Jacob Vargas
Acting • Born 1971-08-18
Biography
Jacob Vargas (born August 18, 1971) is a Mexican-American actor. He began his acting career when he was discovered breakdancing in a schoolyard at age 12. His introduction to acting came with a bit part as a breakdancer on the hit TV show Diff'rent Strokes (1978). His first movie role was in the TV movie The Children of Times Square (1986). He started to appear in more films including Last Resort (1986), Ernest Goes to Camp (1987), The Principal (1987), Little Nikita (1988), American Me (1992), and Gas Food Lodging (1992). In 1995, he won the very first ALMA Award (for Emerging Artist of the Year) for his work in both Allison Anders' Mi Vida Loca (1993) and Gregory Nava's My Family (1995). He next starred in films including Crimson Tide (1995), Get Shorty (1995), Selena (1997), Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), and the cult favorite Next Friday (2000) as Ice Cube's nemesis, Joker. His next role was Tijuana cop Manolo, 'Benicio del Toro"s partner in Steven Soderbergh's Academy Award- winning film Traffic (2000), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award and another ALMA Award. In 2001, he executive produced and starred in the independent film Road Dogz (2002). He wrote, directed and acted in EDNY (2003). He also co-produced and starred in the stage play "Latinologues", which ran on Broadway in 2005 and is available on DVD. He voiced for Pepito in Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001). Next, he played Sammi the chef in John Moore's Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Marine sniper Juan Cortez in Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes' war drama Jarhead (2005), a straight-arrow DEA agent in the action drama The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2006), a politically charged busboy Miguel in Emilio Estevez's historical drama Bobby (2006), and a psychologically tortured drone pilot Rudy Ramirez in Alex Rivera's sci-fi political love story Sleep Dealer (2008). He had roles in The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007), Are We Done Yet? (2007), Death Race (2008), Cesar Chavez (2014, Heaven is For Real (2014), The Tell-Tale Heart (2016), Plan B, (2021), and Kimi (2022). His major TV roles are as Bob on Surfside Girls, Tony Medina on Mr. Iglesias, Horacio on Mosaic, Domingo Colon on Marvel's Luke Cage, Allesandro Montez on Sons of Anarchy and later on Mayans M.C., Guillermo on Moonlight, Ernesto Tiant on Greetings from Tucson, and Dr. Roberto Martinez on Max Steel. He had recurring roles on Colony, Blue, and Six Feet Under. He has also guest starred on a number of shows including National Treasure: Edge of History, The Mentalist, Burn Notice, Psych, Numb3rs, Medium, CSI: NY, Cold Case, The Pretender, JAG, ER, Full House, and Hunter. He has voiced for characters on animated series including Solar Opposites, Young Justice, and a recurring role on Tarantula.
Filmography
100 credits
The Hi-Lo Country
Movie • 1998
Delfino Mondragon
Traffic
Movie • 2000
Manolo Sanchez
Next Friday
Movie • 2000
Joker
Death Race
Movie • 2008
Gunner
Sleep Dealer
Movie • 2008
Rudy Ramirez
Get Shorty
Movie • 1995
Yayo Portillo
Flight of the Phoenix
Movie • 2004
Sammi
The Wendell Baker Story
Movie • 2005
Reyes Morales
Mi Vida Loca
Movie • 1994
Ernesto
The Hills Have Eyes 2
Movie • 2007
Crank
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
Movie • 2006
Tijuana Cop 2 / Announcer / Charlotte
Airborne
Movie • 1993
Snake
Seeds of Tragedy
Movie • 1991
Cholo #2
Love Lies Bleeding
Movie • 2008
Detective Billy Jones
Devil
Movie • 2010
Ramirez
My Family
Movie • 1995
Young Jose
Gas Food Lodging
Movie • 1992
Javier
The Great Los Angeles Earthquake
Movie • 1990
Miguel
Road Dogz
Movie • 2002
Danny Pacheco
Dragonfly
Movie • 2002
Victor
Go for Sisters
Movie • 2013
Navajas
Miracle of the Heart: A Boys Town Story
Movie • 1986
Enrique Mendoza
Cesar Chavez
Movie • 2014
Richard Chavez
Heaven Is for Real
Movie • 2014
Michael
Last Resort
Movie • 1986
Carlos
The Journey of a Female Comic
Movie • 2014
Little Nikita
Movie • 1988
Miguel
Jarhead
Movie • 2005
Juan Cortez
Beyond Skyline
Movie • 2017
Garcia
The Odds
Movie • 2010
Sergio Vargas
Satanic Hispanics
Movie • 2022
El Jefe
The 33
Movie • 2015
Edison 'Elvis' Peña
The Death and Life of Bobby Z
Movie • 2007
Jorge Escobar
Water & Power
Movie • 2014
Asuncion Garcia
The Tell-Tale Heart
Movie • 2016
Adams
Crossing Point
Movie • 2016
Jesus
Truth Be Told
Movie • 2002
Gonzalez
Selena
Movie • 1997
A. B. Quintanilla
The Public
Movie • 2019
Ernesto Ramirez
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Movie • 1997
Ramon
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
Movie • 2016
Animation Voice (voice)
Are We Done Yet?
Movie • 2007
Mike the Plumber
Ernest Goes to Camp
Movie • 1987
Bubba Vargas
Peel
Movie • 2019
Chuck
Memoirs of an Evil Stepmother
Movie • 2004
Vincent Enano
American Me
Movie • 1992
Paulito - Age 15
Dr. Dolittle 2
Movie • 2001
Pepito (voice)
The Principal
Movie • 1987
Arturo Diego
Princess of the Row
Movie • 2020
Donald
Santa Fe
Movie • 1997
Jesus
Crimson Tide
Movie • 1995
Sonarman #2
Red Sky
Movie • 2014
Jorge 'P-Dawg' Vasquez
Bobby
Movie • 2006
Miguel
Kimi
Movie • 2022
Glasses Thug
Billy D and the Hall of Feathered Serpents featuring Money Shot by Puscifer
Movie • 2021
Bartesian
Plan B
Movie • 2021
Pastor Pedro
E.D.N.Y.
Movie • 2003
Come and Take It Day
Movie • 2001
Miguel
Huck and the King of Hearts
Movie • 1994
Pedro
The Virgin of Juarez
Movie • 2006
Detective Lauro
Fatal Instinct
Movie • 1993
Flower Delivery Man
Six Feet Under
TV • 2001
Manuel 'Paco' Bolin
Numb3rs
TV • 2005
Victor Borrego
The Pretender
TV • 1996
Javi Padillo
Cold Case
TV • 2003
Angelo Rivera (2009)
CSI: NY
TV • 2004
Luis Torres
Clueless
TV • 1996
Burn Notice
TV • 2007
Omar Hernandez
Full House
TV • 1987
Kingpin
TV • 2003
Moonlight
TV • 2007
Guillermo
Hunter
TV • 1984
Emilio Morales
ER
TV • 1994
Diablo
Medium
TV • 2005
Eduardo Garcia
Max Steel
TV • 2000
Dr. Roberto Martinez (voice)
Greetings from Tucson
TV • 2002
Ernesto Tiant
Malibu Shores
TV • 1996
Complications
TV • 2015
Ramon
The Mentalist
TV • 2008
Chief Rick Anaya
Young Justice
TV • 2010
Sebastian Cardona / Cisco Ramon (voice)
Sons of Anarchy
TV • 2008
Allesandro Montez
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams
TV • 2017
Mario
Marvel's Luke Cage
TV • 2016
Domingo Colon
Blue
TV • 2012
Roy
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV • 1995
Prince Luis (voice)
The Proud Family
TV • 2001
Punch Alto (voice)
Colony
TV • 2016
Carlos
Mayans M.C.
TV • 2018
Allesandro Montez
JAG
TV • 1995
Corporal Cortez
Hand of God
TV • 2014
Julio Farkas (uncredited)
Surfside Girls
TV • 2022
Bob
National Treasure: Edge of History
TV • 2022
Rafael
Mosaic
TV • 2018
Horacio
GAME ON: A Comedy Crossover Event
TV • 2020
Tony Ochoa
Mr. Iglesias
TV • 2019
Tony Medina
Psych
TV • 2006
Juan Lava
Solar Opposites
TV • 2020
The Good Guys
TV • 2010
Tico
CSI: Miami
TV • 2002
Felix Medina
Watching Ellie
TV • 2002
Miguel