George Akram

George Akram was born George Akram Drija Vivas in Caracas, Venezuela. From Syrian descent, he is the son of two highly recognized dancers and choreographers in his native country. He became the first Venezuelan to star on a Broadway musical; But his first job, at the age of 6, was as a host for a kids' TV show called "Video Time" which led to his appearance in significant national events, sports opening ceremonies and many commercials. At age 17, George successfully hosted one of South America's biggest live summer shows "Rugemanía"; where he had the opportunity to show his versatility as a host, actor, dancer and singer five times a week. After finishing his first musical as a lead titled " Celebremos La Vida", Akram decided to emigrate to the United States. George had the tremendous honor to be part of several major events including the Latin Grammys, Latin Billboards, Viña del Mar in Chile, among others, sharing stages with esteemed artists like Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Celia Cruz, Alejandro Sanz, Shakira, Daddy Yankee and many more. Akram's first major film role was Carlos Verastegui in the film KM72 (2015). He also participated in Vijay And I (2013) alongside Patricia Arquette; Stuck On You (2006) alongside Meryl Streep and Greg Kinnear and Sins Of Our Youth (2014) alongside Ally Sheedy. In addition to film, he can be seen on the Amazon Prime comedy Borderline. An appearance on the television series NCIS Los Angeles (2017), and roles for Hispanics soaps Las Dos Caras de Ana (2006) and Escándalos: Todo es real excepto sus nombres (2015). In 2008 by the hand of legend Arthur Laurents, George was given the opportunity to play the role of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, in the Broadway Revival of West Side Story at the Palace Theater in NYC. Worth mentioning, George completed the longest running Broadway production of WSS in January 2011, with a Grammy Award for "Best Musical Show Album" and a Tony Award nomination for Best Revival. Since then George has been invited to play the same role for Rita Moreno's tribute at the Kennedy Center Honors (2015), Hollywood Bowl (2016) (conducted by Gustavo Dudamel) and at The Salzburg Opera Festival in 2016. Following the Broadway run, Akram joined the world tour of "Between Worlds, The Musical", "Carmen: An Afro Cuban Jazz Musical" (2016) Directed by Moisés Kaufman and once again conducted by Dudamel: "Amor Brujo" at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (2015).