alvarez on the soap “Four Corners” and Gavin Kendrick on the made for television film “Blood on Her Hands” (both 1998).   

From 1998 to 1999, De Los Reyes played the recurring role of Leon Flores on the CBS drama series “Promised Land.” He went on to play Jack Brant in two episodes of “Total Recall 2070” (1999), Eddie Testaverde in an episode of “Touched by an Angel” (1999) and Ramon Archiletta in an episode of “Early Edition” (1999).

De los Reyes returned to “One Life to Live” to play Antonio Vega in February 2000 and would remain with the character until March 25, 2009. He made a brief return on the episodes which broadcast on April 21 and 22, 2009. In his next stint on the soap,  De los Reyes nabbed a Daytime Emmy Special Fan Award nomination for America's Favorite Couple (2002), ALMA nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama (2001 and 2002) and Outstanding Performance in a Daytime Drama (2006), and an Image nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series. He eventually took home the ALMA Award in the category of Outstanding Performance in a Daytime Drama Series for his role on the series.

Apart from his work on the soap, De los Reyes co-starred with Thalia in the comedy/drama film “Mambo Café” (2000), was cast as Officer Alexander in the psychological thriller film “The Cell” (2000), opposite Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Onofrio, starred in Lisa France's romance film “Love & Suicide” (2005) and portrayed Young Ivan in the drama film “Cayo” (2005), by Vicente Juarbe. On the small screen, he starred in the TV movie “The Way She Moves” (2001, with Annabeth Gish and Daniel Cosgrove), portrayed Jose Beveagua in “Undefeated” (2003), a TV film directed by and starring John Leguizamo, and guest starred in “Law & Order” (2005).

After leaving “One Life to Live,” De los Reyes appeared as a guest star in television series such as “CSI: Miami” (2009, as Jason Molina), “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (2009, as Teru) and “The Mentalist” (2011, as Omar Vega). He played the role of Anthony Guillory in three episodes of “Reed Between the Lines” (2011). Besides,  De los Reyes was cast as Secret Service Agent in the action film “Salt” (2010), starring Angelina Jolie.   

In 2012, De los Reyes's voice could be heard as Raul Menendez in the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops II.”            


Awards:

ALMA: Outstanding Performance in a Daytime Drama Series, “One Life to Live,” 2008 Show Less