Orestes Matacena Movies and Career Information

Orestes Matacena (born August 29, 1941) is a Cuban actor, comedian , director, producer and writer . Matacena is well known for playing sinister mobsters, such as Niko from The Mask. He has worked as an actor with high profile directors on films, television and commercials including Charles “Chuck” Russell, Barry Sonnenfeld, Doug Liman, John Milius, Marcus Nispel, Michael Ritchie, John Fortenberry, Leon Ichaso, Kim Manners, Armand Mastroianni, Leslie Dektor, Peter Bloomfield and the great artist Bill Viola. Matacena was born in Havana, Cuba to Italian immigrants. His father, Rafael, immigrated to Cuba because his uncle Orestes Ferrara had participated in the Spanish-American War in order to assist in the liberation struggle against Spanish control of the island. He grew up on a sugar mill plantation where the country and all kinds of animals, especially horses, were a large part of his life. He describes himself as a "third world country boy." But his business partner, Orna Rachovitsky, says he is a “Hillbilly in an Armani suit.” Orestes first ventured into films at the age of six when he worked as an actor in The Life of Billy the Kid, with a cast consisting only of children. The