Handsome, husky leading man, chiefly in westerns and "comedias rancheras", Casanova appeared as an extra as early as 1946. His break-through came in 1953: after playing alongside star María Félix in Passion sauvage (1954), and appearing in Luis Buñuel's _Él (1952)_ and 'Emilio Fernández''s Reportaje (1953), Casanova was offered the leading role in a popular serial directed by Ramón Peón, _Águila negra, El (1953)_, a hero of the Zorro/Lone Ranger type. After those films, he became a regular leading man in romantic comedies and action films. He made fun of his own early film persona in Mécanique nationale (1972), and continued to work into the 1990s, still in action films but now playing character roles.