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I remember the first time I saw Manolo Cardona on television, 21 years ago. The Colombian telenovela ¿Por qué diablos? would only mark the beginning of a very successful career for the actor. “I haven’t stopped since I started,” said Cardona, now 44 years old. “It’s been an amazing journey.” Today, he stars on the very successful Netflix original show ¿Quién Mató a Sara? (Who Killed Sara?) as Alex, a young man who is framed for his sister’s death and is sentenced to 18 years in jail. Cardona is no stranger to crime dramas; you may recognize him from La Hermandad and Narcos. But before he started solving crime (and melting his fans hearts) on television, Cardona was studying finance in Cali, Columbia. “I was doing some theater in Cali, my hometown. Then went to university to study finance and international relations. In the meantime, while I was doing that, I was taking some theater and I was doing some commercials. I was doing that to, for example, get some money to get my girlfriend dinner,” he explained. “Then I met a couple of casting directors, they knew some programs coming up, and some of them called and asked me if I wanted to do a casting call for some roles. I said, yes.” He got the role and did it for five years. But after a year and half of juggling school at night and work during the day, Cardona decided to quit university and devote all of his time to acting. “It was too heavy for me.” Cardona has played more than 40 characters throughout his career, and each one has meant something for him. “Every role makes me grow in so many ways—personally and as an artist, as an actor—every role leads me to my next challenge and gives me the strength and knowledge to go and try to do the next thing I have to do,” he said. Cardona’s characters have been strong, passionate, and determined. “I’ve been doing very heavy stuff,” he said. “I need to do more comedy,” he laughed. “I love that, and love to have fun and enjoy and be able to laugh, but I love every genre.” He confessed that without knowing, he has more in common with his characters than he once thought. “I’ve been doing characters that are searching for the truth and justice, and I think that is something that I do. I fight for the truth and justice and equality and rights for everyone. Without knowing I’ve been doing that in characters and in my real life,” said Cardona. ¿Quién Mató a Sara? (Who Killed Sara?) was a project Cardona couldn’t resist. “When they were telling me about what the story was about, and the character, and everybody who was involved with the project, I was very happy because I knew the producers, a couple of the people involved in the