When Daniel Elbittar was a little boy he had big plans for his future. What he wanted to be more than anything was a dentist. That's right a dentist. So how did this handsome and sexy young actor make the jump from dentist to dreamy telenovela star? The answer sounds like something from a TV sitcom.
Remember that episode of "Full House" way at the beginning of the series? DJ wanted to be a child star so Uncle Jesse took DJ and her little sister Stephanie to an audition. What ends up happening is Stephanie gets the part and not DJ.
"Well it's a funny story," Elbittar said to Latin Times. "I wanted to be a dentist and my sister wanted to be an actress."
Elbittar explained that he went to keep his sister company when she was going on an audition for a soap opera. The Producers saw Daniel asked if he would like to audition and two weeks later he was told he got the part, even though his sister did not.
"And the funny story about this is, my sister, now she's a dentist and I'm an actor," Elbittar said laughing.
That was the beginning of what is going on a 14-year career and Elbittar has no plans to stop acting or working. He has made a name for himself starring on a variety of telenovelas and is now ready to make the jump from Latin American TV to American TV and movies.
The 34-year-old Venezuelan native moved to the United States at the age of 25, currently residing in Miami, Elbittar is preparing to move to LA and begin his American acting career. He is taking a short break right now having just finished a movie in Venezuela.
The title translates to "The Son of my Husband" in it Elbittar plays a guy named Antonio who starts off in the film as a bad guy but later has a change of heart.
"The role I was playing is a very good role," Elbittar said. "I am playing a role [as] a good guy and a bad guy. At the beginning my role is a bad guy once he does something in the movie he [becomes] conscience about life and he becomes a good guy."
What Elbittar liked so much about this film, besides getting to play two complex characters in one, was that the movie is not a typical Venezuelan picture.
"Sometimes in Venezuelan movies they are all about kidnapping and poor people, and this time it is a whole different presentation. In this movie we want to project the beautifulness of my country...it is a new topic to express to the world."
Movies in Latin American countries are not big, expensive in your face action flicks like in the United States. Movies in Venezuelan and other Latin American countries are often low budget films. The Latin American community turns to telenovelas rather than movies for entertainment.
"In the United States it's a big market," Elbittar said explaining the difference between US and Latin American movies. "In the Latin world we need [a bigger] budget to produce really good movies. The market is not enough to accomplish the things we want."
"With soap operas we have a bigger market and all countries [where] the people speak Spanish, they watch soap operas a lot. It's something cultural."
Making the move from one country to the next can come with some culture shock. Daniel Elbittar told Latin Times he felt that shock when he first came to the United States. He said he felt the most shock around his first Christmas in the States.
"To be honest December 24 for us is the biggest day. And for you it's the 25th," he said with a laugh. "So once I celebrated my first Christmas here in the United States I was shocked, like totally shocked. Because on the 24 [Americans] go to bed at I don't know 11 or 12 and I was like what? What's going on here?"
In Venezuela Daniel Elbittar is used to partying it up on Christmas Eve, opening presents and having a good time. In the US we put the children to be early on the 24th so they can wait for the arrival of Santa Claus and open gifts on the 25th.
"On the other hand," Elbittar added. "I had the opportunity to live an American holiday and it was amazing."
Life in the US has been good to Elbittar so far. His star is on the rise and he has already appeared on an Oxygen Channel reality show called, "Find Me My Man." On it Daniel took an unsuspecting realty show contestant on a bad date and later revealed to her some secrets for finding the right guy.
"It was kind of cool. Honestly I was like pushing her buttons all the time on the date and after we told her, listen this is fake. We need to tell you the truth, you don't want to make these mistakes when you go on a real date."
"After that we judged the girl and the anchor and myself and people from the production team. That was my first chance and my first opportunity to do something in America."
"So I'm in the process to start doing things in America and I'm looking forward to start working as an actor in Hollywood."
One of the goals Daniel Elbittar has set for himself is to be able to work with some of Hollywood's elite. Actors like Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino all make this list of famous faces Elbittar would like to work with. The number one actor on his list is Charlize Theron.
"If I have the chance to work with Charlize Theron I would fall in love," the actor said laughing. "She is awesome, beautiful and I respect a lot of actors like her, I'm [her] biggest fan."
Making the transition to the American entertainment industry has brought with it some exciting opportunities. Besides acting and helping the ladies find love, Daniel Elbittar likes to give back to his community. The protection of the environment is an important issue to Elbittar.
When Toyota asked him to be one of 12 celebrities promoting the new Prius in the United States Elbittar was excited and honored to be part of a cause he feels deserves more attention.
The Toyota Prius is a hybrid car that produces less emissions and keeps the environment cleaner and the driver's wallet full.
Elbittar explained the difference between his two cars the Toyota Prius and his BMW X6. Putting gas in his BMW usually cost Elbittar $85 and he would get 300 miles. With the Prius he only spends $40 and gets 600 miles.
"It's a very interesting car and you can save money and you take care of the environment and just to be a part of this campaign is amazing."
Daniel Elbittar is getting ready to make the move to Hollywood and really dive into his American acting career. He told Latin Times he is just looking for good roles and will take the opportunities he is presented as they come up.
The young actor is excited to see where his career is going to end up, just as fans should be excited to see this young talent take off.
"You know this is what I love doing," Elbittar said. "And I'm so lucky to work and get to do the things I love...let's see what happens."
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