Tony Nominee Yul Vázquez to Star in Starz Series MAGIC CITY

Yul Vázquez, Tony nominee for his performance in Broadway's MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT, will star in the role of Victor Lazaro in the new, original drama MAGIC CITY. The series will debut on Friday, April 6 at 10 pm ET/PT, exclusively on STARZ.

'Magic City' is set in Miami Beach in 1958, a tumultuous time in Miami and abroad as racial and religious segregation are at their pinnacle in the U.S., while 90 miles away in Cuba, Castro’s rebels are closing in on Havana. Regardless, Miami is still THE place to be and the Miramar Playa is its coveted epicenter. The Kennedys, the mob and the CIA all hold court here and Ike, the man with the dream, is the star. But everything comes at a price. 

This alluring new STARZ Original drama stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, “Grey’s Anatomy,” Dibbuk Box), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace, Max Payne) and Danny Huston (The Kingdom, Children of Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine). They star alongside an ensemble cast including Steven Strait (City Island), Christian Cooke (Cemetery Junction), Jessica Marais (“Packed to the Rafters”), Yul Vazquez (The A-Team, American Gangster), Dominik Garcia-Lorido (City Island), Kelly Lynch (Drugstore Cowboy, Charlie’s Angels) and Elena Satine (Just Go With It).

The “Magic City” story continues into the new year of 1959 as Ike Evans (Morgan) conjures ways to finance his dream. He has essentially sold his soul to the devil, mob boss Ben “The Butcher” Diamond (Huston). Ike’s wife Vera (Kurylenko), a former showgirl, and his three children think he is an honorable man, but he just can’t break his pact with the most dangerous criminal in town. His life is a façade.

In fact, nothing at the Miramar Playa is what it seems. By day, it’s diving clowns and cha-cha lessons. By night, escorts have secret liaisons with husbands in the cabanas, while Miami’s seedier residents and the law drift together to hear legendary singers, musicians and comics. As Ike’s world threatens to implode, he fights for his family and the Miramar Playa, in the Magic City.

“Magic City” was created by writer and executive producer Mitch Glazer (“The Recruit,” “Scrooged”), who grew up in the glamorous, ominous world of late 1950s Miami Beach, frequenting the lobbies of iconic hotels such as the Fountainbleau, Eden Roc and Deauville. Geyer Kosinski (Changeling, The Astronaut Farmer) also executive produces the series along with co-executive producer Ed Bianchi(“Deadwood”) and Emmy Award® winning producer Dwayne Shattuck (“Mad Men”).
About Starz Entertainment

Yul Vázquez was recently seen on Broadway in the Tony nominated “The Motherf**cker with the Hat” opposite Chris Rock, Bobby Cannavale, Annabella Sciorra and Elizabeth Rodriguez. He received nominations for a Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for “Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play" for his portrayal of the eccentric Cousin Julio.

Vázquez will next be seen in two upcoming feature films. The first is “Salvation Boulevard” (Mandalay) opposite Jennifer Connolly, Pierce Brosnan, Marisa Tomei and Greg Kinnear. Based on the book by Larry Beinhart, "Wag the Dog", the comedic thriller is set in the world of mega-churches in which a former Deadhead-turned-born again-Christian finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his church who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor.

The second is John Sayles’ “Amigo” opposite Chris Cooper and Garret Dillahunt. This is the story of a village mayor caught in the murderous cross-fire of the Philippine-American War in 1900, and the near-impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. Friendship and betrayal, romance and heart-breaking violence, this is a page torn from the forgotten history of imperialism and a mirror of today's irresolvable conflicts.

Vázquez has appeared in over 30 films, working with directors such as Ridley Scott, Steven Soderbergh, and Steven Spielberg. Other film credits include “The A-Team”(FOX) opposite Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson, “Little Fockers”(Universal) with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster”(Universal) alongside Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington (a 2008 SAG nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture), Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds,” (Dreamworks) opposite Tom Cruise, “Bad Boys II”(Columbia) opposite Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, “Runaway Bride”(Paramount) opposite Julia Roberts and “Nick of Time”(Paramount) opposite Johnny Depp. He reunited with director Steven Soderbergh to star opposite Benicio Del Toro in “Che” (IFC). Soderbergh first cast him in “Traffic,” for which he and his fellow cast members won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

He has had numerous roles on some of television’s most popular shows. From his re-occurring character Bob, the “angry gay Puerto Rican,” on “Seinfeld,” to one of Samantha’s love interests on HBO’s “Sex and the City,” to Rueben the Cuban on HBO’s "The Sopranos.” Other television credits include “Law & Order: SVU” (NBC) and “Fringe’ (FOX).

Vázquez is co-artistic director and a founding member of the LAByrinth Theatre Company. Theater credits include “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” (The Public Theater) opposite Sam Rockwell, directed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, “The Stendhal Syndrome” (Primary Stages) with Isabella Rossellini and Richard Thomas, and “The Floating Island Plays” (Mark Taper Forum).

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