Netflix Star Dies After Serious Illness: José de la Torre Was 37

José de la Torre, star of Netflix’s hit Spanish thriller series Toy Boy, has died. Months after telling fans that he had been diagnosed with an unspecified “serious illness,” the actor reportedly passed away on Thursday, Dec. 5, according to Montilla Digital, a newspaper in his hometown in Spain’s Córdoba Province. De la Torre was 37. His cause of death was not disclosed.

News of de la Torre’s death sparked a wave of tributes, with Spanish actress Luisa Martín writing on Instagram, “It breaks my heart to think I’ll never hear your voice again, but I’ll keep talking to you. Love you endlessly, José.” Singer Lolita Flores also joined the chorus of mourners, sharing in an emotional post, “how difficult it is for me, without barely knowing you, to accept that you are gone… how unfair life is sometimes.” Flores added that de la Torre’s death “hurts me, it hurts me, and the pain of those who loved you hurts me.”

De la Torre’s death comes after the actor took a step back from the spotlight, later revealing in a June update that he’d been diagnosed with a “serious illness,” per the Daily Mail. De la Torre never revealed his specific diagnosis or provided further updates, and he remained inactive on social media. His final Instagram post was on June 3, when he shared a gallery of images of himself enjoying time with friends in the Canary Islands. He captioned the post, “The happiness of arriving in the Canary Islands, seeing your friends, grab a mojito and start singing until your voice breaks.”

A beloved Spanish star, de la Torre’s passion for acting sparked at a young age. He previously told Montilla Digital that “from a very young age I found refuge in cinema – though not so much in acting, at least not at first.” According to de la Torree, as a child, he “couldn’t stop watching films, purely for the joy of it,” something that “captivated me and planted the seed that would later grow into my desire to pursue it as a career.”

After graduating from the Málaga Higher School of Performing Arts in Spain, de la Torre went on to appear in Amar es para siempre, Vis a Vis: El Oasis, and Servir y proteger, per his IMDb profile. However, he is best known for his portrayal of Iván in Netflix’s Toy Boy. The hit show premiered in 2019 and centers around Jesús Mosquera’s Hugo Beltrán González, a male stripper who, after seven years in prison, is released pending retrial and sets out to prove his lover framed him for her husband’s murder. The show ran for two seasons and also starred Cristina Castaño and María Pedraza.

De la Torre, who also worked as a model for renowned fashion, jewelry, and accessory brand, is survived by his parents and sister. Per Montilla Digital, the actor was laid to rest in. Dec. 6 funeral service.