Luis Guzmán
Guzmán in February 2012 at the French premiere of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Born	(1956-08-28) August 28, 1956 (age 55) Cayey, Puerto Rico
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Angelita Galarza-Guzmán (1985–present)

Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956)^[1] is a Puerto Rican-born American actor, who is known for his character work. For much of his Guzmán's career, he has played character roles largely as sidekicks, thugs, or policemen.

He is a favorite of director Steven Soderbergh, who cast him in Out of Sight, The Limey, and Traffic, and Paul Thomas Anderson, who cast him in Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love. He also voiced Ricardo Diaz in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He recently starred in the HBO original series How to Make It in America.

Early life[link]

Guzmán was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico and was raised in New York City's Greenwich Village and the surrounding Lower East Side neighborhood. His mother, Rosa, was a hospital worker, and his stepfather, Benjamin Cardona, was a TV repairman.^[2] A graduate of City College of New York,^[3] he began his career not as an actor but as a social worker and moonlighted as an actor, eventually becoming heavily involved in street theater and independent films.^[4]

Career[link]

Guzmán at the 2009 premiere of Whatever Works.

Guzman's numerous movie credits include Carlito's Way, Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, Welcome to Collinwood, Stonewall, Waiting..., The Salton Sea, and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. He has also appeared on the TV shows Homicide: Life on the Street, Frasier and Oz and had a role 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, and is a commentator on VH1's I Love the '80s, as well as I Love Toys and its sequels, including I Love the '70s and I Love the '90s. He co-starred on the canceled 2007 HBO series John from Cincinnati. In early 2008, Guzmán starred in "Naturally Aged Cheddar Hunks" TV ads for Cabot Creamery.^[5] He also appeared in the music video "Yes We Can." He recently starred in HBO's How to Make It in America.

Personal life[link]

Guzmán currently resides in Sutton, Vermont.^[6] His children include Cemi Briggs-Guzman, Yoruba Briggs-Guzman, Clare Briggs-Guzman, Yemaya Briggs-Guzman, Luna Briggs-Guzman, and Margarita Briggs-Guzman.^[7]

Filmography[link]

• Short Eyes (1977) as Unknown
• Variety (1983) as Jose
• Heartbeat (1987) as Gang Member #2
• No Picnic (1987) as Arroyo
• *batteries not included (1987) (uncredited)
• Crocodile Dundee 2 (1988) as Jose
• Rooftops (1989) as Martinez
• Family Business (1989) as Julio Torres
• Q&A (1990) as Detective Valentin
• The Hard Way (1991) as Det. Benny Poole, NYPD
• McBain (1991) as Papo
• Walker Texas Ranger (1992) as Gomez
• Innocent Blood (1992) as Morales
• Carlito's Way (1993) as Pachanga
• Guilty as Sin (1993) as Detective Martinez
• The Cowboy Way (1994) as Chango
• Stonewall (1995) as Vito
• The Substitute (1996) as Rem
• Boogie Nights (1997) as Maurice TT Rodriguez
• Out of Sight (1998) as Chino
• Snake Eyes (1998) as Cyrus
• The Limey (1999) as Eduardo Roel
• The Bone Collector (1999) as Eddie Ortiz
• Magnolia (1999) as Luis
• Traffic (2000) as Ray Castro
• Cash Money Millionaires' Undisputed music video (2002) as Prisoner
• Double Whammy (2001) as Juan Benitez
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) as Ricardo Díaz
• The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) as Jacopo
• The Salton Sea (2002) as Quincy
• Punch-Drunk Love (2002) as Lance
• The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) as Felix Laranga
• Welcome to Collinwood (2002) as Cosimo
• Anger Management (2003) as Lou
• Confidence (2003) as Officer Omar Manzano
• Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) as Ray
• Runaway Jury (2003) as Jerry Hernandez (uncredited)
• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) as Bald Man
• Carlito's Way: Rise to Power (2005) as Nacho
• Waiting...(2005) as Raddimus
• Dreamer (2005) as Balon
• Fast Food Nation (2006) as Benny
• School for Scoundrels (2006) as Sergeant Moorehead
• Hard Luck (2006) as Million Dollar Mendez
• War (2007) as Benny
• Cleaner (2007) as Detective Wallace
• Maldeamores (2007) as Ismael
• Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) as Chucho (voice)
• Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) as Johnny
• Yes Man (2008) as Jumper
• He's Just Not That into You (2009) as Javier (uncredited)
• Fighting (2009) as Martinez
• Still Waiting... (2009) as Raddimus
• The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) as Ramos
• Old Dogs (2009) as Nick (uncredited)
• The Caller (2010) as George
• Arthur (2011) as Bitterman
• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) as Gabato, a tour guide on the island of Palau
• Last Stand (2013) TBA

Television series[link]

• Community (2011) – Episode titled "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux," as a somewhat fictionalized version of himself, who is the most notable alumnus of Greendale Community College
• How to Make It in America (2010-2011) as Rene Calderon^[8]
• John from Cincinnati (2007) as Ramon Gaviota
• Oz (1997/2003) as Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez
• Miami Vice – Episode titled "Prodigal Son," where he played a thug
• seaQuest DSV (1994) – Episode titled "The Good Death," where he played General Guzmano
• Law & Order – Played a Honduran line cook accused of burning down a social club
• NYPD Blue – Played Officer Martinez' father
• Frasier – Episode titled "Enemy at the Gate" as George the parking garage attendant.
• House of Buggin is a short-lived Latino-themed sketch comedy television show, which aired in 1995, starring John Leguizamo and Luis Guzmán. It was aired on the FOX Network, but removed from broadcasting schedules before the completion of the first season.
• Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) – Episode "Son of a Gun", where he played Lorenzo Molera, the neighbor of Detective Stanley Bolander.

See also[link]

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Luis Guzmán

• Luis Guzmán at the Internet Movie Database