Alencier Ley Lopez

Cinematographer-director Venu brought Alencier Ley Lopez into films with Daya (1998), which was also Venu's first film as director. By then theatre had been part of his life for years. Born on 11 December 1965 in Puthenthope, a coastal village in Thiruvananthapuram, he first went on stage at five after being drawn in by the Leyon Lopez Nadakaolsavam festival, and later formed the Netaji Theatre troupe with friends. He studied at St. Xavier's College, Thumba and University College, Thiruvananthapuram, and in college worked with C. P. Krishnakumar's troupe, Kavalam Narayana Panicker's Sopanam and K. Raghu's Natakayogam. He also acted in the TV serial Nokketha Doorathu. He played one of the leads in K. R. Manoj's festival title Kanyaka Talkies (2013) and appeared in Vedivazhipadu the same year. Rajeev Ravi cast him in Annayum Rasoolum (2013) and Njan Steve Lopez. Maheshinte Prathikaaram gave him his first major break, and his role in Dileesh Pothan's Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017) won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actor. He works in Malayalam film and theatre, and is in the cast of Padayaatra, Adoor Gopalakrishnan's upcoming film with Mammootty.