Gary Perez (born April 12, 1962) is an American television, film, and stage actor. He is of Puerto Rican descent and considers himself a

Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" (or "Nueva York" in Spanish) and "Puerto Rican," referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants (especially those raised or currently livin ...

Early life and education

Perez began his pursuit in the performing arts by attending the School of Performing Arts in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, where he studied

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Career

Perez began his career doing off-Broadway theater at the

INTAR Theatre INTAR Theatre, founded in 1966, is one of the oldest Hispanic theater companies in the United States. The INTAR acronym is for International Arts Relations. History INTAR Theatre was founded in New York in 1966 as Asociación de Arte Latinoame ...

, where he was cast in Luis Santeiro's ''Our Lady of the Tortilla'', directed by Max Ferra. Because Ferra liked Perez, he gave him the keys to INTAR's other space, INTAR 2, located on 52nd Street in Manhattan. Intar 2 would later become the original home of Latino Actors Base founded by Perez,

John Ortiz John Augustin Ortiz (born May 23, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his antagonist role as Arturo Braga in '' Fast & Furious'' (2009) and ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013), and Clyde in '' Jack Goes Boating'' (2010), which earned him a nom ...

, David Deblinger, and

Paul Calderon Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

. Latino Actors Base became known as

LAByrinth Theater Company LAByrinth Theater Company is a non-profit, Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City. Led by Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz for many years, its current artistic director is Aaron Weiner. ''The New York Times'' described it in 201 ...

. One of Perez's first television jobs was on the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'' (1995–2002), where he recurred as Detective Joe Ramirez. Later, he would go on to appear on '' Cosby'', ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', and ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

''. He was cast in one of his first films by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

in '' Crooklyn'', where he played "Juan" the Bodega man. He was cast to play opposite

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...

in the Nickelodeon Network's television film '' Cry Baby Lane''. Perez then had recurring roles on television series, including ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' as

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Agent Marquez and '' Oz'', as the head of the parole board, Luis Ruiz.

Theater

Perez made his

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

debut in 2023 with the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning play'' Between Riverside and Crazy'' by

Stephen Adly Guirgis Stephen Adly Guirgis (born 1965) is an American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced both Off-Broadway and on ...

. Directed by

Austin Pendleton Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. Pendleton is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen, whose six-decade career has included roles in films i ...

at the

Helen Hayes Theater The Hayes Theater (formerly the Little Theatre, New York Times Hall, Winthrop Ames Theatre, and Helen Hayes Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 240 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. ...

, Perez appeared as Lt. Dave Caro. He has worked with many other writers, including

winners

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer Pri ...

,"Cellini, a CurtainUp review". www.curtainup.com. Retrieved 2022-12-22. Nilo Cruz,Brantley, Ben (2000-02-16). "Theater Review; Clinging to Fantasy Behind Cuban Walls". ''The New York Times''. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-22.Canby, Vincent (1996-06-07). "Theater Review; A Russian Visiting 1970 Cuba". ''The New York Times''. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-22. and

Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...

. He has also worked with multiple award-winning directors, including Anna D. Shapiro, Tony Taccone in Jose Rivera's '' Cloud Tectonics'',"Mist Connections". SFGATE. 1997-01-16. Retrieved 2022-12-22. Brian Kulick, and

Jo Bonney Jo Bonney is an American theater director who has worked Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally, primarily focused on the development of new plays. Early life and education Bonney was born in Australia, the daughter of a Qantas airline p ...

Shirley, Don (2002-09-24). "A Tale of Politics and Passion". ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved 2022-12-22. at theaters including

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry (American actor), Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chica ...

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stud ...

(in another Jose Rivera play '' Boleros for the Disenchanted''),

Second Stage Theater Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...

McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. It was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1963. A two-time Tony Award winner, the McCarter’s legacy traces back to ...

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a nonprofit professional theater on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under the ...

Berkeley Repertory Theatre Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley, California, Downtown Berkeley. Histor ...

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theater noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it h ...

and

The Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...

. Perez was nominated for a

Jeff Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater st ...

for his portrayal of Cousin Julio in Steppenwolf's historic first all-Latino cast of ''

The Motherfucker with the Hat ''The Motherfucker with the Hat'' (sometimes censored as ''The Motherf**ker with the Hat'' and ''The Mother with the Hat'') is a 2011 play by Stephen Adly Guirgis. The play is described as "a high-octane verbal cage match about love, fidelity and ...

'', directed by Anna D. Shapiro.

Television and film

Perez has aimed much of his career toward working in front of the camera, doing the film '' Illegal Tender'' and a lead role opposite friend and long-time

member

Florencia Lozano Florencia Lozano (born December 16, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Téa Delgado on the daytime series ''One Life to Live''. Lozano has guest-starred in several primetime television shows, as well as films. Early life Florencia Lo ...

in
Life After You
'. In addition, he has had many television guest star roles in shows, including ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'',"Gary Perez". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2022-12-23. ''

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

'', ''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009, with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...

'', ''

Lie to Me ''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series created by Samuel Baum that aired on Fox from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman ( Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The ...

'', ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante. Broadcast on ITV between 1991 and 2006, it stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater Lo ...

'', ''

Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...

'', ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an American police procedural television series starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, G ...

'',

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

, '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', '' Madam Secretary'', Chicago PD, ''

Blue Bloods ''Blue Bloods'' is an American police procedural drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from September 24, 2010, to December 13, 2024, across 14 seasons and 293 episodes. Its main characters were members of the fi ...

'', ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

'', ''

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing innate (inborn) elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a very short to me ...

'', ''

Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father; ) is one of the parables of Jesus in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. In Luke 15, Jesus tells this stor ...

'', ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tommy (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army * Tommy Giacomelli (born 1974), Brazilian fo ...

'', '' Little America'', '' The Resident'', ''

When They See Us ''When They See Us'' is a 2019 American crime drama television miniseries created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay for Netflix, that premiered in four parts on May 31, 2019. It is based on events of the 1989 Central Park jogger cas ...

'', and several episodes of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', playing various roles but more recently as Judge Bolden. Some notable television appearances have been recurring roles on ''

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' (also stylized as ''TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY'') is an American teen drama television series based on the 2007 novel '' Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. Developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and with Selena Gomez ser ...

'' (as Arturo Padilla), '' The Last Ship'', ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...

'', '' City on a Hill'', and ''

Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. It follows Dan Gallagher ( Michael Douglas), an attorney who cheats on his ...

'' (for

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

, as Rolando Cabral, opposite

Joshua Jackson Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is an American and Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayals of Pacey Witter on The WB's teen drama ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science fic ...

), and the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

police drama The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as ...

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough line to the north; ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Gary 1962 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American actors of Puerto Rican descent American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male stage actors Broadway theatre people Male actors from Manhattan Off-Broadway People from Harlem