Jacob Vargas is a Mexican-American actor, producer, and dancer.
Early life
Vargas was born in
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
, and raised in
Pacoima, Los Angeles. He was raised in a devout
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
family. He attended high school at
San Fernando High School in
San Fernando, California
San Fernando (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ferdinand III of Castile, St. Ferdinand") is a General-law municipality, general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It ...
.
Career
Vargas has been a working actor for over thirty years.
In 1992, Vargas appeared in ''
American Me''. In 1995, Vargas won the very first ALMA Award (for Emerging Artist of the Year) for his work in both
Allison Anders
Allison Anders (born November 16, 1954) is an American independent film director whose films include '' Gas Food Lodging'', '' Mi Vida Loca'' and '' Grace of My Heart''. Anders has collaborated with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Telev ...
' ''Mi Vida Loca'', and
Gregory Nava's ''
My Family''. In 1995, Vargas would appear in ''
Get Shorty
''Get Shorty'' is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into an eponymous film, and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name.
Plot summary
The story is about Ernesto "Chili ...
''. In 1997, Vargas appeared in ''
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion''. In 1999, Vargas became the voice of Max Steel.
In 2000, Vargas played
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...
's partner Manolo in director
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...
's drug trafficking pic ''
Traffic
Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...
'', which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award and another ALMA Award. The same year he also played the Joker from the Joker Brothers in the ''
Next Friday''. He played
A.B. Quintanilla, the brother of the late
Tejano
Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent.
Etymology
The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...
singer
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...
in the biopic
film of the same name. In 2002, Vargas would play Caesar Chavez in FX Network's film ''
RFK''. In 2004, Vargas played Sammy the chef in
John Moore's ''
Flight of the Phoenix''.
In 2005, Vargas co-starred with
Paul Walker and
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. List of awards and nominations received by Laur ...
in ''
The Death and Life of Bobby Z''. and also played Marine sniper Cortez in
Sam Mendes
Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...
' war drama
''Jarhead''. In 2006, Vargas played a politically charged busboy in
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez (; born May 12, 1962) is an American actor and filmmaker. The son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen, he made his film debut with an uncredited role in '' Badlands'' (1973). He later received his first ...
's historical drama
''Bobby''. In 2010, Vargas played Ramirez, a building security officer, in Devil. 2011, Vargas played the father of Water
Enrique Murciano and Power
Nicholas Gonzalez in this true story.
From 2013 to 2014, Vargas played Montez on two seasons of ''
Sons of Anarchy
''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...
'' and six episodes of ''
Mayans M.C.''
In 2014, Vargas played Richard Chavez opposite
Michael Peña in the biopic ''
Cesar Chavez'' directed by
Diego Luna
Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer, best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in ''Rogue One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016) and the Disney+ series ''Andor (TV series), ...
.
In 2015, Vargas played Edison "Elvis" Peña in the film ''
The 33
''The 33'' (; "") is a 2015 biographical disaster-survival drama film directed by Patricia Riggen and written by Mikko Alanne, Craig Borten, Michael Thomas, and José Rivera. The film is based on the real events of the 2010 Copiapó mining ...
'', It is the true story of the 33 Chilean miners that were trapped for 69 days.
In 2016, Vargas reoccurred as Domingo Colon in the Netflix series ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
''. In 2016, Vargas also reoccurred in
''Colony'', Amazon Studio's ''Hand of God'' and he co-stars in
Hulu
Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
's ''Crushed''. In 2019, Vargas co-starred in Max Carlson's ''
Princess of the Row'' opposite
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...
and
Ana Ortiz. He also co-starred in
''Peel''.
From 2019 to 2020, Vargas was a regular on the Netflix series ''
Mr. Iglesias''.
In 2020, Jacob Vargas and Justina Machado were Masters of Ceremonies at the
National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Awards.
Personal life
He is married to Sylvia Arzate. They have two daughters, Rosa, born in 2004 and Victoria, born in 2011.
Moonlight - Jacob Vargas
Vargas has four brothers and one sister.
Filmography
Film
Television
Audio books
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Jacob
American male film actors
Mexican male film actors
Film producers from California
American male soap opera actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Hispanic and Latino American male actors
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
20th-century Mexican male actors
21st-century Mexican male actors
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
People from Pacoima, Los Angeles
Living people
Mexican emigrants to the United States
Male actors from Michoacán
American male actors of Mexican descent
Year of birth missing (living people)