Damian Chapa
Acting
Biography
Damian Robert Chapa (born October 29, 1963) is a Native-Latino American actor, film director and film producer. Chapa was born in Dayton, Ohio, USA. He was briefly married to Natasha Henstridge. Among his earlier notable film roles are one of the leads in Taylor Hackford's Blood In Blood Out and the part of Ken in the film adaptation of Street Fighter. Subsequently, Chapa has directed and produced, in addition to starring in, his own films. These movies include 1998's Kill You Twice, 2000's The Lonely Life of Downey Hall, 2002's Man of Faith, 2004's Shade of Pale, 2004's El Padrino, and 2006's I.R.A.: King of Nothing. Chapa co-wrote and directed Polanski Unauthorized, a biopic of Roman Polanski, in which he played the title role. It was released on February 13, 2009, in Los Angeles, California. Chapa will begin filming the only film about Marlon Brando ever to be made, in June 2010 called Brando Unauthorized. He followed this with "Vatos Locos", starring himself. Albert Pyun was supposed to direct, but left the project following a dispute over his salary, so Chapa directed himself. The film is about the Chinese mafia in Los Angeles and how the Mexican gang boys, known as "vatos," fought back and defeated the Chinese gang-bangers. As of 2011, Chapa has yet another project in development, an indie drama titled "The Best So Far," which takes place in the late 80's, about a small-town Canadian girl who loves Judo and dreams about being one of the finalists at the '88 Olympics. The ensemble drama follows the lines of Rocky, in the sense that it's not about winning, but going the distance and getting your life back. Chapa, who wrote the drama, will play the widowed father, who does his best to make life easier for his daughter. Although the film is in its very early development stages, Chapa hopes the script will attract the interest of talented artists such as Ellen Page for the main role and Jennifer Connelly for the supporting role, this being the part of the final, toughest competition Page's character faces off during the '88 Olympics and gets defeated by. Although not winning, she gets her sense of victory be offering a brave stand against the better fighter, and both discover, in the process, they are quite simillar, despite their differences. Insiders who had a chance to read the script stated that it is one of the finest not-yet-filmed scripts they had ever seen. Acclaimed director David Cronenberg asked for New Line to bid for the script, but Chapa wouldn't sell it, because of his determination to direct the picture himself. The project is slated to be shot sometime in mid-2012, for tentative release in 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival. Description above from the Wikipedia article Damian Chapa, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Known For
Al Bundy is an unsuccessful middle aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dim-witted and promiscuous.
Married... with Children
Follow the lives of a group of young adults living in a brownstone apartment complex on Melrose Place, in Los Angeles, California.
Melrose Place
The Fugitive Task Force relentlessly tracks and captures the notorious criminals on the Bureau's Most Wanted list. Seasoned agents oversee the highly skilled team that functions as a mobile undercover unit that is always out in the field, pursuing those who are most desperate to elude justice.
FBI: Most Wanted
Modern-day Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker's independent crime-solving methods have their roots in the rugged traditions of the Old West. Walker's closest friend is former Ranger, C.D. Parker, who retired after a knee injury, and now owns "C.D.'s," a Country/Western saloon/restaurant. Rookie Ranger, James "Jimmy" Trivette is an ex-football player who bases his crime-solving methods on reason and uses computers and cellular phones. Alex Cahill is the Assistant DA who shares a mutual attraction with Walker, but often disagrees with his unorthodox approach to law enforcement.
Walker, Texas Ranger
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.
Bound by Honor
Colonel Guile and various other martial arts heroes fight against the tyranny of dictator M. Bison and his cohorts.
Street Fighter
A disgruntled ex-CIA operative, his assistant and their assembled group of terrorists seize a battleship with nuclear blackmail in mind. They've planned for every contingency but ignore the ship's cook, former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback—an error that could be fatal.
Under Siege
Sought by police and criminals, a small-time huckster makes a deal with a TV newsman for protection.
Money Talks
The story of a married American couple who go to the San Sebastian Film Festival. They get caught up in the magic of the festival, the beauty and charm of Spain and the fantasy of movies. She has an affair with a brilliant French movie director, and he falls in love with a beautiful Spanish woman who lives there.
Rifkin’s Festival
When one of her hits goes wrong, a professional assassin ends up with a suitcase full of a million dollars belonging to a mob boss.
Betrayal
After a series of murders in motel rooms are connected, police detective Matt Dickson heads out on the trail to find a serial killer. He discovers that he signs the motel guest-books with the names of boxers, and gets a lead on him. However, just when he fails to catch up and arrest him, the chase becomes personal.
Dead Connection
A rescue team investigates a silent Antarctic base, only to uncover a hellish force raising the dead—turning the frozen outpost into a blood-soaked battleground where the corpses don’t stay buried.
Sometimes They Come Back... for More
About the 1989 murders of Carolco Entertainment chairman, Jose Menendez, and his wife, Kitty, who were killed by their sons, Lyle and Erik, in Beverly Hills, allegedly for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
El padrino: The Latin Godfather
It should have been a simple murder. But a botched job, an old flame, and too many loose ends can spell just one thing for businessman Colin Wentworth: chaos!
Facade
A former mob hitman, now in witness protection, is forced to come out of retirement when his family is threatened by his cohorts. He teams up with a skateboarding kid, who has a computer disk that the mob wants to get their hands on that has a list of new names for individuals in the FBI witness protection program. The list includes his dad, who separated from his mother years before and hadn't been seen since.
Hitman's Run
At a secret Russian nuclear missile base, an ex-U.S. SEAL member is planning to launch a missile strike on the United States, and the only way to stop him is with the best of the best. Because of a natural gas refinery leak, the newly formed team must infiltrate without conventional weapons and use a mixture of martial arts skills, swords, crossbows and unconventional arms in their top secret attack.
U.S. Seals II: The Ultimate Force
Jason Davis is a reporter who gets an anonymous tip that turns him into an eyewitness to a judge's murder.
Exposé
A ruthless drug lord murders the family of a little girl in Spain, he makes a fatal mistake: letting her live, setting in motion a bloody chain of events in this tale of revenge and its cost.
Pistolera
Captain Muller struggles to survive fighting overwhelming Russian forces. Wounded, he is sent to Normandy as Americans Lee and Trey prepare for D-Day. Soon, scores are settled and battle brings our GIs and Germans on the same path.