Eduardo Verastegui gave up a celebrity lifestyle in Mexico to devote himself to working according to his beliefs. (Dave Abel, Sun Media)

Eduardo Verastegui is a man with a mission. The actor, 33, has been working since he was 18, and has had huge success as a model, recording artist and soap opera star in his native Mexico.

You may even have seen him shaking his booty in the Jennifer Lopez music video for Ain't It Funny.

Verastegui was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people by People En Espanol and was generally enjoying all the glossy, high-profile stuff that goes along with success in the entertainment industry.

And then he threw it all away.

Verastegui made a life-changing decision a few years ago. He was living in Los Angeles, and his English tutor was also a devout Christian who helped him see the error of his ways.

"I made a promise that I would never again do anything that will offend my faith, my family or my culture," he says.

The result was immediate.

"I didn't work for four years," he says, and he laughs.

Eventually, he was inspired to found Metanoia Films, and he and two friends came up with the movie Bella, in which he stars. Their mission was "to produce films with the intention that they will not only entertain the audience, but also elevate human dignity."

Bella opens nationally on Friday, having already had box-office success in the U.S. It is a film about loss, family and hope. Verastegui plays Jose, a former soccer star whose life is transformed by tragedy. Tammy Blanchard co-stars as a work colleague facing a difficult decision.

Verastegui has pinned his hopes on the film, but not for the usual reasons.

"My hope is that when people leave the theatre, they will leave wanting to love more and judge less," he says. "I hope they leave with a candle in their heart, wanting to forgive more and complain less. I hope it will entertain, but also move, and touch."

Verastegui was born in Xicotencatl, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and originally planned to study law. He went to Mexico City at 18 to pursue theatre, and wound up becoming part of the pop band Kairo, with whom he toured the world. He then became a soap star in Mexico, starring in half a dozen telenovelas. He was cast in the film Chasing Papi, which brought him to L.A. and helped him get roles in TV shows and other movies.

Then came his life-changing decision.

"And the only offers I was getting were to play the same stereotypes I had promised I wouldn't do. I got to the point where I was bankrupt. I was a little crazy, to have this commitment and take it all the way. But at the end of the day, I was at peace. I felt, for the first time in my life, that I was free, that I was not attached to any of the things that I had thought were going to bring me happiness. I achieved many of those things, and guess what -- they didn't bring me happiness. If your talents are not to serve, it doesn't make sense. What a waste of your life."

Currently not wasting his life by promoting Bella, Verastegui says he loves Canada because Toronto changed the future of the movie. Bella was submitted to the 2006 Toronto International film festival, got accepted, and wound up winning the People's Choice Award. He and his partners didn't even think the film would be accepted into the festival. "When we found out we got in, we were crying."

And when they won the award?

"To this day, two years later," he says, smiling, "I still fear I'm going to wake up in my home town in Mexico and the whole thing was a dream. Toronto put us on the map. It changed Bella's life -- and our lives."

More Artists