Luis Hernando Mesa (Medellín, Colombia; November 9, 1968) is a Colombian film and television actor.^[1]

He began acting at age 15 when he was part of a theater group in his home town.

In 1992 he joined the cast of Maria. A year later he starred in Notas de Pasión and Espérame al Final. While playing the latter role he also played Juan Pablo Escobar, an unethical journalist in La alternativa del escorpión.

At that time and despite the fact that he was doing very well in Colombian television, Luis chose to go to New York City to study acting, directing and documentary production. In 1993 he returned to Colombia and played Miguel Ángel Matiz in the series Señora Isabel.

In 1994 he played Damian in Las aguas mansas and in 1995 he starred in the telenovela El manantial with the Venezuelan actress Astrid Carolina Herrera. In 1996, he acted in the series Hombres. In 1998, he took part in the soap opera Yo amo a Paquita Gallego.

At this moment of his career Mesa decided to stop again this time to travel around South America and the United States giving himself something like a sabbatical year. Some time later, he got a role as a teacher in the TV serial Francisco el matemático (1999), which allowed him to meet Colombian TV viewers successfully.

Around the same time, Mesa played Daniel Valencia in the legendary Colombian production Yo soy Betty, la fea (1999).^[2] His character was characterized by an executive cult, a lover of power who was accustomed to easily obtaining love from women and hate from his rivals. He then went on to appear in Me muero por ti in Miami, directed by Pepe Sánchez.

His next appearances took place in telenovelas like: La Saga, Negocio de Familia (2005) and La lectora (2002). He also appeared in Vecinos (2008) with the actresses Flora Martinez, Sara Corrales and Robinson Diaz, telenovela that had great success on the small screen not only in Colombia but internationally.

In the cinema he has made a foray into the film Te amaré en silencio (2003) and internationally into the Venezuelan film El Diario de Bucaramanga released in 2013 playing the character of Santander.

Mesa directed a documentary on the transformation of public education in the city of Medellín.