Salvador Sánchez
Biography
Alfredo Salvador Sánchez Bolaños, born on 28 October 1943 in Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico, is a Mexican actor and director. He became one of the most relevant performers who revitalized Mexican cinema at the beginning of the 1970s. Since that period he has appeared in numerous films, including Cayó de la gloria el diablo (1971), La choca (1973), El apando (1975), Canoa (1975), Las Poquianchis (1976), Los albañiles (1976), Bajo la metralla (1983), Motel (1983), Journey to Paradise (1985), Going for a Nut (1986), Fire Angel (1991), Lady at Night (1993), Leap into the Void (1994), Natural Death (1996), Only Once (2000) and Herod's Law (2000). His career includes over one hundred credited roles.
Career overview
Alfredo Salvador Sánchez Bolaños was born on 28 October 1943 in Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico. He emerged as a prominent figure in Mexican cinema at the start of the 1970s, becoming one of the most relevant actors of that renewal period. Sánchez’s early screen work includes the 1971 film The Devil Fell from Glory (Cayó de la gloria el diablo) and the 1973 picture The Bump (La choca). He continued to build his reputation with roles in The Heist (El apando, 1975) and Canoa (1975), followed by appearances in Las Poquianchis (1976) and Los Albañiles (1976).
Throughout the 1980s Sánchez remained active, starring in Under the Shrapnel (Bajo la metralla, 1983) and Motel (1983), then moving on to Journey to Paradise (1985) and Going for a Nut (1986). The 1990s saw him in Fire Angel (1991), Lady at Night (1993), Leap into the Void (1994) and Natural Death (1996). At the turn of the millennium he appeared in Only Once (2000) and Herod’s Law (2000).
According to the Motion Picture Database, Sánchez has accumulated 127 acting credits, reflecting a long‑standing presence in both film and television. His career, spanning more than four decades, showcases a consistent contribution to the evolution of Mexican cinema.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- The Dead Girls (2025) as Juez Peralta
- Amanecer (2025) as Doroteo Talavera
- Curandero (2025) as Manuel
- 1938: When Mexico Recovered Its Oil (2025) as Peasant
- ¡Que viva México! (2023) as Notario / Don Florencio
- Más Allá de Tí (2023) as Crisanto Pescador
- The Beast (2023) as Don Gerardo
- El último rey: El hijo del pueblo (2022)
- The Exorcist (2022) as Señor Ramirez
- Malverde: El Santo Patrón (2021) as Ramon
- The Mongolian Conspiracy (2019) as Señor Liu
- Hijas de la luna (2018) Director
- The Voice of a Dream (2018) as Apolonio
- 40 y 20 (2016) as Don Doroteo
- Lo imperdonable (2015) as Crescencio Álvarez
- Between Shadows (2015) as Narciso
- The Perfect Dictatorship (2014) as Hombre X
- Puras mentiras (2013) as Luis Pérez Goya
- Porque el Amor Manda (2012) Director
- Una familia con suerte (2011) Director
- Tequila, historia de una pasión (2011) as Vicente
- El Infierno (2010) as El Padrino
- File of Attempted Murder (2010) as Antonio Villacencio
- Acorazado (2010) as Alacran
- Burden of Guilt (2009) as Padre Matías Quiroga
- Héroes de la seguridad (2009)
- Killer Women (2008) as Don Ramón
- Palabra de Mujer (2007) Director
- Charm School (2007) as Monseñor
- Jack's Law (2006) as Joker
- Misión S.O.S (2004) Director
- Sobre el arco iris (2004)
- Alegrijes y Rebujos (2003) as Asunción Yunque "Chon"
- Cómplices Al Rescate (2002) Director
- Collateral Damage (2002) as Peddler
- Solamente una vez (2002)
- The Mexican (2001) as Gunsmith
- El Noveno mandamiento (2001) as Andrés Roldán Martínez
- His Most Serene Highness (2000)
- A Breakfast Chronicle (2000) as Pedro (uncredited)
- Serafín (1999) Director
- Herod's Law (1999) as Pek
- Ojitos mentirosos (1999)
- Fuera de la ley (1998)
- Hurricane (1997) Director
- Pueblo chico, infierno grande (1997) as Consejo Serratos
- De muerte natural (1996)
- La Dueña (1995) as Macario Robles
- Salto al vacío (1995)
- Una buena forma de morir (1994)
- Amor que mata (1994) as Don Raúl
- The Food of Fear (1994) as Jefe
- Loving Ghosts (1994)
- La última esperanza (1993) as Pancho
- Dama de Noche (1993) as Diego
- Abuelita de Bakman (1993)
- Un ángel para los diablillos (1993) as Jefe de Policía
- Ángel de fuego (1992) as Rito
- El último narco (1992)
- Imperio de los Malditos (1992) as Rutilo Morán
- Octagon and Atlantis, the rematch (1992)
- Octagon and Mascara Sagrada in Fight to the Death (1992)
- La dama y el judicial (1992)
- Madres egoístas (1991) Cinematography
- Jóvenes delincuentes (1991)
- Perseguida (1991) as Commander German Paino
- Diplomatic Immunity (1991) as Colonel Hernández
- The Legend of the Scorpion (1991)
- La fuerza bruta (1991)
- One Man’s War (1991) as Ramírez
- Mujer de cabaret (1991)
- Mexican Ghostbusters (1991) as Procoro
- The Mexican Ninja (1991)
- Dos judiciales en aprietos (1990)
- Motel of Death (1990)
- El hijo de Lamberto Quintero (1990)
- With Fear in the Veins (1990) as José
- Violaciónes, casos de la vida real (1990)
- Old Gringo (1989) as Floreal
- La venganza (1989) as Rafael Galeana
- El jardín de la paz (1989)
- He kidnapped her, he raped her, and he killed her (1989) as Bonifaz
- Las asesinas del panadero (1989)
- El pecado de Oyuki (1988) as Yutaka Ogino
- The Marked Hour (1988) as (Varios)
- Flor y canela (1988) as Sinforoso
- Difficult Days (1988) as Diputado Gabriel Aguirre
- Angel River (1988) as Toral
- Furia en la sangre (1988)
- Zapata en Chinameca (1987)
- Salvador (1986) as Human Rights Leader
- Frida Still Life (1986) as David Alfaro Siqueiros
- Esperándote (1985) as Juancho
- Viaje al paraíso (1985) as Bulmador
- Under the Volcano (1984) as Chief of Stockyards
- Motel (1984) as Julián Vargas, Detective
- Under the Shrapnel (1983) as Tomas
- The Eve (1982) as Villegas
- Pedro Páramo (1981)
- Pedro Páramo (1981) Director
- ¿Y si platicamos de agosto? (1980)
- La madre (1979)
- Maria of My Heart (1979) as Chava
- The Recourse to the Method (1978)
- Drizzle (1978) as Indígena
- Caminando pasos... caminando (1977)
- El elegido (1977) as Don Liserio
- Canoa: A Shameful Memory (1976) as Witness
- The Heist (1976) as Albino
- Las Poquianchis (1976) as Reportero
- The Bricklayers (1976) as Chapo Álvarez
- Anyway, Juan is Your Name (1976)
- The House in the South (1976) as Genaro
- Esa mi Irene (1975)
- Letters from Marusia (1975) as Sebastián
- Aventuras de un caballo blanco y un niño (1975)
- The Master of Ballantrae (1974) as El Chueco
- Do You Hear the Dogs Barking? (1974) as Juan Dolores
- Those Years (1974) as Gen. Melchor Ocampo
- La Choca (1974) as Audias
- La yegua colorada (1973)
- Valente Quintero (1973) as Capitán Carrancista
- No One Will Love You Like I Do (1972)
- El vals sin fin (1972)
- Cayó de la gloria el diablo (1972) as Charro cantor / Solís
- La Generala (1971) as Jesús
- Emiliano Zapata (1970)
- Crimen y castigo (1951) as (uncredited)