Edgar Ramírez brings physical commitment and a facility with languages to demanding parts. We rate that seriousness, with a caveat: a supporting role can leave him indistinct, however good the film around him.
Fi1m perspective
When Ramírez plays Redondo in Che: Part One (2008), we struggle to tell him apart from the other men around Guevara. Steven Soderbergh's attention to marches, supplies and discipline makes a bracing film, but the supporting characters remain indistinct. We were interested rather than moved, partly because Ramírez, Santiago Cabrera and Vladimir Cruz were given so little to separate them. The reservation matters: Ramírez's diligence is appealing, but he needs a part with enough detail to distinguish him from the rest of the cast.
The larger roles offer a clearer reason to follow him. Early international work in Domino (2005) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) preceded the title role in Carlos (2010), the miniseries that brought him international attention. He speaks five languages, researches his characters and interviews people connected to them where possible. Playing Roberto Durán in Hands of Stone (2016) also meant training as a boxer. These are better reasons to take him seriously than the number of tense situations he has been cast into.
Alongside those leads, he has continued to take supporting parts. In Zero Dark Thirty (2012), he plays Larry from Ground Branch for Kathryn Bigelow, whose patient, tense thriller we recommend with reservations about its handling of torture. Jessica Chastain holds the film together; it would be misleading to recommend it primarily for Ramírez.
Emilia Pérez (2024), with Ramírez as Gustavo Brun, makes a different case for separating the actor from the film around him. Jacques Audiard's musical stays watchable through Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón, but its songs disappoint and its second half settles into telenovela. We would not make that uneven ensemble film the starting point either. Ramírez's recurring action and intense dramatic parts risk making physical commitment seem like his only asset. Start with the larger assignment in Carlos; there is more reason to be curious about him when he has room to work.
Biography
Édgar Ramírez is a Venezuelan actor. Born on 25 March 1977 in San Cristóbal, Táchira, he studied communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas and worked in media before turning to acting.
He began his career in Venezuelan television with the telenovela Cosita Rica (2003–04). His international breakthrough came with The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and Steven Soderbergh’s Che: Part One (2008), in which he played Ciro Redondo García. His portrayal of Carlos the Jackal in the 2010 miniseries Carlos earned him the César Award for Most Promising Actor and nominations for a Golden Globe and Emmy.
Ramírez has appeared in films including Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Point Break (2015) and Emilia Pérez (2024), playing Gustavo Brun. He received further Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his role as Gianni Versace in the 2018 miniseries The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
