Luke Alvez is a fictional character 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 ...
crime drama ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
'', portrayed by
Adam Rodríguez
Adam Michael Rodriguez (born April 2, 1975)"Adam Rodriguez" (2006). ''Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television''. Vol. 71. Detroit: Gale. Accessed via ''Biography in Context'' database, August 7, 2016. is an American actor, screenwriter and ...
.
Background and characterization
Alvez was born in the Bronx, New York. Inspired by his father's military service, he joined the U.S. Army and served as a part of the 75th Rangers Regiment in Iraq, as he told
Emily Prentiss
Emily Prentiss is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Paget Brewster. Prentiss first appeared in "The Last Word" (episode nine of season two), replacing Agent Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini), who had quit i ...
(
Paget Brewster
Paget Valerie Brewster (, ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She was first recognized for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Her breakthrough role came as FBI Supervisory Speci ...
).
After he was discharged, Alvez joined the FBI and worked in several different divisions before being assigned to its Fugitive Task Force, where he became responsible for capturing fugitives on the run. While training with the Task Force, he studied Calvin Shaw (
Harold Perrineau
Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Michael Dawson in the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), Augustus Hill in the HBO television series '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Sheriff Boyd Steven ...
), a disgraced former FBI agent convicted of murdering his confidential informant. Later, one of Alvez's targets is a man named Daniel Cullen (Kraig Dane), a.k.a. ''"The Crimson King"''. During the manhunt, the Fugitive Task Force team can't get a positive identification on Cullen during his crimes, so Alvez's partner Phil Brooks (
Corey Reynolds
Corey Reynolds (born July 3, 1974) is an American actor known for originating the role of Seaweed in the Broadway adaptation of ''Hairspray'', and for the TNT crime show ''The Closer''.
Early life and career
Reynolds was born in Richmond, Virgin ...
) goes undercover to lure him out. The operation is a success, and Cullen is recaptured, but not before he tortures Brooks. The incident had traumatized Alvez ever since.
Alvez has a dog named Roxy. Because of the affectionate way he talks about her in the office,
Penelope Garcia (
Kirsten Vangsness
Kirsten Simone Vangsness (born July 7, 1972) is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her portrayal of FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS drama series ''Criminal Minds''. She portrayed the same character on the sp ...
) thinks at first she is his human girlfriend.
Character arc
In the
Season 12 premiere he works with the BAU to catch the "Crimson King", one of the escapees who attacked his old partner. The team discovers that the real killer is Peter Lewis (
Bodhi Elfman), aka "Mr. Scratch", who taunts the team by turning over the real "Crimson King", whom Lewis tortured to the point he no longer remembered who he is. After that Alvez decides to join the BAU full-time.
Following the tragic events of
Season's 12 finale titled "Red Light", in the
Season 13 premiere titled "Wheels Up", Alvez appears to be the only team member who is unharmed after a car crash Lewis caused. He is also the one who comforts Garcia, as she was the one to discover that Supervisory Special Agent Stephen Walker (
Damon Gupton
Damon Jamal Gupton (born January 4, 1973) is an American actor and orchestral conductor, best known for his series regular roles as Charles Foster on ''Deadline'', Evrard Velerio on ''Prime Suspect'', Adam Page on '' The Divide'', Detective Cal ...
) had died in the crash. When the team discovers where Lewis is hiding, Alvez, Prentiss,
Spencer Reid
Dr. Spencer Reid is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Matthew Gray Gubler. Reid is a genius with an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words per minute with an eidetic memory. He is the youngest member of th ...
(
Matthew Gray Gubler
Matthew Gray Gubler (, ; born March 9, 1980) is an American actor, filmmaker, fashion model, painter, illustrator, director, and author. He is best known for his role as criminal profiler Dr. Spencer Reid in the CBS television show ''Criminal M ...
) and
Matt Simmons
Matthew Roy Simmons (April 7, 1943 – August 8, 2010) was founder and chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, and was a prominent figure in the field of peak oil. Simmons was motivated by the 1973 energy crisis to create an invest ...
(
Daniel Henney
Daniel Phillip Henney (born November 28, 1979) is an American actor and model. He first came into international prominence with his television debut as Dr. Henry Kim on the Korean drama ''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (2005).
He has gone on to star in f ...
) get to the location first. Alvez chases Lewis to the rooftop of the building, but Lewis falls to his death.
In the sixth episode of
Season 14, titled "Luke",
four people living in various cities along the
East Coast are tortured and murdered over a three-day span, and the BAU is called in to connect the spree to a
DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
-
Federal Police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
manhunt for an infamous Mexican cartel hit man. Alvez becomes emotionally involved in the investigation of the case, because of his time spend as an undercover agent on the DEA a few years before. The case becomes personal when the killer, Jeremy Grant (
Johnny Messner), murders Brooks and goes after his girlfriend Lisa Douglas (
Daniella Alonso
Daniella Alonso is an American actress and former fashion model. She has appeared in a number of horror films, including '' The Hills Have Eyes 2'' and '' Wrong Turn 2: Dead End''. Alonso was a regular cast member in the NBC post-apocalyptic ser ...
). For that reason, Prentiss takes him out of the case and tells him to go home. Alvez ignores Prentiss' orders, however, and helps the BAU team catch Grant. After this Lisa threatens to break up with him, but because he shows no toxic masculinity he tells her how he feels and she stays.
In the 5th episode of season 15, “Ghost”, Alvez and Simmons are kidnapped. They outsmart their kidnappers and are saved by the team.
In the series finale, “And In the End”, it is revealed that Alvez and Lisa broke up. Later, at Penelope’s going-away party, Alvez asks her if she would like to go to dinner with him.
References
External links
Adam Rodriguezon
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
Criminal Mindson
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
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Luke Alvez: List of Criminal Minds characters
{{Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds characters
Fictional Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel
Television characters introduced in 2016
Male characters in television
Fictional characters from New York City
American male characters in television