Guillermo Díaz (actor)
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Guillermo Díaz (born March 22, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for films ''
Half Baked ''Half Baked'' is a 1998 American stoner film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, and Guillermo Díaz. The film was directed by Tamra Davis, co-written by Chappelle and Neal Brennan and produced by Robert Simonds. ''Half ...
'' (1998), ''
200 Cigarettes ''200 Cigarettes'' is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Risa Bramon Garcia and written by Shana Larsen. The film follows multiple characters in New York City on New Year's Eve 1981. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of brothers ...
'' (1999) and '' Stonewall'' (1995). He is best known for his role as Diego "Huck" Muñoz in the drama series ''
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...
''. Díaz has made guest appearances on ''
Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...
'', '' ER'', ''
Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web serie ...
'', and '' Girls''.


Early life and career

Díaz was born in New Jersey to Cuban parents, and grew up in
Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is named for Fort Washington (Manhattan), Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the Bennett Park (Ne ...
. In 1994, he landed his first speaking role as Spike in Boaz Yakin's '' Fresh''. From there he began working on '' Party Girl'' as Leo, Parker Posey's roommate. His next role was a drag queen (La Miranda) in Nigel Finch's '' Stonewall''. In 1996, Díaz worked in
Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His intro ...
's '' Girls Town'' as Dylan, after which he appeared in '' I'm Not Rappaport''. Díaz played Paco de la Vega al Camino Cordoba Jose Cuervo Sanchez Rodriguez Jr., a high school gang member in ''
High School High ''High School High'' is a 1996 American comedy film about an inner city high school in the Los Angeles, California area, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Mekhi Phifer, Louise Fletcher, Malinda Williams, and Brian Hooks. It is a spoof of fi ...
''. He later appeared in ''
Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
'' as Flaco, another gang member. While in Los Angeles, he did guest spots on '' ER'' and ''
Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...
''. After finishing work on the West Coast, Díaz traveled back east to play a stoner named Eric in Brian Sloan's film '' I Think I Do''. A similar role followed as Scarface in the film ''
Half Baked ''Half Baked'' is a 1998 American stoner film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, and Guillermo Díaz. The film was directed by Tamra Davis, co-written by Chappelle and Neal Brennan and produced by Robert Simonds. ''Half ...
''. One of his co-stars was
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...
, who later cast him in several episodes of ''
Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were ...
''. In 1999, he landed a non-verbal role in ''
200 Cigarettes ''200 Cigarettes'' is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Risa Bramon Garcia and written by Shana Larsen. The film follows multiple characters in New York City on New Year's Eve 1981. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of brothers ...
'', and went on to act in both
Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...
's directorial debut '' Chelsea Walls'' and the movie '' Just One Time'', where as secondary characters one critic thought that he and
Jennifer Esposito Jennifer Esposito (born April 11, 1973) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the feature films ''Summer of Sam'' (1999), ''Don't Say a Word'' (2001), ''The Master of Disguise'' (2002), ''Welcome to Collinwood'' (2002), ''Crash (2 ...
provided what little "comic spark" existed in the film. Díaz played Guillermo García Gómez, a drug dealer/trafficker, in seasons 2-6 of the series ''
Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...
''. In 2009, he starred on the series ''
Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...
'', where his portrayal of the gay nurse Angel received negative criticism in online forums for being too flamboyant. In 2010, he appeared in the thriller film '' Exquisite Corpse''. After having portrayed several Mexican gangsters ( cholos), Díaz was cast in 2010 as a Latino gangster named Poh Boy in '' Cop Out''. When asked about being typecast, he said: "I sed to worry but not really anymore. Now I'm just grateful that I'm working. I try to make everything different." In 2010, Díaz did a photoshoot for '' Pinups Magazine''. The photoshoot featured full frontal nudity from Díaz. In 2011, Díaz appeared alongside
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
in a music video for the single " I Wanna Go", and took part in a scene referencing his character Scarface from ''Half Baked''.


''Scandal''

In 2012, Díaz began his main role as Huck in the drama series ''
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...
''. Díaz was one of the many celebrities that acted in
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
and
Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard'' and '' Vibe'' i ...
's video for "Run" in 2014.


Personal life

Díaz is gay. In 2011, he told ''
Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...
'' magazine that his rough upbringing in New York City, during which he hid his sexuality so as not to become a target, ultimately made him a better actor. He said: "I went to school in the Bronx. I learned to constantly try to cover up the fact that I was gay. That façade of being somebody I'm really not just to protect myself definitely helped with acting." He was named one of ''Out'' Magazine's 100 most influential gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people for 2013. Díaz has said on multiple occasions that he is a fan of
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
. He has been to all of her tours apart from The Virgin Tour and The Who's That Girl Tour. He also has her face tattooed on his right arm. In November 2017, Díaz was nominated to ''Out'' magazine's "OUT100" for 2017 in recognition of his work and his visibility.


In popular culture

In 2006, he joined the cast of a series of improv-based commercials for Sierra Mist titled ''Mist Takes''. A Spanish version of the advertisements began airing, and the bilingual Díaz also starred in those with other Latino comedians.


Filmography


Film


Television


Other media


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Guillermo American male film actors American male television actors American entertainers of Cuban descent American gay actors Hispanic and Latino American male actors LGBTQ Hispanic and Latino American people Living people People from Washington Heights, Manhattan 1975 births Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from Manhattan LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ people from New Jersey