David Alvarez (actor)

{{Other people|David Alvarez|David Alvarez (disambiguation){{!}}David Álvarez}}

{{Infobox person

| name = David Alvarez

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption = Alvarez in 2021

| birth_name = David Alvarez-Gonzalez

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|05|11}}

| birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada

| occupation = Dancer, actor

| years_active = 2008–present

| website =

}}

David Alvarez (born May 11, 1994) is a Canadian dancer and actor, best known for being one of the original Billys in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical and becoming one of the youngest winners of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/young-montrealer-wins-tony-award/article1172726/ Globe and Mail. Young Montrealer wins Tony Award. Printed June 7, 2009.] Retrieved June 8, 2009. He trained as a dancer with American Ballet Theatre and plays Bernardo in Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story.

Early life and education

Alvarez was born David Alvarez-Gonzalez in Montreal, Quebec, to Cuban parents. His father, David Alvarez-Carbonell, is a professor of biology and chemistry, while his mother, Yanek, is an actress and director of theater.[http://www.newswise.com/articles/weird-coincidence-links-city-tech-to-hit-broadway-show-billy-elliot 'Weird' Coincidence Links City Tech To Hit Broadway Show 'Billy Elliot'] Newswise, 22 September 2009 His first languages were French and Spanish. He moved to San Diego, California, with his family when his father took a job at The Scripps Research Institute.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Alvarez began taking classical ballet more seriously at the California Ballet. In 2005, Alvarez received a full merit scholarship to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), and his family relocated to New York City.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/11/12/2008-11-12_david_lvarez_14_goes_broadway_in_billy_e.html|title=David Álvarez, 14, goes Broadway|work=nydailynews.com}} While at ABT, Alvarez danced feature roles in The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center Opera House and The Sleeping Beauty at the Metropolitan Opera House.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} He continued his ballet training at ABT until 2012.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Acting and dancing career

=''Billy Elliot''=

File:David Alvarez 2012.jpg

Alvarez is one of the three boys originally cast to play Billy in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical, along with Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish.[https://web.archive.org/web/20081210134542/http://www.billyelliotthemusical.com/news/archive/Broadway_billys_announced.php "Broadway Billys Announced"], Official Billy Elliot website He needed to study tap, acrobatics, voice and acting for the role and spent July 2007 through March 2008 preparing. Billy Elliot the Musical began performances on October 1, 2008, and Alvarez's first preview performance was on October 2.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121024134245/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123267-Electricity-Billy-ElliotThe-Musical-Opens-on-Broadway-Nov-13 First Performance] Playbill He played his final performance in the role on January 3, 2010.[http://www.broadway.com/buzz/michael-dameski-and-jake-evan-schwencke-are-billy-elliots-newest-billy-and-michael/] "Broadway.com"

Alvarez's portrayal of Billy Elliot was highly praised by the critics, including Ben BrantleyBrantley, Ben. [http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/theater/reviews/14bill.html In Hard Times, Born to Pirouette (to Elton John) at the Imperial Theater] The New York Times and Claudia La Rocco of The New York TimesLa Rocco, Claudia. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/arts/dance/27ceda.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Organizations/A/Ailey,%20Alvin,%20American%20Dance%20Theater An Array Of Styles, Assembled For a Cause] The New York Times and Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times.{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2008/11/theater-review.html|title=Theater review: 'Billy Elliot' on Broadway|date=13 November 2008|work=Los Angeles Times}} He was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly, The View, Sunday Morning on CBS News, The Today Show, Canada AM on CTV, CBC News, Despierta America on Univision, and at the 62nd Tony Awards ceremony.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Jointly with Kulish and Kowalik, Alvarez won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest winners of the award. Billy Elliot was nominated for 15 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won ten.[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090505/ap_on_en_ot/us_tony_nominations Tony Nominations]{{dead link|date=October 2016|fix-attempted=yes}}

Alvarez joined the cast of {{lang|es|Billy Elliot: El Musical}}, a Spanish-language production of the musical in Mexico City.{{cite news |title=billy-elliot-ten-years-later.html |work=The New York Times |date=5 June 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/theater/billy-elliot-ten-years-later.html |access-date=3 December 2021|last1=Robertson |first1=Campbell}} He was cast in the role of "Older Billy", which he played from February 10, 2017, to June 11, 2017.{{cite web |title=david-alvarez-se-une-billy-elliot |url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/espectaculos/teatro/2017/01/18/david-alvarez-se-une-billy-elliot |website=eluniversal.com.mx |access-date=3 December 2021}}{{cite web |title=Meet The Cast of Billy Elliot Mexico |url=https://betm.theskykid.com/meet-billy-elliot-mexico/3/ |website=BETM Skykid |date=8 February 2017 |publisher=Skykid |access-date=3 December 2021}}

=Later work=

Alvarez left theater to serve in the US Army. Following a service of two and a half years with the 25th Infantry Division he returned to Broadway, becoming a swing in a 2015 production of On the Town.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/arts/dance/david-alvarez-on-billy-elliot-the-army-and-on-the-town.html |title=David Alvarez on 'Billy Elliot,' the Army, and 'On the Town' |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Gia |last=Kourlas |date=April 24, 2015}} In 2016 in Mexico, Alvarez danced the role of adult Billy in the dream ballet pas de deux between Billy and his older self.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Since 2021, Alvarez portrays Isaac English in Showtime's television series American Rust.

While attending Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2018, he auditioned for Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/theater/billy-elliot-ten-years-later.html |title=They Shared a Tony for 'Billy Elliot'. What Did They Do for an Encore? |first= Campbell |last=Robertson|work=The New York Times|date=June 5, 2019}} He plays the role of Bernardo in this adaptation of the musical.{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2019/01/steven-spielberg-west-side-story-cast-ariana-debose-david-alvarez-josh-andres-rivera-rachel-zegler-1202535002/ |title=Steven Spielberg's West Side Story Finds Its Maria, Anita, Bernardo & Chino |first=Anthony |last=D'Alessandro|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=January 14, 2019}}

Personal life

In 2008, Alvarez was listed as one of the top 10 young ballet dancers to watch by Dance Spirit magazine.{{cite web|url=http://www.winnipegsun.com/entertainment/2009/02/12/8366081.html|title=All applause for Alvarez|work=winnipegsun.com}}

To complement his dancing and acting skills, Alvarez trained in classical piano at the 92nd Street Y School of Music, where he was awarded the Recanati-Kaplan merit scholarship.{{cite web |url=http://blog.92y.org/index.php/weblog/item/david_alvarez_finding_billy/ |title=David Alvarez: Finding Billy - 92Y Blog - 92nd Street y - New York, NY |access-date=2009-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304142759/http://blog.92y.org/index.php/weblog/item/david_alvarez_finding_billy |archive-date=2009-03-04}}