George Akram Savors His Dream Role in West Side Story

Age: 25

Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela

Currently: Getting gritty on the streets of New York as Bernardo, leader of the Puerto Rican gang the Sharks, in the Tony nominated revival of West Side Story.

All in the Family: For Venezuelan triple threat Akram, being center stage is a family tradition. His father is a dancer in Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas-based Zoomanity, while his mother, “one of the best choreographers in Venezuela,” runs a successful dance school back home. His younger brother, Victor Djira, is also in on the act: “He is a huge celebrity in our country because he’s on our TV equivalent of your High School Musical. He’s so famous we cannot go out, because people will jump on him. It’s crazy!” he laughs. Akram himself started performing at age five, hosting a television show about video games for kids. “The mic was bigger than my head and my two front teeth were missing. Thank god there are no YouTube videos from back then!”

GOAL! Though he worked as a child dancer and television host, Akram’s true passion was soccer. He took his athletic talent all the way to the professional level, being signed by a Venezuelan team while still in high school but falling just short of making it internationally. “A week before we went to Europe, where the big teams were scouting, I was injured badly,” he recalls. “It hit me really hard—a young guy always dreams of playing for one of the best teams in the world.” Fortunately, Akram had a reliable fallback: “I went back to television and dance.” He eventually made it to soccer’s World Cup, in a commercial that was filmed on a professional playing field. “I ended up on huge banners all over stadiums in Germany during the World Cup. It was the best gig ever.”

Dancing with the Stars: The same year Akram left soccer, his father left home for America. “Venezuela has many political problems. He was smart and said, ‘I feel something bad is going to happen here, so I’m going to start us a life in the United States.’” Eldest son George followed him to Miami after high school graduation. “It was hard,” he says now. “I didn’t know anyone, and all I did was take dance classes.” Just when he felt like giving up, Akram landed his first gig as a backup dancer for a Mexican singer and actress, which led to steady work performing alongside artists like Celia Cruz, Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan. Despite the big names, Akram says only one dance partner has ever made him nervous: “Meryl Streep! I danced with her in the movie Stuck on You. [The choreography] was supposed to look very cool and serious, but all during rehearsals I was smiling like an idiot because she was right next to me.”

Something’s Coming: After years on the dance scene, punctuated by commercial work for brands like Pepsi and McDonald’s, Akram caught wind of an audition for Broadway’s remounting of West Side Story. “It’s going to sound cheesy, but my dream role is Bernardo,” he says. Akram flew to Las Vegas for an open call; out of 70 hopefuls, he was the last one standing. Three grueling New York auditions followed. The actor can remember the day he got the good news. “It was July 10, 2008. The next day I flew to Vegas and told my father in person. He confessed the reason he became a dancer was because of George Chakiris in the original film and said, ‘I am living my dream through you.’ It doesn’t get better than that.” Akram shared the news more creatively with his mother. “She had no idea I auditioned, so I took her to dinner, wrote the news on a napkin and passed it to her. At first she didn’t understand. Then I explained, and she started crying. I have the whole thing on videotape!”

Renaissance Man: Life on Broadway has exceeded Akram’s expectations. “The show is grueling, but I am very proud that I have never missed a performance so far,” he says from his dressing room at the Palace Theatre. “The respect of fans and colleagues here is rare and amazing, and that keeps you going when you’re tired.” Behind him, the walls are covered with stunning paintings, most done by Akram himself. “Here’s one I did for a church back home, another for Cirque de Soleil,” he says, flipping through iPhone pictures. “I give them away, not sell, because it’s a hobby.” Singing, acting, dancing and painting? Is there anything Akram can’t do? “Ha! I cannot answer—a person should always be modest!” he blushes. “I’d like to try more film, since it’s the main thing I want to do. But I am happy now. That is most important.”