El actor cubano habla español.

El means the. In el actor cubano, it introduces a specific person: the Cuban actor.

Spanish often uses the definite article more regularly than English with nouns. Here, actor is a singular masculine noun, so it takes el.

• el actor = the actor
• un actor = an actor

So El actor cubano habla español means The Cuban actor speaks Spanish, not just Cuban actor speaks Spanish.

In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• actor cubano = Cuban actor
• literally: actor Cuban

This is the normal word order in Spanish. English usually puts adjectives before the noun, but Spanish usually puts them after.

Also, cubano agrees with actor:

• masculine singular: cubano
• feminine singular: cubana
• masculine plural: cubanos
• feminine plural: cubanas

So if the subject were a woman, you would say:

• La actriz cubana habla español.

Because actor is masculine singular, the adjective must match it.

Spanish adjectives often change form to agree with the noun in:

• gender: masculine or feminine
• number: singular or plural

Here:

• actor = masculine singular
• so the adjective must be cubano

Compare:

• el actor cubano
• la actriz cubana
• los actores cubanos
• las actrices cubanas

Habla is the third-person singular present tense form of hablar (to speak).

The subject is el actor cubano, which is he / the actor, so Spanish uses the él/ella/usted form:

Present tense of hablar:

• yo hablo = I speak
• tú hablas = you speak
• él/ella/usted habla = he/she/you speak
• nosotros hablamos = we speak
• vosotros habláis = you all speak
• ellos/ellas/ustedes hablan = they/you all speak

So:

• El actor cubano habla español.

Because Spanish often doesn’t need subject pronouns.

The verb ending already tells you who the subject is, and in this sentence the subject is explicitly stated as el actor cubano, so adding él would usually be unnecessary.

Natural:

• El actor cubano habla español.

Less natural unless you want emphasis:

• Él, el actor cubano, habla español.

Spanish commonly leaves out pronouns like yo, tú, él, ella unless they are needed for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

In Spanish, names of languages and nationalities are normally written in lowercase, unlike in English.

So:

• español = Spanish
• inglés = English
• francés = French
• cubano = Cuban

That means this sentence correctly has:

• cubano
• español

not:

• Cubano
• Español

unless the word starts the sentence.

After the verb hablar, languages are usually used without an article.

So Spanish normally says:

• habla español
• hablo inglés
• hablan francés

not usually:

• habla el español

In this sentence, español means the Spanish language in a general sense, and after hablar the article is normally omitted.

So:

• El actor cubano habla español. = The Cuban actor speaks Spanish.

Here, español is functioning as a noun, meaning the Spanish language.

Compare:

As a noun:

• Habla español. = He speaks Spanish.

As an adjective:

• el actor español = the Spanish actor

So in your sentence:

• cubano is an adjective describing actor
• español is a noun, the thing he speaks

A natural Spain Spanish pronunciation is approximately:

el ak-TOR ku-BA-no A-bla es-pa-NYOL

A few useful points:

• h in habla is silent
• ll in habla is usually pronounced like a y sound in modern Spanish
• ñ in español sounds like ny in canyon
• the stress is:
  • actor
  • cubano
  • habla
  • español

A more detailed approximation:

• El actor cubano habla español
• el ak-TOR ku-BA-no A-bla es-pa-NYOL

Ñ is a separate letter in Spanish, not just an n with an accent.

It represents a sound like ny in English words such as canyon.

So:

• español sounds like es-pan-yol
• espanol would be incorrect spelling

This letter appears in many Spanish words, for example:

• niño = boy
• mañana = tomorrow / morning
• señor = Mr., sir

Yes, but El actor cubano habla español is the most neutral and straightforward order.

This is the normal subject + verb + object pattern:

• El actor cubano = subject
• habla = verb
• español = object

Other orders are possible in Spanish, but they usually sound more marked or are used for emphasis:

• Habla español el actor cubano.
  This is possible, but less neutral.

For learners, the original sentence is the best basic pattern to follow.