Walter Alza — Actor, Director, Coach
Alza Acting Studio · Founder & Head Coach
Walter
Alza

Actor · Director · Writer · Producer · Founder, Alza Acting Studio

30+ years. 40+ films and television series. Hundreds of hours of screen time. The first Latin actor to headline a series in Canada. He teaches what he lived — not what he read.

Book a Private with Walter →
30+Years Industry Experience
120+TV & Film Credits
40+Films & TV Series
20+Years Training Actors
The Story

From Argentina
to Canada's screens.

Walter Alza — Award-Winning Actor, Director & Coach

Walter Alza was educated in two different countries — originally from Argentina, the nation of the wine, tango, and great meat — and came to Canada in his teens. His work spans more than 30 years of solid screen time across the big and small screen, with hundreds of hours of credits. His ability to artfully portray characters from diverse nationalities across over 40 films, television series, and movies of the week has garnered rave reviews in the US, Canada, and around the world.

Walter is known for his work in Get Rich or Die Tryin' with 50 Cent under Academy Award-nominated director Jim Sheridan and Terrence Howard; Flashpoint; and Metropia, where he became the first Latin actor to headline a series in Canada — running for over 80 episodes on OMNI TV. Look out for Walter on Netflix's Special Correspondents with Ricky Gervais, Eric Bana, Kevin Pollak, Kelly Macdonald, and America Ferrera.

As a filmmaker, Walter's feature film debut was sold to 8 different networks across Canada, including TMN and Rogers, where it aired in Pay-Per-View and VOD. He directed and produced the winner of Best Foreign Film at the Nevada Film Festival 2010 — Clive Houston, We Have a Problem. He is currently developing various films and web series.

Selected Credits

On both sides
of the camera.

Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Feature Film · Dir. Jim Sheridan · with 50 Cent & Terrence Howard
Metropia
Series Lead · 80+ Episodes · OMNI TV · First Latin lead in Canadian series
Flashpoint
Television Series · CTV
Special Correspondents
Netflix · with Ricky Gervais & Eric Bana
Nevada Film Festival 2010
Best Foreign Film · Director & Producer
8 Canadian Networks
Feature Film Sale · TMN · Rogers Pay-Per-View & VOD
Career Timeline

Built over
three decades.

  • Argentina → Canada · Teens

    Arrives in Canada from Argentina. No English. No connections. No plan. Only a certainty — deep in his bones — that he was supposed to be in front of a camera. Everyone told him it wouldn't work.

  • Early Career

    Learns the language, learns the industry, begins building screen credits. Develops the discipline and professional standard that would define everything that followed.

  • Metropia · OMNI TV

    Headlines Metropia for 80+ episodes, becoming the first Latin actor to lead a series in Canada. A landmark in Canadian television history.

  • Get Rich or Die Tryin'

    Co-stars with 50 Cent under Academy Award-nominated director Jim Sheridan alongside Terrence Howard. International profile confirmed.

  • Nevada Film Festival · 2010

    Directs and produces Best Foreign Film winner at the Nevada Film Festival. Feature film debut sold to 8 Canadian networks including TMN and Rogers.

  • Alza Acting Studio · Founded

    Founds Alza Acting Studio at Yonge & Bloor, Toronto. Over 20 years of training actors for film and television. 223 five-star Google reviews. Ranked #1 acting studio in Canada.

  • Netflix · Special Correspondents

    Appears alongside Ricky Gervais, Eric Bana, Kevin Pollak, Kelly Macdonald, and America Ferrera.

  • Now

    Still acting. Still directing. Still in the room. Developing new films and web series while leading the studio that has trained hundreds of working actors.

The Company He Keeps
Some legends Walter Alza has worked with

Over 30 years, Walter has shared the screen and set with some of the greatest names in film and television history.

John Candy · Edward Woodward · Robert Wise (West Side Story) · Robert Loggia (Scarface) · Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas, Mambo Italiano) · Leslie Nielsen (The Naked Gun) · Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) · Robert Stack · Charles Bronson · Terrence Howard (Empire, Iron Man) · 50 Cent · Jim Sheridan (Academy Award Nominee, Director) · Ricky Gervais (The Office) · Eric Bana (Munich, Black Hawk Down, Hulk, Star Trek) · Omar Miller (8 Mile) · George Wendt (Cheers) · Katherine O'Hara (Home Alone) · Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire) · America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, Superstore) · Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) · John Landis (Blues Brothers, Thriller — Michael Jackson) · David Carradine (Kill Bill) · Rick Schroder (NYPD Blue) · John Stamos (Full House, Fuller House) · Carlo Rota (24) · Callum Keith Rennie (Memento) · Paul Gross (Due South, Men with Brooms) · Yasmine Bleeth (90210) · Catherine Robertson (90210, Scary Movie 3) · Annabeth Gish (90210, Double Jeopardy) · Don McKellar · Maury Chaykin · Martha Henry · Kevin Pollak (The Usual Suspects) · Jeff Arch (Writer, Sleepless in Seattle) · Ken Finkleman (Director) · Nick Campbell

The Coach

He teaches what
he lived.

Walter is regarded as one of Canada's most complete and crafted acting teachers. Alza Acting Studio has been crafting actors for over 20 years. Walter has an extraordinary ability to bring out the best performance from any actor — at any level, from any background.

Walter has taught and moderated at the ACTRA Conference (the actors' union), at various film festivals and universities, at Equity Showcase, and leads the Agents Showcase at Casting Workbook several times a year. He teaches on ACTRA's diversity committee and moderates at film festivals across Ontario.

The difference between Walter and most coaches is simple: he is still working. Still on set. Still in casting rooms. Still in the industry he teaches. When Walter gives you direction, it comes from someone who has lived every situation he describes — not someone who read about it.

As Seen In
Press coverage — Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, CTV eTalk, Mississauga News, El Mundo Latino
"Most people quit because they get discouraged.
True warriors don't get discouraged."

— Walter Alza

30 years of experience. Working for you.

Train with someone
who has done it.

Walter doesn't teach theory. He teaches what he lived, what he survived, and what he knows works. That's the difference.

Book a Private with Walter →

Alza Acting Studio · Toronto · Yonge & Bloor · 416-850-8936