Óscar Núñez | |
|---|---|
Nuñez in 2009 | |
| Born | (1958-11-18)November 18, 1958 (age 67) |
| Occupations | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | Ursula Whittaker |
| Children | 1 |
Óscar Núñez (born November 18, 1958),[1] sometimes credited asOscar Nunez, is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as theDunder Mifflin accountantOscar Martínez onNBC'sThe Office and its spin-offThe Paper. The accolades he has received include twoScreen Actors Guild Awards and aDaytime Emmy Awards, alongside aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination.
He was a member ofthe Groundlings and later became a regular cast member onThe Office. He also created and co-starred in theComedy Central seriesHalfway Home in 2007, and in 2014 co-starred in the short-livedUSA Network comedy seriesBenched. Since 2018, he has appeared in a series ofState Farm commercials.
Núñez was born inColón, Cuba.[2] Núñez's mother, a dentist, and father, a lawyer, attended school at theUniversity of Havana whileFidel Castro was a student there. The family moved first toCaracas, Venezuela, in 1960 and then to the United States.[3] His family moved toBoston when he was two years old and then toUnion City, New Jersey, when he was four.[4][5] He became a naturalized American citizen in 1964.[6] He is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish. Núñez attended various colleges in New York, including theFashion Institute of Technology and theParsons School of Design. He became a certified dental technician after studying at theMagna Institute of Dental Technology.[7]
Núñez started his comedy career in New York, performing over 300 shows withThe Shock of the Funny theater company. The troupe was active in the East Village for several years. In addition to his work withShock, Núñez appeared in theater in New York and Washington, D.C. before moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1990s. In L.A., he joinedthe Groundlings and performed in their Sunday Company. While with the Groundlings, he wrote and starred in a production called "Smooth Down There."
In 1997, Núñez graduated from theWarner Brothers Comedy Writer's Workshop. In 1999, he was a finalist in the ABC Latino Writers Project.
In 1998, he appeared on the game showMatch Game but was not a winner.[8] Núñez wasAdam Carolla's stand-in onThe Man Show.
Núñez's television credits includeMalcolm in the Middle,24,Curb Your Enthusiasm,Reno 911!,The District andMad TV, in addition to his role onThe Office. He won the 2007 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Broadband Comedy for The Office: The Accountants. He was also the creator andexecutive producer of theComedy Central seriesHalfway Home, in which he co-starred as the character Eulogio Pla.
His film credits includeThe Italian Job (as a security guard),Reno 911!: Miami, andWhen Do We Eat?. In 2009, Núñez played the role of Ramon, the caterer, stripper, soda jerk, and finally clergy performing the wedding ceremony inThe Proposal. In 2012, Núñez played the role ofJose Baez, an attorney in theLifetime movieProsecuting Casey Anthony.
Núñez appeared as one of eight judges in the2010 Miss USA Contest, posing a question about theArizona undocumented immigrant law to Miss Oklahoma USA, Morgan Elizabeth Woolard. Núñez was booed by the audience before finishing the question; however he asked the audience to wait until he finished the question before they reacted. Although Woolard replied that she supports the law as a state rights issue, she added that she is against racial profiling.[9]
In 2014, Núñez co-starred alongsideEliza Coupe andJay Harrington in the short-livedUSA Network comedy seriesBenched.
In 2016, Núñez appeared as a regular in the TBS comedy series,People of Earth.[10]
In 2018, Núñez portrayedState Farm Insurance Agent Cole Perez in a series of commercials.[11]
In July 2018, Núñez took on the role ofDesi Arnaz, starring in the world premiere production ofI Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom, a behind-the-scenes stage comedy aboutI Love Lucy by Gregg Oppenheimer (son of series creatorJess Oppenheimer). Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA's James Bridges Theater, theL.A. Theatre Works production aired on public radio and has been released on Audio CD and as a downloadable mp3.[12][13]
From 2019 to 2020, Núñez portrayed Assistant Principal Carlos Hernandez on the Netflix original comedy seriesMr. Iglesias.
In 2025, Núñez began reprising his role as Oscar fromThe Office in its spinoff,The Paper, with the character now working at aToledo, Ohio-based newspaper. The show began airing onPeacock on September 4 that year.
Núñez is married to actress Ursula Whittaker, and they have one child.[14]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Italian Job | Security Guard | |
| 2005 | When Do We Eat? | Santa Designer | |
| 2007 | Reno 911!: Miami | Jose Jose Jose | |
| 2009 | The Proposal | Ramone | |
| 2011 | Without Men | Priest Rafael | |
| Language of a Broken Heart | Adam Lebowitz | ||
| 2014 | Tell | Father Jack | |
| 2015 | The 33 | Yonni Barrios | |
| 2016 | Miss Stevens | Principal Albert Alvarez | |
| Mascots | Cesar Hidalgo | ||
| 2017 | Baywatch | Councilman Rodriguez | |
| 2022 | The Lost City | Óscar | |
| Raymond & Ray | Lawyer | ||
| Disenchanted | Edgar | ||
| A Christmas Mystery | Glenn Martin | ||
| 2023 | Dashing Through the Snow | Conrad Harf | |
| The Long Game | Principal Guerra | ||
| 2024 | The School Duel | Governor Anthony Ramiro |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Male Parking Attendant | Episode: "Interior Decorator" |
| 2001 | Grounded for Life | Security Guard | Episode: "I Wanna Be Suspended" |
| 2002–2003 | Malcolm in the Middle | Ranch Hand | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Still Standing | Tim | Episode: "Still Hairdressing" |
| Reno 911! | Captain Dwayne Hernandez | 2 episodes | |
| 24 | Pilot | Episode: "Day 3: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m." | |
| 2005–2013 | The Office | Oscar Martínez | Main cast; 189 episodes |
| 2006 | Reno 911! | "Spanish Mike" Alvarez | Episode: "Spanish Mike Returns" |
| 2007 | Halfway Home | Eulogio Pla | 10 episodes |
| 2010 | Fred: The Movie | Lorenzo | Television film |
| 2011–2012 | Bob's Burgers | Cha-Cha / Pepe (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Prosecuting Casey Anthony | Jose Baez | Television film |
| Family Tree | Discount Car Rental Agent | Episode: "Indians" | |
| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Sudz Manager | Episode: "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award" | |
| 2014 | New Girl | Doug | Episode: "Cruise" |
| Bad Teacher | Louis | Episode: "Life Science" | |
| Benched | Carlos | 12 episodes | |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | FBI Agent José González | Episode: "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt & Strappy Sandals" |
| Adam Ruins Everything | Benny | Episode: "Adam Ruins Work" | |
| Romantically Speaking | Carl | Television film | |
| 2015–2019 | Life in Pieces | Dr. James Changa | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Dr. Porp | Episode: "9 Days" |
| iZombie | Stan Mendoza | Episode: "Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind" | |
| Mutt & Stuff | Claude Puppe | Episode: "Lights! Camera! Bark!" | |
| Shameless | Rick Encarnacion | 2 episodes | |
| Bad Internet | Jim | Episode: "Your Search History Revealed" | |
| Boondoggle | Eduardo | Episode: "The Course" | |
| Uncle Buck | Hector | Episode: "The Interrogation" | |
| Liv and Maddie | Mr. Beelick | Episode: "Sorta-Sisters-A-Rooney" | |
| 2016–2017 | People of Earth | Father Doug | 15 episodes |
| 2018 | American Housewife | Rupert the Cop | Episode: "Midlife Crisis" |
| 9-1-1 | Guillermo | Episode: "Point of Origin" | |
| Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition | Himself | 5 episodes (season 13) | |
| 2018–2019 | 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Sergeant Costas (voice) | 9 episodes |
| 2019 | Those Who Can't | Johnson | Episode: "Yes We Scan" |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Lionel Fernandez | Episode: "No More Secrets" | |
| Where's Waldo? | Wizard Featherbeard (voice) | Episode: "Costa Rica... In Color!" | |
| 2019–2020 | Mr. Iglesias | Assistant-Principal Carlos Hernandez | 18 episodes |
| 2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride[15] | Inigo Montoya | Episode: "Chapter Three: The Cliffs of Insanity" |
| Social Distance | Miguel Villareal | Episode: "A Celebration of the Human Life Cycle" | |
| The Goldbergs | Ted | Episode: "Airplane!" | |
| 2021 | No Activity | (voice) | Episode: "It's Not a Cult!" |
| Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist | Dr. Tesoro | 3 episodes | |
| 2022 | The G Word with Adam Conover | Various | 3 episodes |
| Out of Office | X Fernandez | TV movie | |
| 2022–present | Firebuds | Chef Fernando (voice) | 12 episodes |
| 2023 | Lucky Hank | Dean Jacob Rose | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Solar Opposites | Oscar (voice) | 1 episode |
| 2025–present | The Paper | Oscar Martinez | Main role |
…actor Oscar Nunez in 1958 (age 62)