Raymond Cruz

Raymond Cruz (born September 10, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his starring role as Detective Julio Sanchez in the series ''The Closer'' and its spinoff '' Major Crimes'', as well as his recurring role as drug lord Tuco Salamanca in the crime drama ''Breaking Bad'' and its prequel series ''Better Call Saul''.

Early life

Cruz, who is of Mexican descent, grew up in East Los Angeles, California, in a neighborhood that regularly saw gang activity, and had relatives in such street gangs as Maravilla and Barrio South Gate. In an interview with ''The Daily Beast'', Cruz stated he witnessed someone shot in front of him when he was 12 years old, noting that "his brains came out the back of his head." For his portrayal of Tuco Salamanca, he was able to relate to his experiences witnessing people who were high on meth.

Cruz has said that becoming interested in American literature early in life helped him avoid joining such gangs himself. His favorite novel is Harper Lee's ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. Cruz attended 3 high schools after being expelled for writing editorials on the newspaper that caused him to be late to class as well as being considered inappropriate. Note: see 3:00 He attended East Los Angeles College.

Career

Cruz's film roles include sniper Ding Chavez in ''Clear and Present Danger'', Hector in '' Out For Justice'', Tom Berenger's second-in-command Joey Six in ''The Substitute'', U.S. Marine Sergeant Rojas in '' The Rock'', as Jesus in '' From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money'', USM Private Vincent DiStephano in ''Alien Resurrection'', and Ramirez in ''Under Siege''. He appeared as Chuey, a gang member from the Vatos Locos, in the gang film '' Blood In Blood Out''.

In 2005, he played Chino in '' Havoc''. He appeared in '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', credited as "The Messenger," and in ''Training Day'' as a gang member named Sniper. He played a Los Angeles firefighter in ''Collateral Damage''. He had guest roles in the '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode " The Siege of AR-558", ''The X-Files'' episode " El Mundo Gira", and the second season of '' 24''. He also made an appearance as the father of a murdered girl in ''CSI''. He played Det Julio Sanchez for the entire seven season run of ''The Closer'' and continued in that role for all six seasons of the spin-off '' Major Crimes''.

Cruz performed the well-known role of Tuco Salamanca, a sadistic and psychotic meth dealer in ''Breaking Bad'' in 2008 and 2009, a role he reprised in 2015-16 during the first two seasons of the ''Breaking Bad'' prequel spin-off, ''Better Call Saul''.

He had a recurring role as Paco on ''My Name Is Earl'', and as Alejandro Perez on ''Nip/Tuck''.

Personal life

Cruz is married to fellow actress Simi Mehta with whom he co-starred on ''The X-Files'' in the episode " El Mundo Gira".

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Raymund
1964 births
Male actors from Los Angeles
American male television actors
American male actors of Mexican descent
American male film actors
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Hispanic and Latino American male actors
Living people