Clifton Collins, Jr.

Clifton Craig Collins Jr. (born June 16, 1970) is an American film and television actor. He is a Primetime Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Satellite Award, and four-time ALMA Award nominee, and a Screen Actors Guild Award winner. Prior to 1999, he was credited as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez.

After various small parts, he gained attention for his performance as a gangster in the crime drama ''One Eight Seven'' (1997). He then played featured parts in the major productions ''Traffic'' (2000) and ''The Last Castle'' (2001), and gained further recognition for his co-starring role as Perry Edward Smith in the biographical film '' Capote'' (2005). His subsequent films include ''Babel'' (2006), ''Star Trek,'' '' Crank: High Voltage'' (both 2009), ''Pacific Rim'' (2013), '' Knight of Cups'' (2015), '' The Mule'' (2018), ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' (2019), and '' Nightmare Alley'' (2021). He won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his performance in the independent film ''Jockey'' (2021).

Collins' work on television series includes a starring role as Jack Hill on ''Thief'' (2006) - which earned him an Emmy Award nomination, Thomas on ''The Event'' (2010–11), Maximo Gomez on ''Ballers'' (2015–17), and Lawrence Gonzales / "El Lazo" on ''Westworld'' (2016–2020). He also provided the voice of Cesar Vialpando in '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' (2004).

Early life

Collins was born in Los Angeles, California in 1970. He is the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez. He is sometimes credited as Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez in honor of his grandfather. His father is of German descent and his mother is of Mexican ancestry.

Career

Collins made his acting debut on a 1990 episode of ''Freddy's Nightmares'', and made his film debut the following year in Lawrence Kasdan's ''Grand Canyon''. He played various small roles, notably in the Hughes brothers' ''Menace II Society'' (1993) and ''Dead Presidents'' (1995), and a more prominent supporting part in the cult action film ''Fortress'' (1992).

He first broke through the mainstream in 1997 with a performance as gangster César Sánchez in the film ''One Eight Seven''. In 1998, he was in the Stuart Gordon-directed, Ray Bradbury-written cult film '' The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit''. He next portrayed a gay hitman named Francisco "Frankie Flowers" Flores for the Mexican drug cartels in Steven Soderbergh's 2000 ensemble drama ''Traffic''.

For his portrayal of a US Marine prisoner in the 2001 film ''The Last Castle'', Collins was nominated for the 2002 American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. In 2002, he played the role of Buddy in the film ''American Girl''.

In 2005, Collins won reviews for his subtle portrayal of killer Perry Smith in the film '' Capote'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2006.

He starred in the 2005 film ''Dirty''. Collins starred on FX Networks' series ''Thief'' and received an Emmy nomination. Collins also played a supporting role on FX Network's series ''The Shield'' as undercover ICE agent Hernan. He also had a small role in 2006's ''Babel'', directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

In 2007, Collins took the lead role in the indie feature ''The Perfect Game'', playing former baseball player Cesar Faz, who coaches a local Mexican youth league team, leading them all the way to the Little League World Series.

In 2008, Collins directed two music videos for the country music group Zac Brown Band: "Chicken Fried" and "Whatever It Is". "Chicken Fried" won the 2009 CMT breakthrough music video of the year award.

Collins starred in the comedy ''Sunshine Cleaning'' with Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin. He played Winston, the owner of a cleaning supply shop who builds meticulously detailed model airplanes with only one arm. Collins played the role with one arm bound tightly behind his back. In 2009's ''Star Trek'', Collins plays Ayel, a Romulan, second in command to the villain Nero.

In 2009, Collins joined Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker in the psychological thriller ''The Experiment''. Collins starred in ''Extract'', a 2009 film by director Mike Judge. He co-produced the film '' National Lampoon's TV: The Movie'' in which he played Officer Sanchez alongside Jacob Vargas. He also voiced the fictional video game character Cesar Vialpando in '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''. In 2009, he played Romeo in the film '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day''.

In 2010, Collins joined the cast of NBC's drama ''The Event'' as Thomas. The following year, he guested on two episodes of '' CSI: NY'' as a man named Raymond Harris, an ex-convict who seeks revenge against Mac Taylor and his partner to get some answers regarding a 17-year grudge against them. The episodes also guest-starred Peter Fonda, who Collins previously worked with in ''San Andreas'', as Taylor's ex-partner, who ends up getting killed by Harris. In 2014, Collins portrayed a law enforcement official, Franco Rodriguez, alongside Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Norman Reedus, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet in ''Triple 9''.

In 2015, HBO's science fiction drama ''Westworld'' added Collins as Lawrence / El Lazo, a charming but lethal outlaw, with a knack for maneuvering and negotiating the various criminal elements.

In 2019, Collins filmed ''Jockey'', which won the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for best acting.

Writing

He wrote his first book, ''Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars'' with Gustavo "Goose" Alvarez, in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and honors

In 2019, Collins was awarded an Impact Award by the National Hispanic Media Coalition for Outstanding Performance in Film and Television. On October 29, 2021, he received the Distinguished Performance Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Clifton Jr.
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American male video game actors
American male actors of Mexican descent
American people of German descent
Film producers from California
Hispanic and Latino American male actors
Living people
Male actors from Los Angeles
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Sundance Film Festival award winners
1970 births