Bertila Damas

Bertila Damas is a Cuban-born, American-raised actress.

Career

Damas began her career in Miami, where she worked in Spanish-language theater while in college. She was later accepted at the Circle in the Square Theater School in New York City. There, she met Terry Hayden, who got her interested in The Actors Studio, where she resided until Lee Strasberg's death. Afterward, she studied with Stella Adler.^[1]

Bertila has worked on Broadway and Off-Broadway & the Regional theater scene, including her Broadway debut playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet for Joseph Papp's NYSF on Broadway, directed by Estelle Parsons; Yerma in Yerma at the Arena Stage; Clemencia in Electricidad at the Mark Taper Forum;^[2][3] and Marta in Eduardo Machado's Fabiola at Theatre for the New City in NYC, and many other productions. She is a Garland Awards Recipient.

On the big and small screens she has starred alongside Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Jimmy Smits, Greta Scacchi, Demi Moore and John Larroquette, and worked with Steven Spielberg, Alison Anders, Gillian Armstrong, and David Milch, among others.

Her films include Nothing But Trouble, Mi Vida Loca, and Fires Within.^[4] Her TV credits include The John Larroquette Show, King of the Hill, NYPD Blue, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and her most recent role, Pilar on Grimm.^[5]

On international Spanish television, Bertila is known for her role as the villainous Marta on Angelica, mi vida for Telemundo. She has been seen and heard in dozens of commercials and voice-overs in both Spanish and English.

Her concern for strong contracts, fair treatment of actors, opportunities for Latinos, and better diversity led Bertila to serve on the SAG Board of Directors (2010–2012) and also on the SAG-AFTRA Board (2012–2015). She is the current SAG AFTRA National Chair of the Ethnic Employment Opportunities Committee (2010–present).^[5]

References

External links

• Bertila Damas at the Internet Movie Database
• Bertila Damas at the Internet Broadway Database