Alejandro Speitzer: From Child Star to Award-Winning Sensation

Alejandro Speitzer is a 28-year-old Mexican actor, model and producer, probably best known for starring in the television series “Aventuras en el tiempo” or “Adventures in time,” “Esperanza del corazón” or “Hoping heart,” “Atrévete a soñar” or “Dare to dream,” and “Oscuro deseo” or “Dark desire.”

Early life, source of career

Alejandro Sánchez Speitzer was born on 31 May 1995, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. He has a brother named Carlos Speitzer, born on 1 March 1991, in Culiacán, who has notably played Alejandro’s brother in the television series “Como dice el dicho” or “As the saying goes,” in which Alejandro starred from 2011 to 2015.

Alejandro moved to Mexico City at a young age, having started acting at five. It was accidental; he told MADMENMAG that he accompanied his brother to an audition, and the casting director asked who the child waiting outside was. His mother, Gina Speitzer, raised Alejandro and Carlos single-handedly. He told Revista GQ that his mother asked him if acting was his life’s calling at 13, and he remembered having no doubts that it was.

Career

Alejandro debuted in the Mexican TV mini-series “Rayito de luz” or “Ray of Light” in 2000 as Juan “Rayito” de Luz, the lead character. His acting chops and good looks were immediately apparent, and he was cast as Ernesto “Neto” del Huerto in the Mexican telenovela, “Adventures in time,” in which he appeared for 89 episodes in 2001. The following year, Alejandro landed another recurring role as Felipe “Pipe” Olmos in “Cómplices al rescate” or “Sidekicks to the rescue”. He then appeared in a few episodes of “Mujer, casos de la vida real” or “Woman, real-life cases” from 2001 to 2005.

In 2009, Alejandro landed one of his best-known roles, of Raymundo Rincón Peña, who he portrayed in 262 episodes of the “Dare to dream” telenovela. That led to him being cast as Diego Duprís Landa for almost the entire run of the “Hoping heart” telenovela from 2011 to 2012, Luis Martínez in “Bajo el mismo cielo” or “Under the same sky” from 2015 to 2016, and Juan Pablo Franco in “Señora Acero” or “Lady of Steel” from 2016 to 2018.

In 2014, Alejandro also won the TVyNovelas Award in the Best Young Lead Actor category for playing Sebastián Sánchez Bretón in 70 episodes of the “Mentiro para vivir” or “Life of lies” telenovela. Other notable series include “La Reina del Sur” or “The Queen of the South,” in which he played Ray Dávila in 2019, “El Club” or “The Club,” also aired in 2019, in which he appeared as Pablo, and “Enemigo Íntimo” or “Intimate Enemy,” in which he portrayed Luis “El Berebere” Rendón from 2018 to 2020.

Alejandro told El Siglo de Torreón magazine that he wanted to star in “The Club” because Pablo was rich boy who no one could imagine would be involved with drugs and the criminal underworld. Additionally, he liked that Pablo did everything that he planned, knowing it was detrimental to him and society. He felt that Pablo represented a portion of the current youth.

Rare movie roles

Alejandro made his movie debut as Brayan in 2017, in “Me guasta, pero me asusta” (“I like it, but it scares me”) a movie that he produced. Alejandro starred in “Campeones” or “Champions” as Mario in 2018, and reprised his role as Brayan in the sequel, “Me encanta pero me espanta” or “I love it, but it scares me” in 2021. Thus, he surprised many when he accepted the role of Ro in the romantic drama “Straight” in 2023 alongside Bárbara López as Elia and Franco Masini as Cris.

Returning to television

Instead of developing his career as a movie actor, Alejandro portrayed Darío Guerra, one of the main characters in the “Dark desire” series from 2020 to 2022. He surprised many by accepting that role because he announced that he would relax from a long, tiring filming schedule. Alejandro explained to BELLO Mag that he couldn’t miss out on playing Darío after reading the first chapter of the script. Darío was a sociopath, and Alejandro even hired a psychologist to help him understand the character. In 2023, he played Carillo in several episodes of “La Cabeza de Joaquín Murrieta” or “The Head of Joaquín Murrieta.”

Other work

Although Alejandro primarily treats fashion as a hobby and enjoys styling himself, he’s modeled for Glamour Mexico & Latin America, GQ Mexico, Dolce & Gabbana, and VANIDAD. Moreover, he’s graced the cover of Life and Style Mexico, GQ Style, ELLE Man, and Bello Mag. Alejandro is unafraid to push the limits, and frequently wears suits in vivid colors or unusual prints, wide-leg pants, and outfits that resemble dresses. He’s mainly worked with stylists Victor Blanco and Carlo Aguilar. Alejandro revealed his five staple pieces of clothing to GQ Mexico: colorful and co-ordinated shorts, a suit without a tie, a short-sleeved shirt or a polo shirt, and the silk shirt. He also has a white suit and often wears the double-breasted variant.

A las 2am hora México llega la temporada 2 de #OscuroDeseo 🖤
Conéctense con @NetflixLAT a las 2am MX para el Watch Party y comenten que piensan de los primeros capítulos. pic.twitter.com/gmNySAaZL5

— Alejandro Speitzer (@a_speitzer) February 2, 2022

Ex-girlfriend Minnie West

In 2012, Alejandro began dating actress Minnie West, according to Forbes. They started a production company, Wetzer Films, in 2015, producing the 2017 movie, “I like it, but it scares me,” which was Minnie’s acting debut. The director, Beto Gómez, called them ‘the new blood of Mexican cinema and actors with training, passion, and dedication.’ According to Distractify, Minnie told People en Español in 2016 that she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. However, after their split at an undisclosed time, she began dating Diego Boneta, an actor known for playing Luis in “Luis Miguel: The Series” from 2017 to 2021.

Ex-girlfriend, Ester Expósito

In 2020, Alejandro started dating the Spanish actress Ester Expósito. They met in late 2019, while filming the “Someone Has to Die” TV series. Journalists reported that the actress Danna Paola likely brought them together. She has been Alejandro’s friend since 2009, when they starred in “Dare to Dream” and appeared in the “Élite” television series with Ester. Alejandro and Ester mostly showed their relationship through pictures and videos taken during their trips across Europe in the summer of 2020, in which they were kissing on the beach, resting on a boat, eating at a restaurant, or attending events together, however, that stopped around June 2021.

They separately attended an event in Milan, Italy, in October 2021, which was the final confirmation of their breakup. According to Milenio, Alejandro declined to continue a scheduled interview because a journalist asked him about Ester at the event. Ester and Alejandro’s brother confirmed their breakup to the TVNotas magazine afterwards.

In February 2022, Alejandro commented a heart emoji under one of her Instagram photos, sparking rumors that they rekindled their passion. Then, Mexican newspapers reported that Alejandro went on a date with Ester to the Sunset Tower Hotel restaurant in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, however, Shannon de Lima was also present at that outing. Additionally, on 26 January, Ester’s birthday, she posted a picture to Instagram on which she tagged her new boyfriend, fellow actor Nicolás Furtado.

Girlfriend Shannon de Lima

Alejandro has been dating actress and model Shannon de Lima since at least April 2022, according to HOLA! Paparazzi first spotted them together in a shopping mall, according to Mag El Comercio. Afterwards, Alejandro and Shannon posted a few Instagram Stories, i.e., temporary pictures and videos, confirming their relationship. Shannon wrote ‘I love you ♥’ in one and called him her life in another. They also appeared at a few events but their debut as a couple was at the Platinum Awards ceremony in Madrid, Spain, on 1 May.

Interesting facts, favorite things

• Alejandro learned to drive at 15.
• He used to be melancholic – he couldn’t stop revisiting memories that made him sad.
• Alejandro admitted to having a savior complex, which repeatedly backfired on him and caused him to hire a therapist.
• He criticized the Fourth Transformationreform movement in Mexico, led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
• Alejandro lost 22lbs (10kgs)for his role in “Someone Has to Die” and noted that giving up chocolate has been the most significant challenge.

 

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A post shared by Alejandro Speitzer (@alejandrospeitzer)

• He would be a chef if he weren’t an actor – he considers himself a food lover.
• He enjoys many types of food, but his go-to meal is a hamburger with French fries. He puts double meat and cheese and prefers to eat it at McDonald’s, BurgerFi, or Shake Shack.
• Alejandro can wake up without an alarmand often doesn’t get deep sleep. He likes the feeling of waking up before the alarm, and sees it as comparable to having coffee.
• Alejandro shapes his life based on his feelings rather than what is best for his career.
• His hobbies are swimming, mountaineering, and playing soccer.
• Three of his favorite TV series are “La Casa de Papel” or “The Money Heist,” “24,” and “Sex Education.”
• He wants to improve at photographing with an analog camera.
• Most people are surprised to learn that he is shy at times.
• Love inspires him the most.
• Alejandro goes to the cinema as often as possible.
• Four of his favorite movies are “Grease,” “The Godfather,” “Marriage Story,” and “A Bronx Tale.” “La La Land” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” are his recent top choices.
• His favorite actors are Robert de Niro, Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio, although he ranks Leonardo the highest.

• Alejandro wants to work with Pedro Almodóvar, a Spanish director and screenwriter.
• His primary goal is to ‘have the ability to adapt to every situation that life puts in his path.’
• He can sing and play the guitar. He also sang on two tracks from the “Guerra de Ídolos” or “Price of Fame” musical telenovela.
• Alejandro has a catbut also loves dogs.
• He’s working on changing the perception of actors as objects of desire.
• Books that made him learn about life are “La ridícula idea de no volver a verte” or “The ridiculous idea of ​​never seeing you again” by Rosa Montero, “Tokyo Blues” by Murakami, “Normal People” by Sally Rooney, and “The Wild One” by Guillermo Arriaga.
• TC Candler ranked Alejandro 79 on the list of 100Most Beautiful Men in the World. He ranked higher than Zac Efron, Mario Casas, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
• He’s a proponent of the ‘love is love’ phrase, and supports the LGBTQ+ community.

Physical characteristics

Alejandro has dark brown hair, sometimes dyed blonde, and hazel eyes. He is 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall, weighs about 180lbs (82kgs), and has an athletic physique from CrossFit and boxing. Alejandro usually wears earrings in both ears and sometimes sports one or two helix piercings, i.e., earrings on top of his ear. Alejandro also wears rings, bracelets, and luxury wristwatches. Although he wears several, the most prominent is the Octo Finissimo Automatic, introduced by Bulgari in 2017.

Tattoos

Alejandro has the words ‘Everything you want has its time under the sky” tattooed across his back. He told GQ Mexico that his impatience was why he got it, as it reminds him to enjoy things as they come. He has seven more tattoos, four of which are small and located on his wrist, forearm, left pec, and the left side of his Adonis belt. The one on his calf is larger but rarely visible.

Net worth

Online sources put Alejandro’s net worth at between $8 million and $12 million, but it’s likely close to $1 million to $2 million. According to Glassdoor, telenovela actors in Mexico receive around MX$10,000 monthly on the higher end, about US$580 monthly. The COLOüRS TALENT Mexico talent agency, which represents him, likely bartered for higher pay, but his salary is still far under that of soap actors in the US.

Alejandro has been a Bulgari brand ambassador since October 2020, the first Mexican to sign a deal with the company. In his free time, he donates it to children without parents as the SOS Children’s Villages charity ambassador.