Benjamín Rojas Pessi, known as Benjamín Rojas, is an Argentinianactor, singer, musician and former occasional model. He is perhaps the best known for his roles in Chiquititas, Rebelde Way, Floricienta, Alma Pirata, Casi Ángeles and Jake & Blake. Rojas also appeared in several films, most notably and Erreway: 4 Caminos. He was the member of Argentine band Erreway from 2002 to 2005, and from 2007 to 2010, along with Luisana Lopilato, Felipe Colombo and Camila Bordonaba. He also made a cameo appearance in Sonny with a Chance-Sonny with a Secret as one of West Appleton's students.
Acting career
Breakthrough (1998–2003)
Rojas began his professional acting career in 1998, he was age 12 years old; when he was cast as Yago in Cris Morena's production, Chiquititas. His portrayed a Tarzan–like boy who helped Jimena, played by María Jimena Piccolo, to get out of a jungle. In turn Jimena took him to the Rincón de Luz orphanage. In 1999, for its fifth season, Chiquititas got a complete makeover and renewed its story completely. Rojas continued on the show but playing a new character, Bautista Arce. He reprised the role in Chiquititas feature film . In 2002, he renewed his contract with the Cris Morena Group and was cast for the role of Pablo Bustamante in the Martín Fierro Award—nominated hit television seriesRebelde Way. Along with former Chiquititas fellows Camila Bordonaba, Felipe Colombo and Luisana Lopilato, he formed a music band, named Erreway, which sold more than 10 million compact disc units worldwide. In 2004, Rojas reprised his role of Pablo Bustamante in Erreway: 4 Caminos, a Rebelde Way spin–off film. His films have grossed 8.7 billion in global box office.
Stardom (2004–present)
In 2004, Rojas starred in the El Trece series Floricienta, his third consecutive project with the Cris Morena Group in the span of seven years. He starred the series as Franco Fritzenwalden for two seasons, alongside Florencia Bertotti and Juan Gil Navarro. Rojas also reprised his character in the theatre version of Floricienta. In 2006, he once again worked with Cris Morena on television series Alma Pirata, opposite Luisana Lopilato, Mariano Martínez and Elsa Pinilla. Rojas also recorded several songs for Alma Piratasoundtrack album. Throughout 2007 and 2009, Rojas had several guest appearances in the television series Casi Ángeles. In 2008, he appeared in two films, Kluge alongside Alejandro Awada, and La leyenda alongside Pablo Rago. These were his first projects done independently from the Cris Morena Group. In 2008, Rojas signed a contract with the Cris Morena Group and the Disney Channel Latin America for a new television sitcom, Jake & Blake, his first project in English. The series, based on the story of The Prince and the Pauper, went on to reach a worldwide success. Rojas signed up for two television series in 2011, Venezuelan series Amigos y Rivales and Argentine series Cuando me sonreís, opposite Facundo Arana and Mariana Espósito.
Musical career
During the development of Rebelde Way, Rojas and his co-stars: Luisana Lopilato, Felipe Colombo and Camila Bordonaba have become the members of the band Erreway. They immediately reached worldwide popularity, especially in Latin America, Spain, Europe and Israel. All their studio albums, Señales, Tiempo and Memoria, reached Platinum certification. The band was partially innactive from 2005 to 2007, when they reunited as a trio, without Lopilato. They released Erreway presenta su caja recopilatoria, the greatest hits compilation, in 2007, and a new album Vuelvo was announced. However, Vuelvo has never been released. In 2010, Bordonaba and Colombo began their independent musical project,, marking the final split of Erreway. Rojas has recorded several soundtrack albums for his television series. This includes five Chiquititas soundtrack albums, released from 1998 to 2001. He also had songs in the Floricienta soundtrack album. Rojas also recorded a soundtrack album for Alma Pirata in 2006 and appeared in 2007 soundtrack album of Casi Ángeles. In 2010, Rojas released the soundtrack album for his television series Jake & Blake.
Personal and media life
Rojas was born in La Plata, Argentina, as the youngest of four children of Juan Carlos Rojas and Rosalinda Pessi. He has two brothers, Carlos María and Juan Luis, and a sister, Milagros. Rojas attended the Gimnasia La Plata and played for its rugby team. However, he quit his sports career due to his role in Chiquititas. Rojas is a fan of football soccer and a passionate supporter of Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. He is fluent in Spanish and English, which he studied for six months in New York City as the preparation for the television series Jake & Blake, which was shot in English. Rojas had a relationship with fellow actress Camila Bordonaba at the time they were both cast for Chiquititas and Rebelde Way, but they split in 2004. He was then engaged to model and actress María Del Cerro, until their break up in 2008. On the 21 december 2018 his first daughter, Rita Rojas, is born, with Martina Sanchez.
