Santiago Cabrera as Isaac Mendez on "Heroes"

Santiago Cabrera's character on "Heroes," Isaac Mendez, unfortunately became one of serial killer Sylar's victims. Though it was unfortunate for Mendez, and probably for Cabrera as well, knowing he was going to die spurred Mendez to create a comic book detailing how Hiro Nakamura, Peter Petrelli and their gang of mutants could use Nakamura's abilty to travel in time to avert tragedy (New York City blew up) that happened days after Mendez's death.

See, Mendez could paint the future. The "Heroes" premise is that, every generation or so, people all over the world begin coming into some pretty freaky superpowers. Because these are well-rounded, realistic characters, many of them have trouble accessing their powers through normal means, thanks to mental and emotional blocks. Mendez discovered his power because of his heroin addiction, and was unable to access his power any other way until he was taught by a girl with the power of suggestion.

However, seeing the future and changing it proved to be two very different things. Since he was unable to save himself, Mendez pulled off a last-ditch effort to save humanity, or at least a large chunk of it. One of his fellow mutants was scheduled to go off like a nuclear bomb, and turn New York City into a wasteland.

Cabrera was born in 1978 in Caracas, Venezuela. The son of a Chilean diplomat, he became a world traveler before the age of 15, when his family took him to Chile. As a result, Cabrera is fluent in four languages.

It looked in the beginning as though Cabrera might choose a career in soccer. He went to college in Chile on soccer scholarships, and then took a year's sabatical in Europe. He had already bitten the acting bug, having played Mozart in a high school production of "Amadeus." While in Europe, he turned to acting and enrolled in the Drama Center in London, and soon began taking roles in British television with the programs "Spooks," "As If," "Judge John Deed" and "Battles of Britain." After graduation, he worked with the Northampton Theatre Royal in their production of "Othello," as Montano.

He has had other Shakespearean roles, such as a spot in "The Taming of the Shrew" in BBC America's ShakespeaRe-Told series. He also has a part in "Love and Other Disasters," as well as the next two "Goal!" movies.

Oddly enough, Cabrera is half-Canadian. ###