| Wilson Cruz | |
| |
| Birth Date | December 27, 1973 (40 years old) |
| Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York |
| wcruz73 | |
| Portrayal | |
| Portrays | Kenji Gomez-Rejon |
| Seasons | 1 |
Wilson Cruz is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life and the recurring character Junito on Noah's Arc. As an openly gay person of Puerto Rican ancestry, he has served as an advocate for gay youth, especially gay youth of color.
He portrays Kenji Gomez-Rejon on Red Band Society.
Early Life[]
Wilson Cruz was born in Brooklyn, New York to parents of Puerto Rican descent. His family eventually moved to Rialto, California where he attended Eisenhower High School, graduating in 1991. At age 19, Cruz came out to his parents as gay, first to his mother and then his father. While his mother was initially hurt and shocked, she eventually accepted the news. His father, however, threw him out of the house, and Cruz spent the next few months living in his car and at the homes of friends. He later reconciled with his father.
Career[]
After coming out to his parents, Cruz went to Hollywood to seek work as an actor, intending to be open about his sexuality from the beginning of his career. In 1994 he was cast as Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez, a troubled gay teen, in the short-lived critically acclaimed cult classic TV series My So-Called Life. In one episode (entitled "So-Called Angels") drawn from Cruz's own life, Rickie comes out to his family, who throw him out of the house.
Following My So-Called Life’s cancellation, Cruz went on to play J. Edgar Hoover's servant Joaquin in Oliver Stone's film Nixon and had a small role in the television movie On Seventh Avenue. In 1996, he appeared with David Arquette as Mikey in Johns, about the day-to-day struggles of male prostitutes. In 1998, he portrayed Angel in the Broadway production of RENT and in 2000 played Victor in the final season of Party of Five. He also had a recurring role as Rafael de la Cruz on the series, Raising the Bar.
Cruz's other acting credits include the films Joyride (1996), All Over Me (1997), Supernova (2000), Party Monster (2003), Margaret Cho's Bam Bam and Celeste (2005), Coffee Date (2007), and He's Just Not That Into You (2009); the television film The Perfect Pitch (2002); and guest appearances on television series’ Great Scott!, Sister, Sister, ER, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Noah's Arc, and Grey's Anatomy. Cruz starred as Adrian in the film Ode (2007), based on the novel Ode to Lata by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla. He also appeared/starred in the 2009 movie The People I've Slept With He plays the openly gay best friend of a promiscuous woman who tries to find out who got her pregnant so that she can get married.
He is currently guest starring as Jonni in The Finder.
