Manu Ríos

Manuel Ríos Fernández is a Spanish actor and singer born on 17 December 1998. He became widely known for his role as Patrick Blanco in the Netflix teen drama series Elite. He subsequently took on lead roles in series such as La edad de la ira, Muted, and Breathless, and made his feature film debut in My Dearest Señorita. In addition to his screen acting, he has a background in television talent shows, musical theater, recorded music, and fashion design.

Ríos was raised in Calzada de Calatrava, a small town in the province of Ciudad Real, Spain. His mother worked as a hairdresser and his father worked as an electrician, and he has an older brother. He made his initial television appearance at the age of nine on the music reality show Cantando en familia after being selected through a local talent search. In 2009, he performed as a dancer on the Spanish talent show ¡Tú sí que vales!.

In 2010, Ríos began performing in musical theater, portraying the character Gavroche in a production of Les Misérables at the Lope de Vega Theatre in Madrid. He later appeared in the musical Don Pepito. In 2012, at thirteen years old, he joined the relaunched children's musical group Parchís, with whom he released an album and toured across Spain.

At twelve years old, Ríos launched a personal YouTube channel to upload covers of popular songs. In 2013, he signed a six-year contract with music producer Richy Peña. Although his debut extended play was delayed due to acting commitments, he has stated it will be released in the future. Describing his music as alternative pop with darker elements, Ríos plays both the guitar and piano and cites artists such as Lorde and Frank Ocean as influences. His 2016 cover of the song Riptide has accumulated over 28 million streams on Spotify.

Ríos began his television acting career in 2014 as Mauricio Martínez in the comedy drama series Chiringuito de Pepe. He achieved wider recognition in 2021 after joining Elite for its fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons. His performance earned him a nomination for Best TV Actor at the 2022 Fotogramas de Plata in February 2023. In 2022, he starred as Marcos, a teenager accused of murdering his father, in the drama thriller series La edad de la ira, adapted from the novel by Nando López.

Expanding his roles, Ríos appeared as a balladeer in Pedro Almodóvar's short film Strange Way of Life, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. He was also cast in the psychological thriller series Muted, which premiered in May 2023, and the hospital drama series Breathless, which premiered in August 2024. In October 2023, Ríos co-founded the unisex fashion brand Carrer alongside stylist Marc Forné, serving as creative director. He resides in Madrid, Spain.