on the rise

Manu Ríos is ‘Elite’s’ breakout star, but there’s so much more to this Spanish sex bomb

Manu Ríos knows sex sells–or at least his agent does. 

The art of seduction is plastered all over the 23-year-old’s career and on Instagram. The Elite breakout star is not shy to trap his 10 million followers in thirst with his on-screen sex scenes and off-screen selfies. But beyond the smokes and mirrors of his undeniable sex appeal, who is this young internet sensation? 

 

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As the Spanish sex bomb delivers some serious sex bombs in the forthcoming season 6 of Elite, Queerty staff scourged the Internet for all things Ríos to help make your fantasies about him more real. Consider reading this like having a date with him. Or something.

Manu Ríos at a glance

Standing at 5’11″ (1.82 meters for our metric readers), Ríos models for his iPhone and fashion photographers, signed to Next Management worldwide. His birthday lands on December 17th (1998). The Spanish actor currently still resides in Spain – more specifically, Madrid. Sorry, astrologers, getting his time of birth is above our pay grade. 

Manu Ríos is young and ambitious but no stranger to acting.

Related: WATCH: Netflix just dropped one of the sexiest teasers we’ve ever seen

Manu Ríos spent his childhood participating in theater and talent shows, including Tú Sí Que Vales and Cántame Cómo Pasó. Elite’s uninhibited fornication might’ve placed him front and center as the next sex symbol, but theater enthusiasts might argue that his breakout role was actually as Gavroche in the play Les Misérables when he was a child, lol. Regardless, there’s a reason why even during the flimsiest script moments in Elite (God knows there are a lot of them), Ríos keeps audiences enthralled. 

He was kinda famous before becoming famous, famous.

Manu Rios and Andre Lamoglia in Elite
Manu Rios and Andre Lamoglia in Elite

Starring in Netflix’s second most popular Spanish drama undoubtedly set Ríos on a path to stardom; however, he hardly needed the press when it came to social media. The actor had millions of Instagram followers prior to making his debut in Elite’s fourth season. That’s not to say he shouldn’t be thankful for the show’s global fanbase. W Magazine reported in an interview with him that his followers increased from south of 5 million to ten million in the 10 months since he first appeared as part of TV’s favorite trouple.  

Manu Rios can sing, sing, sing.



Move the hell over Justin Bieber and Olivia Rodrigo; it’s a baby Manu R
íos singing covers of songs on Youtube we want to reminisce about. His previous internet fame came from doing exactly that like many greats before him. He even told W he was working on an EP before deciding to fully focus his time and efforts on Elite. Yup, that’s right: If he plays his cards right in Hollywood, he can become a GOAT. We especially love this One Direction music video cover that proves you can have all the talent, but it’ll go to waste without a good cinematographer. What? We think it’s adorable; we never said it was good. 

Despite never publicly commenting on his sexuality, Ríos slices homophobia in half with his jawline.

Manu Ríos has not explicitly stated his sexuality, and guess what? He doesn’t have to! Celebrities don’t need to reveal their sexualities to become allies. Ríos advocates for all the good things (including equality) that you would think are obvious of human decency, but we’re reminded time and time again that are still too much to expect. (Think Kanye West wearing an “All White Lives Matter” hoodie as a top.) In 2017, a time before he landed in the media spotlight, Ríos tweeted: “people who use “gay” as an insult are so sad lol.” And we couldn’t agree more. If you really want to offend someone, try saying: “You’re sillier than anti-gay Rep. Madison Cawthorn humping his cousin!” 

Manu Ríos is childhood friends with another celebrity twunk who doesn’t use labels.

The Spanish dreamboat was born in Calzada, Calatrava, where he was penpals as a teen with an American dreamboat singer in California, Conan Grey. What happens when two small-town boys pass each other in the wee hours of the night? That’s for another distasteful publication because we only speculate raunchy hardcore lovefests between celebrities who we KNOW are queer. Integrity, people! However, Grey interviewed Ríos for Interview Magazine, where they discussed plenty but, most importantly, that Ríos will be starring in Pedro Almodóvar’s upcoming 30-minute short film Way of Life. The film director describes it as his response to Brokeback Mountain

You can expect to keep seeing more of Ríos as he takes the moment by storm and makes his way around the globe. Luckily, you don’t have to catch a plane to keep up with him. Save on those miles and stay in the know by following Queerty. 

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