Profiles: Manolo Cardona | Proimágenes Colombia

Actor, producer, and director Manuel Julián Cardona Molano was born on April 25, 1977, in Popayán, Colombia. At the age of nine, he moved to Cali, where he graduated from the Berchmans School and made his first appearances on stage. He is a founding partner and executive producer of 11:11 Films & TV, a production company launched in Colombia in 2005. The company later expanded its operations to the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Mexico, where it is now headquartered.
 
After high school, Cardona moved to Bogotá and enrolled at Universidad Externado de Colombia to study finance and international relations. While at university, he joined a modeling agency and quickly became the face of several advertising campaigns. He also worked as a presenter for major events such as Telemundo’s People en Español’s 25 Most Beautiful, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, People en Español’s 50 Most Beautiful, and The Journey of Your Life, a travel series by Telemundo and Toyota.
 
Cardona made his television debut in Padres e hijos (Parents and Children), where he starred from 1995 to 1998. He went on to star in a number of successful TV series, including Carolina Barrantes (1998, RCN Televisión), ¿Por qué diablos? (Why the Hell?, Cenpro Televisión, 1999), Amor a mil (Love to the Max, 2001, Caracol Televisión), Ladrón de corazones (Thief of Hearts, 2003, distributed by Telemundo), Gitanas (Gypsies, 2004,  aired by Telemundo for U.S. Hispanic Audiences), El cartel de los sapos (The Snitch Cartel, 2008, Caracol Televisión), Narcos (2015, Netflix), 2091 (2016, FoxTelecolombia), La hermandad (The Brotherhood, 2016), Rubirosa (2018), María Magdalena (2018, aired by TV Azteca), ¿Quién mató a Sara? (Who Killed Sara?, 2021, Netflix), and Medusa (2025, Netflix).
 
His film debut came with Rosario Tijeras (2005), directed by Emilio Maillé. That same year, he starred in La mujer de mi hermano (My Brother's Wife), directed by Ricardo de Montreuil, alongside Peruvian actor Christian Meier and Uruguayan actress Bárbara Mori. He later appeared in Disney’s Un chihuahua en Beverly Hills (Beverly Hills Chihuahua, 2008), by Raja Gosnell, earning a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Imagen Foundation Awards. Other notable roles include La última muerte (The Last Death, 2011), Contracorriente (Undertow, 2009)—a Colombian co-production directed by Javier Fuentes-León that won the Audience Award at Sundance and the Sebastiane Award for Best LGBTQ-Themed Film at the 2010 San Sebastián Film Festival, El cartel de los sapos, El cuaderno de Sara (Sara’s Notebook, 2018), and El rey de todo el mundo (The King of All the World, 2021), directed by Carlos Saura.
 
In 2023, Cardona made his directorial debut with Uno para morir (Death’s Roulette), which premiered on Paramount+. He also starred in the film.

As executive producer at 11:11 Films & TV, Cardona has overseen a wide range of original productions, including Amalgama (Amalgam), Claramente (Clearly), Dime lo que quieres (de verdad) (Tell Me What You Want, For Real), La negociadora (The Negotiator), Rubirosa, Uno para morir, El cartel de los sapos, and La hermandad. The company has also provided production services for titles such as La fiscal de hierro (Iron Prosecutor), Pambelé, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, Candy Cruz, Vuelve a mí (Come Back to Me), Las pelotaris, Parientes a la fuerza (Family by Force), and Las Bravas F.C.