Yancey Arias Biography
Yancey Arias is an American actor, producer and director. He is famously known for his work on television crime dramas. Particularly he is known for his roles as Miguel Cadena in the NBC series Kingpin and as Gabriel Williams in the FX series Thief.
Yancey Arias got his first experience in entertainment at the age of twelve. This was when his grandmother threw him on stage to sing a song for a neighborhood talent show at Henry Street Settlement in downtown Manhattan. It was while at Saint John’s Prep High School in Astoria that he was discovered by Professor James Green.
Green then introduced Yancey Arias to Stage Door Manor in Loch Sheldrake, New York. There, he studied theater under Jack Romano every summer, and winter. He went to Moore Catholic High School in Staten Island, New York. While there, he won first-place honors in New York City on the forensics team, and took third in the nation for the drama category.
Yancey Arias later went to Carnegie Mellon University where he studied theater. In 2000, Yancey joined the cast of George C. Wolfe’s The Wild Party with Eartha Kitt, Toni Collette, and Mandy Patinkin. gHe starred in and co-produced two independent films, Destination Unknown (1997) and Home Invaders (2001).
The films helped pave the way to his eventual move to Los Angeles. Yancey Arias was discovered by David Mills and Allen Coulter in 2002. Mills cast him in the title role of Miguel Cadena in the hit NBC miniseries Kingpin (2003). Soon after the completion of the show Kingpin, he was given the opportunity to work in many other projects.
Yancey Arias interacted with such greats as Edward James Olmos in American Family (2002) and Andre Brugher in Thief (2006). Yancey has landed recurring roles in highly acclaimed series. Among these series include Amazon’s Bosch (2016-2018). He played the role of Mayor Hector Ramos in the series.
In the commanding role of General Cortez, Yancey Arias starrs in USA Network’s Queen of the South (2017-2018). Yancey created his production company, NYC Films, with his friends and partners Nestor Miranda and Charlton Luis. He continues his studies with Alan Savage in New York, and Catlin Adams and ‘Howard Fine’ (III) in Los Angeles.
Yancey Arias Age
Yancey Arias was born in New York City, New York, United States of America. He was born on 27th June 1971. Currently he is at the age of 48 years old as of 2019.
Yancey Arias Net Worth
Yancey has made a great fortune from his acting career. He has been in the industry for a very long time now. He has a net of approximately more than $3 million as of 2019. He has gained his net worth mainly from the roles he has played in various movies and television shows.
Yancey Arias Wife | Anna Carolina Alvim
Yancey Arias got married to the love of his life, Anna Carolina Alvim, on 22nd December, 2002. The couple has now been married for almost 17 years. The two have been living happily together. We do not have any information about Yancey’s past relationships or affairs. That clearly indicates how their love bond is together.
Yancey Arias Movies And TV Shows | Yancey Arias Queen Of The South | Yancey Arias Charmed
- Queen of the South (TV Show)
- American Gothic (TV Show)
- Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (TV Show)
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV Show)
- NCIS: New Orleans (TV Show)
- Intelligence (TV Show)
- Cesar Chavez (Movie)
- Bones (TV Show)
- Elementary (TV Show)
- Blue Bloods (TV Show)
- CSI: NY (TV Show)
- NCIS: Los Angeles (TV Show)
- Legion (Movie)
- Medium (TV Show)
- Knight Rider (TV Show)
- The Mentalist (TV Show)
- NUMB3RS (TV Show)
- Drive (TV Show)
- Live Free Or Die Hard (Movie)
- Thief (TV Show)
- In Justice (TV Show)
- Walkout (TV Show)
- Half & Half (TV Show)
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV Show)
- American Family—Journey of Dreams (TV Show)
- The Division (TV Show)
- CSI: Miami (TV Show)
- Kingpin (TV Show)
Yancey Arias Interview
Q: How is the element of ‘power’ seen throughout the play?
Yancey Arias: My character in the show is very much dominant. A lot of the story takes place through the eyes and memories of my character Jorge Ayala “RIVI.” Also, in 2006, there was a documentary called Cocaine Cowboys, which interviewed the whole side of what was going on and the craziness of the politicians, police officers, agencies, as well as the players who ran the drug trade at the time.
Q: Is there a weakness associated with a person of power?
Yancey Arias: Ayala in the play shows there is a certain type of power one must have which is acting cold as ice under pressure. Unfortunately, for the people who are cold, once their nicer spots are exposed – they have a daughter or a son. When someone finds out about their personal lives this is when it turns into a bias with the person of power trying to hold a position. The bias is that they will become emotional and the circumstances can exceed their power.
Q: What is the internal feeling of how power can affect a person?
Yancey Arias: Power affects a human being in two ways. There are several, but with great power there comes responsibility and respect. This principle is also echoed in movies like Spiderman. It is true it goes back to the history of mankind. One is a good man who is a hardworking individual who is given the power of any given thing. On the good side of the perspective, they realize the responsibility to treat everyone as good as they can and get people behind the reason why we are running our group the way we are.
Q: What is in the heart of an assassin and how having heart influences humanity?
Yancey Arias: People are going to understand that what is in the heart of an assassin is no different from two soldiers in the field fighting or shooting to bring honor to their family. These assassins are handpicked by people who are the so-called ‘bad guys’ in drugs. The bad guy on the spectrum is chosen with specific skills. They are given the sense that they are becoming a part of a family and now they have to be responsible for this family. It is like “you have to work for us, or you die.”
Q: How has the stage direction with this play taught you patience?
Yancey Arias: This is the responsibility of the director, crew, and everyone who is trying to show the visual end of the experience behind not just what we are saying, but in all beats of the play. Imagine you are given a playbook like in sports. You allow yourself to immerse into this playbook. If you put your whole heart into it and the time, then when the performance happens there is a celebration of all the preparation. It is a collaboration.
Q: Do you believe the interviews are close to what is being figured out in the play or do you believe they are farther from gaining the truth?
Yancey Arias: The writer and the director of the documentary is also the writer of this play, which is Billy Corben and Aurin Squire. These people are passionate Miamians that understand the history of Miami. They realize there are too many similarities and subject matters and questions that need answers. They are similarly happening today. It gives them an opportunity as creators to give a Miami look at this subject matter.
Q: With the words cash, corruption, or coke, which gets more in the way of a kingpin’s job?
Yancey Arias: You know the whole thing of “Do not get high on your supply.” A female character started using the coke, and everything went haywire. Once someone in power starts using their supply, this is when they are no longer themselves. All types of stuff start to happen. They are under the influence, and there is no control. There is no logic behind anything they do.
Q: When have you showed the same boldness as seen in your film Canal Street with your child?
Yancey Arias: I have a four-year-old and two-month year old. For my children, my only boldness is to make sure I do my best work every time I walk away from the job so I can continue working and to provide for my family. I pray every night that I never have an issue that would ever show harm to my family in any way, shape, or form. Obviously, as the kid grows older, they face things. I have lived long in my life. I felt it was better to wait to have children now.
Q: I am not a father so, about the film Canal Street, can you express the father and son connection?
Yancey Arias: I look back at my father. He made mistakes, but I will always love him. I have certain things in my personal life that I respect the hell out of him for – in terms of the love he has for me — also, on the flip side there were things about him that allow me to see the flaws in myself, and I am grateful to say that I put an end to most of the behavior that needed help so not to be enslaved by his life experience. I hope I can offer that to my son.
Q: How did you spend your first Father’s Day with your son?
Yancey Arias: It was a joyous experience. I remember we had a great breakfast together. Every moment that morning was full of surprises. I let him play with my hair and step on me. I loved every minute of it. He can get angry and stubborn but being a dad finally – not just on the TV or Film screen but being a dad and helping him understand his emotions in real time. . . WOW! I’m just blown away at every second and very blessed. There are no words to describe your first birth. The connection and value for a human to hold their child. It is a huge honor.
Q: How does your character on Queen of the South exercise his leadership capabilities?
Yancey Arias: He had a sense of loyalty to making sure the right people are in power of the cartel at the time. He works for the government. His job was to make sure if anybody mess with the superiors then they must be gone. He was an enforcer for the government to keep everything on the straight and narrow.
Q: Do you believe loyalty is a sub section of love?
Yancey Arias: Yes. There is a feeling of pride and being a part of something that is given to you in a certain way. For example, going back to General Cortez, we never got into this. One of our backstories was that his mother had passed on. She left him a wealth of knowledge behind. His father was a big politician at the time who wanted him to follow his political footsteps. He said, “No, I am going into the military.
Q: How do you become a man in action when the director yells action?
Yancey Arias: I become a man in action 15 minutes prior to the call of action, I find a space away from the crew. I am already in it. When I hear “Okay we have five minutes to rolling.” I say, thank you so much to the stage manager or tech, or first assistant director. I am ready to go. I have my plan ready for playing out the situation and the moments before what happened in the scene before. Or the connection to the scene before. Sometimes when they call “action,” I am on set before they call it. Just before this, about 15 minutes before I spend time working around set.
Q: When did you pick up the true essence of life and take it seriously?
Yancey Arias: Wow. I was probably about 25. This is when I met my wife and we started dating seriously. Any of the misunderstandings I had with my father or anything that grows out of your teenage years, I really grew to understand myself as a responsible man of understanding, respecting, and having perspective around 25-30.
Q: How does being a night owl help you be prepared for what to expect the next morning?
Yancey Arias: It is just a matter of the life I have currently, and it is a matter of necessity. Sometimes I have my little baby by me until 2 in the morning because she cannot sleep. I want to let my wife sleep as much as possible. I am going over my lines on my iPad while watching over my kids. Again, it is just a matter of necessity and the responsibility of a father.