He acted in several short films by directors Amenábar, Mateo Gil and Carlos Montero and he appeared in a short role in the well-known Spanish film "Stories from the Kronen" (Spanish: "Historias del Kronen"). But it was not until "Tesis" that he had his first starring role in a film that became one of most-important successes in the history of Spanish films. Amenábar confessed in a T.T interview that at first he did not want Noriega in "Tesis", thinking he was just a "pretty face", although his collaborators thought otherwise. In the end he called him again because he preferred him over the other actors in the casting. They became close friends and later worked on different projects together, including "Open Your Eyes".