Arap Bethke
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, and raised in Mexico City, Arap considers himself a global citizen. His acting career began at a young age, in Mexico, where he participated in various TV dramas and started training as an actor. However, it was not until after he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Cultural Studies in McQuarie University in Sydney, that he decided to pursue a career as an actor.
He soon landed starring roles in various Telemundo productions, such as Doña Barbara, Los Victorinos, La Diosa Coronada, and more recently, Eva La Trailera opposite Latina super star Edith Gonzalez.
After working in Miami, Los Angeles and Colombia, Bethke returned to Mexico to shoot 8vo Mandamiento an acclaimed political thriller with Argos Productions. This series rekindled his career in Mexico, where he then starred in dramas and comedies alike, such as Amor Cautivo and Corazon en Condominio, in prime time for Azteca TV.
Based on his critically acclaimed performances in television and theatre, in 2015 Gary Alazraki (Nosotros Los Nobles) engaged him to play the role of "JP Iglesias" in the hugely successful Club de Cuervos, for Netflix. This was the streamers first show produced in Latin America, which wrapped its 4th and final season. In 2017 Bethke starred in the critically acclaimed and hugely popular La Piloto, produced by The Lemon Studios both for Televisa in Mexico and Univision in the U.S. where he plays a mainstream action antihero. This project proved to be a commercial success around the world. It is currently in its third run on Netflix. Arap's first film, which he costarred with Diego Luna was Un Dulce Olor a Muerte. He also costarred in the romantic comedy Enamorandome de Abril, and appeared in Instructions Not Included, written, directed and starred by Eugenio Derbez, which made over 100 million in box office worldwide distributed by Lionsgate. This year, Sin Origen a sci-fi thriller will come out in theaters across Latin America.
As a director, Arap wrote, produced and directed Amateur a short film based on Jorge Franco's thriller, doing well in film festivals across the Latam circuit.
As an activist, Arap has supported causes that he is passionate about, including Al Gores' The Climate Project, and as a spokesperson for He For She a solidarity campaign for gender equality, initiated by the United Nations.