Luis Gerónimo Abreu received a mention in the category Best Leading Actor in a Short Soap Opera for the Colombian Netflix series 'Give me back my life', at the eighth edition of the Produ Awards.
In the romance-drama story, which hit the streaming platform last July, the Venezuelan actor stood out for playing the ranch foreman Rogelio Benítez, the villain of the story, who sets out to win over Mariana Azcárate (Paula Castaño), the daughter of a powerful ranch owner.
"This news makes me happy. 'Give Me Back My Life,' the series we made in Colombia last year, which was available on Netflix, just earned nine nominations for the Produ Awards," Abreu said in a video posted on Instagram.
"I want to congratulate all of our colleagues who are nominated because I'm also nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Short Telenovela. I'm so happy and thrilled with the entire project, because it deserves it," he added.
10 years in the Making
Luis Gerónimo joined the cast of the Colombian production in the second season after the departure of Colombian actor and model Ricardo Mejía, who played Rogelio Benítez in the first season.
"It's a huge commitment because Ricardo Mejía is a wonderful actor. You have to take on the role and try to make it as coherent as possible and find justifications for the changes that have occurred over the past 10 years," Abreu said in an interview with Caracol TV.
"The difference is that Rogelio reached a position of power, which is what he was looking for. This Rogelio is much more arrogant. He felt he had much more power and that he had the upper hand," he added.
The 52-year-old artist also explained that the feelings Rogelio had in stage one are still present in stage two. "Internally, he has the same traumas, the same anger, the same pain, and we wanted to work on that."
Also nominated
Another Venezuelan who is part of the group of finalists for the awards is Scarlet Gruber. She was singled out as Best Lead Actress in a Biographical Series for the production 'Gloria Trevi: They are me'.
Scarlet shared the happy news via her Instagram stories with a post about the mention.
The artist, as you may recall, played the adult version of the "Pelo suelto" singer in the aforementioned miniseries. Bringing Trevi to life in the fictional film wasn't easy for Gruber, as she claimed she hadn't experienced the physical and emotional abuse depicted in the series.
“It has made me a freer person and more aware of the level of abuse that a person can experience. Understanding that has transformed me and that is the purpose we have as a production company, so that people who identify with these events can seek help,” she said in an interview with the Mexican website El Heraldo.
In the Best Leading Actress category, Venezuelan Scarlet Ortiz also received the nomination for the comedy 'Dramática', which was released in 2023 and in which she starred alongside Luis Gerónimo Abreu and Roxana Díaz.
"I feel very proud that they asked me to join this beautiful cast of Venezuelans. This is very important to me because we as Venezuelans were once very strong in dramas worldwide, and taking the step to make this happen again is wonderful," Ortiz said in a recent interview with People en Español magazine.
'Dramatic'
The series, for its part, received nominations in the categories of Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Elba Escobar) and Best Supporting Actor (Aroldo Betancourt).
'Dramáticas' represents a turning point in the world of Venezuelan entertainment, as it captured great interest from the public and the press for being the first production to be executed in seven years in which the industry was paralyzed.
"Dramáticas, the production that revived the drama industry in Venezuela, has received four nominations at the PRODU Awards @produ. Congratulations to the entire team and our beloved actors and actresses!" HispanoTV shared on Instagram.
The cast included Lupita Ferrer, Mimi Lazo, Amanda Gutierrez, Tania Sarabia, Dora Mazzone, Hilda Abrahamz, Carlos Guillermo Haydon, Victor Drija, Aran de las Casas, Rosmeri Marval, among others.
The Produ Awards announced its finalists in 138 categories, who will be awarded in a streaming gala on October 30 and 31.
Disney+, Max, Netflix, ViX, Prime Video, AppleTV+, Televisa, Univisión, Telemundo, Flow, TV Azteca, Antena 3, RCN, Caracol, E!, Las Estrellas, Movistar PLus+, Mega, RCN, Paramount+, Telefe, RTVE, eltrece and Globo TV are some of the channels and platforms with the most nominations.
