Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...
films ''
Boogie Nights
''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...
'' (1997), ''
Magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
'' (1999) and ''
Punch-Drunk Love
''Punch-Drunk Love'' is a 2002 American absurdist romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. It follows an entr ...
'' (2002) and the
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker.
Soderbergh's direc ...
films ''
Out of Sight
''Out of Sight'' is a 1998 American crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Frank, adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name. The first of several collaborations between Soderbergh and actor Georg ...
'' (1998), ''
The Limey
''The Limey'' is a 1999 American crime film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. The film features Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman, Nicky Katt, and Peter Fonda. The plot concerns an English career ...
'' (1999) and ''
Traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
'' (2000). His other film credits include ''
Q & A'' (1990), ''
The Hard Way'' (1991), ''
Carlito's Way
''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels '' Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pa ...
'' (1993) and ''
Keanu'' (2016). For his role in ''The Limey'', he received a nomination for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male was one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It was first presented in 1987, with Morgan Freeman being the first recipient, for his role as Fast Black in '' Street Smart''. It was last pre ...
.
On television, he starred as Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez on the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
prison drama ''
Oz'' (1998–2000),
José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha
José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha (14 May 1947 – 15 December 1989), also known by the nicknames 'Don Sombrero' and ''El Mexicano'' ( en, The Mexican), was a Colombian drug lord who was one of the leaders of the notorious Medellín Cartel along wi ...
on the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Narcos
''Narcos'' is an American-Colombian crime drama television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. Set and filmed in Colombia, seasons 1 and 2 are based on the story of Colombian narcoterrorist and drug kin ...
'' (2015), Jesse "Mama" Salander on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
medical drama
A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...
''
Code Black'' (2015–18), Hector Contreras on ''
Perpetual Grace, LTD
''Perpetual Grace, LTD'' is an American neo-noir thriller television series that premiered on Epix on June 2, 2019.
The series is produced by MGM Television, with co-creators Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris writing each episode. The main cast fea ...
'' (2019) and as
Gomez Addams
Gomez Addams is the patriarch of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for ''The New Yorker'' magazine in the 1940s, and subsequently portrayed on television, in film and on the stage.
Cartoons
In Charles Addams's ori ...
on ''
Wednesday
Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In countries which have Friday as their holiday, Wednesday is the fifth day of the week. In countries ...
''.
Early life
Guzmán was born in
Cayey, Puerto Rico
Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sa ...
, and was raised in New York City's
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
and the surrounding
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
neighborhood. His mother, Rosa, was a hospital worker, and his stepfather, Benjamin Cardona, was a TV repairman.
Guzmán graduated from
The American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valle ...
and shortly after began his career as a
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
er and moonlighted as an actor, eventually becoming heavily involved in
street theater
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university ...
and
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
s.
Career
![Luis Guzman at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Luis_Guzman_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival.jpg)
Guzman's numerous movie credits include ''
Carlito's Way
''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels '' Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pa ...
'', ''
Carlito's Way: Rise to Power'', ''
Punch-Drunk Love
''Punch-Drunk Love'' is a 2002 American absurdist romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. It follows an entr ...
'', ''
Welcome to Collinwood
''Welcome to Collinwood'' is a 2002 American caper comedy film written and directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and starring William H. Macy, Isaiah Washington, Sam Rockwell, Michael Jeter (in his last movie, during his lifetime), Luis Guzmán, Pa ...
,'' ''
Stonewall'', ''
Waiting...'', ''
The Salton Sea'', and ''
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (also simply known as ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'') is a 2004 American adventure black comedy film directed by Brad Silberling from a screenplay by Robert Gordon, based on the first th ...
''. He has also appeared on the TV shows ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''
Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...
,
Community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
'' and ''
Oz'' and voiced Ricardo Diaz in the video game ''
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' and its prequel ''
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories''. Guzmán starred in the short-lived 2003 television comedy ''
Luis
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
'', and is a commentator on
VH1's ''
I Love the '80s,'' as well as ''
I Love Toys
''I Love Toys'' is a miniseries on VH1 and the eighth installment of the ''I Love..., I Love the...'' series that premiered on March 6, 2006. It is a countdown of the 100 greatest toys, chosen partially through public voting on vh1.com and also ...
'' and its sequels, including ''
I Love the '70s'' and ''
I Love the '90s''. He co-starred on the 2007
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
John from Cincinnati
''John from Cincinnati'' is an American drama television series, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California. It aired on HBO from June 10 to August 12, 2007.
Overview
''John from Cincinnati'' is the result of a collaborativ ...
'', which lasted one season.
In early 2008, Guzmán starred in "''Naturally Aged'' Cheddar Hunks" TV ads for
Cabot Creamery
The Cabot Creamery Co-operative is an American dairy agricultural marketing cooperative, which is owned by more than 800 local dairy farmers in New England and upstate New York, and Agri-Mark Family Dairy Farms, Incorporated.
Agri-Mark dates b ...
. He also appeared in the music video "Yes We Can." In 2010, he starred in HBO's ''
How to Make It in America
''How to Make It in America'' is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on HBO from February 14, 2010, to November 20, 2011. The series follows the lives of Ben Epstein (Bryan Greenberg) and his friend Cam Calderon (Victor Rasuk) as t ...
'' and appeared in a comical series of
Snickers
Snickers is a chocolate bar made by the American company Mars, Incorporated, consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that is encased in milk chocolate. The annual global sales of Snickers was over $3 billion .
In the United ...
commercials that played during that year's
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
.
Personal life
Guzmán resides in
Cabot, Vermont
Cabot is a New England town located in the northeast corner of Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,443 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated villages of Cabot Village, Cabot Plains, South Cabot, East Ca ...
.
Guzmán endorsed Senator
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
in the
2016 U.S. presidential election.
In 2018, Guzmán, along with
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
all-star
Bernie Williams
Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and a musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. ...
, appeared in a season six episode of Jon Taffer's ''
Bar Rescue
''Bar Rescue'' is an American reality television series that airs on Paramount Network (formerly Spike during the first five seasons). It stars Jon Taffer, a long-time food and beverage industry consultant specializing in nightclubs, bars and p ...
'', offering assistance not only to the El Krajo Tavern in Loiza, but the town's community center, after it was devastated from Hurricane Maria.
During
Telegramgate
Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate or RickyLeaks, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application ...
, Guzmán was interviewed by
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
for his opinions on the situation in Puerto Rico and he expressed that "
Ricky Ricky may refer to:
Places
*Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic
*Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic
* Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky" ...
had to go" and that corruption on the island was a major issue that he hoped would be solved.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Music videos
Awards and nominations
See also
*
List of Puerto Ricans
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Luis
1956 births
Living people
California Democrats
City College of New York alumni
Hispanic and Latino American male actors
Male actors from New York City
Male actors from Vermont
New York (state) Democrats
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
People from Cabot, Vermont
People from Cayey, Puerto Rico
People from Greenwich Village
People from the Lower East Side
Puerto Rican male film actors
Puerto Rican male television actors
Vermont Democrats
20th-century Puerto Rican male actors
21st-century Puerto Rican male actors