Rafa Casette (born August 20, 1965) is a Spanish actor and singer. His career began aged 30 in a Spanish zarzuela called La Verbena de la Paloma in 1995. After his participation in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim in 2009 at the Teatro Español de Madrid,[1] he has been involved continuously in audiovisual projects, including his first lead role in the upcoming film La mujer que hablaba con los muertos (The woman who talked to the dead) by director César del Álamo.[2]
Rafa Casette | |
|---|---|
 Rafa Casette at Sitges Film Festival 2012 | |
| Born | August 20, 1965 Zaragoza, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation(s) | Actor and singer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Career
Casette began singing at a young age. After finishing high school he decided to become a lawyer and started his studies at Autonomous University of Madrid,[3] while singing as a hobby in several amateur choirs of progressive quality, performing in international tours (France, Italy, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Poland). He abandoned his law studies due to financial difficulties and over the years he worked as a burger cook, insurance salesman, Internet webmaster, telemarketer, electronic music composer, CGI designer, and comics illustrator.
He made his acting debut in 1995 in the Spanish zarzuela called La Verbena de la Paloma (The Fair of the Dove), filling in for a choir member at the Teatro Calderón de Madrid company of director José Luis Moreno. He first appeared as a chorus singer and support actor, with roles of increasing importance owing to the support of director José Tamayo and his acclaimed international show Antología de la Zarzuela and other zarzuela Spanish directors. In the following years he studied Music and Acting at several public and private schools.
In 2008, he was selected from a cast of 1,200 to play Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the musical thriller by Stephen Sondheim in 2009 at Teatro Español de Madrid.[1] Taking advantage of free time between rehearsals and plays, he shot his first homemade videobook and enrolled in several talent agencies, starting a continuous audiovisual career; it includes a wide variety of short movies, TV series, international TV commercials,[4] radio broadcast acting[5] and host,[6] and his first lead role in the upcoming film La mujer que hablaba con los muertos (The woman who talked to the dead) by director César del Álamo,[7] which will be released in May 2014 at Nocturna, Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival.[8]
Nominations
- Premios Max (2013) — Best Supporting Actor for Pocahontas, El Musical[9]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Tarifa 3 (Third Fare) | Pelayo | Short. ESCAC – Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (Catalonia Film and Media Arts School). Filmed in Barcelona during the Sweeney Todd tour |
| 2010 | Sofía | Survivor | Short |
| Cambio de sentido (Changing Direction) | Doctor | Feature film | |
| El visitante (The visitor)[10] | The Smoking Man | Short | |
| Pepita Montes | Journalist | Short | |
| 2011 | Los Hombres Caballo (The Horse Men) | Fruit Seller | Short. Notodofilmfest online festival |
| In Extremis | Juanjo | Short. ECAM – Escuela de Cinematografía y del Audiovisual de la Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid Film and Media Arts School) | |
| Amor Sacro (Sacred Love) | Priest | Short. Released at 44 Sitges Film Festival | |
| 2012 | Estrellita (Little Star)[11] | Homeless | Short. Notodofilmfest online festival |
| Tus gritos me dan risa (Your screams make me laugh)[12] | Alejandro | Short. Released at 45 Sitges Film Festival | |
| 2013 | Última Transmisión (Last Transmission)[13] | Eduardo | Notodofilmfest online festival. There is an extended version Última Transmisión 2.0 (Director's cut) released in theatres |
| Funcionarios (Civil Servants) | Paco | Notodofilmfest online festival. In 2014 will be released its web series version | |
| María & Marta[14] | Deformed Man | Notodofilmfest online festival. Prosthetic makeup by David Ambit (Spanish [REC] series) | |
| El día del padre | Feature film. | ||
| #Sequence | Paco | Feature film. Collective work coordinated by Montxo Armendariz. Prosthetic makeup by David Ambit | |
| 2014 | Vigilantes | Paco | Notodofilmfest online festival. Prosthetic makeup by David Ambit |
| La mujer que hablaba con los muertos (The woman who talked to the dead)[15] | Carlos | Feature film. Release in May 2014 at Nocturna, Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Katiuska | Farmer | Theatre play recording TV released |
| El Barberillo de Lavapiés (Little Barber from Lavapiés) | Man | Theatre play recording TV released | |
| 2009 | Doctor Mateo | Postman | |
| Sin tetas no hay paraíso (Without Tits There Is No Paradise) | Invitado | ||
| 2010 | Supercharly | Transeunte | |
| Cuarto milenio – Operación 23 (Operation 23) | Paco Padrón | ||
| 2011 | Cuarto milenio – La casa Hinsdale (Hinsdale House) | Alex the Medium | |
| Los Quién (The Whos) | Editor | ||
| Cuarto milenio – El monstruo de Florencia (Monster of Florence) | Monster | ||
| Hoy quiero confesar (Today I Want To Confess) | Paquirri's Assistant | ||
| Cuarto milenio – La muerte de Carolina (The Death of Carolina) | Antonio Romero | ||
| 2013 | Gran Hotel (Great Hotel) | Executioner | |
| Poli&Cía (Cops) | Soto | TV pilot | |
| Cosas de Sofá (Smart Sofa) | Fernando | TV pilot | |
| Cuarto milenio – Hospital Adentro (Hospital Indoors) | Doctor |
Theatre
Zarzuela being his main activity, Casette has worked throughout Spain over the past eighteen years with many lyric companies including the Teatro de la Zarzuela National Company and the Royal Theatre National Company and he has been involved in the main theater seasons on the Iberian Peninsula.[16] He has a repertoire of over fifty zarzuelas, opera and operetta. He has also participated in the following plays:
| Year | Title | Role | Notes and awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–1999 | El gran teatro del mundo (The Great Theatre of the World) | Choir | |
| 2008–2009 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Choir | Eleven Gran Vía Musical Theatre Awards in 2009, including Best Public Musical and Best Theatre Director for Mario Gas[17] |
| 2009–2010 | Mónica Naranjo Adagio Tour | Choir | |
| 2010 | Qué más quisiera yo (If only I could) | Nando | |
| Antología de Musicales (Musical Theatre Anthology)[18] | Monsieur Thénardier | ||
| 2011–2012 | Pocahontas, el musical (Pocahontas the Musical)[19] | Christopher Newport | Nominated – Premios Max Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2012 | La venganza de la Petra (Revenge of Petra) | Tufitos / Jesús | |
| 2013 | Villanueva | Puritos | |
| Viceversa[20] | Job interviewer | Microtheatre |