Jay Tavare describes himself best when he says he is a storyteller and a citizen of the world. Born in the United States, Jay was privileged to spend much of his youth in Europe, and his career has taken him even farther abroad for extended stays on five of our seven continents. From his travels, Jay says he has learned that all cultures give us beauty to embrace and valuable lessons to learn about people and life.
Jay's acting performances in several Oscar winning films--with some of our era's most talented and acclaimed directors and actors--are the natural outcome of his eclectic life experiences and the direct result of his intense focus on excellence and dedication to authentic characters.
Jay's onscreen roles include:
* Pathfinder (Marcus Nispel, 2007) as Black Wing, with Karl Urban and Clancy Brown
* The Missing (Ron Howard, 2003) as Kayitah, with Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones
* Cold Mountain (Anthony Minghella, 2003) as Swimmer, Jude Law's Cherokee half brother and fellow Confederate army warrior
* Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002) as Matthew Osceola, the enigmatic Seminole orchid thief opposite Meryl Streep
* Street Fighter (1994) as Vega, the devilishly handsome and lethal Spanish Ninja
* Into the West (Steven Spielberg, 2005 mini-series) as Chief Prairie Fire opposite Keri Russell
* CSI Miami season finale, Going Ballistic (2009) as Manny Ortega.
For his role on CSI Miami Jay performed all his own stunts for the episode, including an astounding world class 23 story controlled free fall (more than 200 feet!) which was awarded an Emmy nomination. This sort of feat has given Jay an onset reputation as a bit of a daredevil. But it is more accurate to say he is master of an impressive repertoire of physical skills. Jay does not promote himself as a stuntman, but his experience as an athlete and dancer gives him the rare ability to create seamlessly believable characters by preparing and performing his own stunts when the role calls for it. It's no surprise directors and fellow actors recognize him for this.
As noteworthy as his film career already is, in the future we can expect Jay Tavare will be at least as well known for his complete creative projects. Jay has authored several screenplays already optioned for production, and he is about to officially launch his production company –Apache Dragon Productions. Jay has assembles a complete team of gifted and accomplished artists, and Apache Dragon is already making commercial videos and generating industry excitement with film scripts and screenplays in development.
Never content to express himself in just one or two creative venues, Jay is also an accomplished Native flutist and vocalist. Currently, Jay is partnering with award wining composer and musician, Alexander van Bubenheim, on the soon to be released album, Tears of a Shaman. Tears of a Shaman is the musical story of the ancestral Native vibrations, from cultures all over the world, that thrive deep inside each of us. It is an enchanting audio journey for the listener and it will be a visual adventure too. Jay and Alex are also developing a captivating multimedia stage show based on the album. Audiences will be surrounded and completely engrossed in 360 degrees of spectacular up close sights, sounds, music and live performance.
To balance and compliment his creative work, Jay dedicates time to several charitable and non-profit organizations. Especially near to his heart are the people on the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico. Jay travels regularly to visit with the young people there and participate in their Honor Your Life program. And for more than seven years Jay has been the devoted celebrity spokesperson for Adopt A Native Elder, a non-profit benefiting the Navajo elders in Utah and Arizona.
On a personal note, Jay loves animals too and seems to always has at least one rescued dog or cat soul in his care. He has been an avid supporter of Samoyed and wolf-dog rescue organizations and was a devoted guardian to his own beloved Samoyed, Mohawk, and wolf-dog, Cheyenne, for years. These days Jay is seen around town most often with his best girl, the lovely and accomplished Miss Bardot, a rescued maltipoo turned brilliant service-dog. Rumor has it she has stolen his heart completely.
Jay's recent show on the H20 Network: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theh2onetwork/2011/07/06/actor-and-humanitarian-jay-tavare
