Born in New York City, Rafael Simón began his formal acting career when he entered the National Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts, Georgetown (Washington D.C.) in 1995, after studying Anthropology and Political Science at the University of Maryland. He continued his training at the Studio Theater Conservatory (D.C.). He debuted as an actor playing Leoncio in 'I Never Said I Was a Good Girl' with the Gala Theater Company (D.C.). Almost simultaneously he played Ramon in Terrence McNally's 'Love! Valour! Compassion!' at the Studio Theater (D.C.). He was cast in the short film 'Sin Ton Ni Sonia' (1998) directed by Carlos Sama (Mexico City). There he continued shaping his craft in institutions such as the Mexican Institute for the Fine Arts (IMBA), and Casa del Teatro. Simón played his first role in a feature film, alongside Steven Bauer (Scarface) and Yareli Arizmendi (Like Water for Chocolate), in master cinematographer Gabriel Beristain's directorial debut 'El Grito'. He relocated to Los Angeles and immediately joined the Cornerstone Theatre Company (L.A.) in their Mark Taper Forum original grand production of "For Here or To Go", directed by Bill Rauch. Created his production entity, StagescraperWorks, with theatrical and film production plans (2001). Rafael joined director Carlos Sama in the feature length version of 'Sin Ton Ni Sonia' (2001-2002). While developing his directorial skills, he participated in several short films, as well as filming his own. Show less «