José Antonio Raffo: The Chilean Actor, Musician and Performer Building a Versatile Career

Anwar Ali4 weeks agoLast Updated: July 21, 2026

José Antonio Raffo is a Chilean actor and musician whose career spans television drama, film, theatre, musical productions and live entertainment. He is best known to television audiences for roles in Pobre Gallo, Perdona Nuestros Pecados, Amar Profundo and Generación 98.

Raffo has also developed a parallel career in music with the band Témpera. In 2026, he introduced another side of his performance skills as a participant in Chilevisión’s Fiebre de Baile. His work shows a career built across several creative fields rather than around one television role.

José Antonio Raffo’s Age and Background

José Antonio Raffo de la Jara was born on 3 January 1992 in Santiago, Chile. He is 34 years old as of July 2026. His IMDb biography records his full name, date of birth and place of birth.

Raffo studied theatre at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In an early interview about his career, he explained that performance had interested him since school, where he took part in theatre and played in bands. He later taught theatre to engineering students at the University of Chile’s Beauchef campus, using acting as a tool for communication and confidence.

His academic training gave him experience in voice, movement and stagecraft before he became widely known through television. It also helped him move between screen acting, live theatre, singing and musical performance.

From Theatre to Television

Raffo’s route into television began through theatre. He played the central role in the Chilean production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The Pontifical Catholic University’s account of the production identifies Raffo and Francisco Melo among its leading performers.

Raffo later said that members of Mega’s drama department saw him in the production and invited him to take part in a talent workshop. That opportunity led to his first role in a television drama.

José Antonio Raffo’s Major Television Roles

Pobre Gallo

Raffo made his telenovela debut in 2016 as police officer Mauricio Andrade in Pobre Gallo. Mega’s career summary of José Antonio Raffo confirms that this was his first major television role.

The part introduced him to a national audience and began a long association with Mega’s drama productions.

Perdona Nuestros Pecados

In 2017, Raffo joined Perdona Nuestros Pecados as Carlos “Carlitos” Möller. The role became one of the most recognisable performances of his early career and allowed him to handle a character with greater emotional and moral complexity.

Mega continues to identify Carlitos Möller as one of Raffo’s best-known characters when presenting his later television work.

Río Oscuro

Raffo moved to Canal 13 for Río Oscuro in 2019, playing Manuel Valdivieso. In an ADN Radio interview about the drama, he discussed the unusual nature of the series and his continuing commitment to theatre alongside television.

Amar Profundo

Raffo returned to Mega in Amar Profundo, where he played fisherman Lizardo Gaete. The role placed him in a romantic and family-centred story and showed a warmer side of his screen work.

Mega’s official coverage identifies Lizardo as one of the characters that established Raffo as a familiar figure within the channel’s dramatic productions.

Generación 98

In late 2023, Raffo joined Generación 98 as Pedro, the son of Julia, played by Tamara Acosta. Mega’s coverage of his first recordings described his return to the channel and his reunion with actors he had worked with previously.

The character arrived from Spain and became involved in one of the drama’s personal storylines. The role kept Raffo active in prime-time Chilean television while he continued working in theatre and music.

Film and Streaming Work

Raffo has also appeared in film and streaming productions. His screen credits include a small role in A Fantastic Woman, the Chilean film that won the 2018 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy’s official 2018 ceremony record confirms the film’s win.

His other credits include The Prince, La Jauría, Baby Bandito and several later Chilean projects. These appearances have generally been smaller than his best-known telenovela roles, so they should not be described as leading performances without specific evidence.

In 2026, Raffo joined the cast of Netflix’s Chilean limited series Alguien tiene que saber. The official Netflix announcement names him among the supporting cast and explains that the drama was inspired by the disappearance of Jorge Matute Johns.

José Antonio Raffo’s Theatre Career

Theatre has remained a central part of Raffo’s professional identity. He has worked with Equipo Teatro, a company formed by artists connected with the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

His stage work includes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, A la cabeza del ganado and Atlantium: El país que no quería dejar de serlo. Matucana 100’s official page for Atlantium identifies Raffo as a principal company member and performer alongside Mario Ocampo and Anita Reeves.

He has also worked in musical theatre. In interviews, Raffo has described singing and dancing together on stage as physically demanding work that requires the preparation of an athlete. His musical productions have allowed him to combine acting, voice and movement rather than treating them as separate skills.

José Antonio Raffo and the Band Témpera

Music began before Raffo’s professional acting career. He has said that he sang before he acted and originally considered pursuing music as his main occupation.

Raffo performs as a singer and guitarist with the Chilean band Témpera. Mega’s official actor profile connects him with the group, while a 2025 Página 7 interview records his plans to release new music and build a larger audience for the band.

He has spoken openly about wanting to dedicate more of his life to music. That makes Témpera more than a promotional side project. It is a long-running part of his creative work that developed from a group formed with school friends.

Fiebre de Baile in 2026

Raffo joined the second 2026 season of Chilevisión’s Fiebre de Baile. The channel’s official participant profile presented him as an actor and singer testing himself in a discipline outside his usual professional work.

During the competition, he performed styles including flamenco, tango, pole art and contemporary routines. Chilevisión documented his development through the season, including an April 2026 tango performance and a later pole-art routine.

The programme expanded his public image beyond scripted acting. It also gave him a setting in which stage presence, musical timing and movement could be seen together.

José Antonio Raffo and Lux Pascal

Raffo has been in a long-term relationship with Chilean-American actress Lux Pascal. They met while studying theatre and have been together for approximately 15 years.

In January 2026, Raffo discussed their relationship publicly and explained how they had maintained it while living in different countries. Chilevisión’s report on the interview states that they met before beginning theatre school and became a couple shortly afterwards.

They are commonly described as partners rather than husband and wife. Raffo has used affectionate language comparing the relationship to a long marriage, but there is no reliable public confirmation of a legal marriage.

Lux Pascal is the sister of actor Pedro Pascal, which has brought additional international interest to Raffo’s name. However, Raffo’s own career is established through Chilean television, theatre and music and should not be reduced to that family connection.

Why José Antonio Raffo’s Career Stands Out

Raffo’s career is notable because his different areas of work support one another. Theatre training strengthened his television acting. Music led naturally into musical productions, while live television gave him another place to use rhythm and movement.

José Antonio Raffo has not depended on a single programme or one rapid rise to fame. His record shows repeated work across telenovelas, independent theatre, film, streaming productions and music. That variety has allowed him to remain active even when one part of the entertainment industry has been quieter.

Conclusion

José Antonio Raffo is a Chilean actor, musician and stage performer with a career built across television, theatre, cinema and live entertainment. Born in Santiago in 1992, he trained in theatre before making his television debut in Pobre Gallo.

His best-known television work includes Perdona Nuestros Pecados, Río Oscuro, Amar Profundo and Generación 98. Alongside acting, he performs with Témpera, continues to work in theatre and took part in Fiebre de Baile in 2026.

His long relationship with Lux Pascal has increased public interest, but his professional identity rests on his own training and work. Raffo’s career is best understood as the development of a versatile Chilean performer who continues to move between different creative formats.

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