Michael Peña | |
|---|---|
 Peña at the premiere ofThe Martian at the 2015Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | (1976-01-13)January 13, 1976 (age 49) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Michael Peña (/ˈpeɪnjə/;Spanish:[ˈpeɲa]; born January 13, 1976)[1] is an American actor. He has starred in many films, includingCrash (2004),World Trade Center (2006),Shooter (2007),Observe and Report (2009),Tower Heist (2011),Battle: Los Angeles (2011),End of Watch (2012), andGangster Squad (2013). He has also acted in films such asAmerican Hustle (2013),The Martian (2015),Ant-Man (2015) and its sequelAnt-Man and the Wasp (2018), andExtinction (2018). Peña had the title role inCesar Chavez (2014), playedDEA agentKiki Camarena in season one of theNetflix seriesNarcos: Mexico (2018), andCIA agent Domingo Chavez in season 4 of thePrime Video seriesJack Ryan (2023).
He was nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance inEnd of Watch.
Peña was born on January 13, 1976, inChicago, Illinois, the son of Nicolasa, asocial worker, and Eleuterio Peña, a factory worker. Peña stated in an interview withMario Lopez that both his parents attainedgreen cards after he was born and after crossing the border multiple times.[2][3][4] Peña's parents were originally farmers, and emigrated from Mexico; his father was fromVilla Purificación,Jalisco, and his mother was fromCharcas, San Luis Potosí.[5][6][7] He grew up in theNorth Lawndale area and attendedMarist High School, and graduated fromHubbard High School where he participated and was a state qualifier in wrestling and track.[8]
Though Peña has been a regular in independent productions since 1996, his breakthrough performances came in twoBest PictureOscar-winningPaul Haggis-penned films,Million Dollar Baby (2004) andCrash (2004). The former was directed byClint Eastwood, and the latter was directed by Haggis. Though both films are critically acclaimed, Peña received attention for his particularly emotional performance inCrash. The following year, he appeared on theGolden Globe-winning seriesThe Shield. He starred inOliver Stone's film based on theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks,World Trade Center. He also had a small role inAlejandro González Iñárritu's filmBabel. This gives him the rare distinction of having appeared in three consecutive films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
In 1999, Peña starred as Oscar inBellyfruit, an independent film about teen-pregnancy co-written and directed byKerri Green. In 2006, Peña starred in theHBO filmWalkout asSal Castro, a Mexican-American high school teacher who inspires a group ofEast L.A. high school students to fight forChicano rights.
He starred alongsideMark Wahlberg inShooter (2007) as noviceFBI agent Nick Memphis. In 2009, he played a mall security guard alongsideSeth Rogen inJody Hill'sObserve and Report.[9]
In 2012, he co-starred withJake Gyllenhaal as a Los Angeles police officer, inEnd of Watch. The same year, he began filmingCésar Chávez, abiopic about the life of Americanlabor leaderCésar Chávez, who founded theUnited Farm Workers. Peña stars as Chávez.[10] He appeared alongsideBrad Pitt,Shia LaBeouf,Logan Lerman, andJon Bernthal in the World War II-set action filmFury (2014),[11] and portrayed Luis inAnt-Man (2015).[12]
In 2015, Peña was a principal player of the ensemble cast for his role on board the Ares-III space-craft to Mars, in the award-winningRidley Scott sci-filmThe Martian.Peña starred in12 Strong alongsideChris Hemsworth. He also starred in the 2018 remake ofA Wrinkle in Time, where he played the main antagonist, The IT, in his human form (known as "Red").[13] In 2020, Peña took a turn as the mysterious and enigmatic Mr. Roarke in the critically panned prequelFantasy Island.[14]
In December 2017, it was reported that Peña had joined the cast ofNarcos for its upcoming fourth season.[15] It was later revealed that the fourth season would be a new series,Narcos: Mexico, with Peña starring asDEA agentKiki Camarena.[16]
Peña voiced the character Ricky in theFX animated comedyChozen. InTurbo, he voiced Tito. He also provided vocals for the character Marguerite (in the episode "Hot Water") for the popular animated seriesAmerican Dad!.
In 2005, Peña formed the Los Angeles rock bandNico Vega, named after his mother, Nicolasa. He left the band in 2007 to concentrate on his acting career, but co-wrote the track "Beast", which reached No. 26 on theBillboard Hot Rock Songs Chart. Peña starred in a video created forMidlake's track "Bethel Woods", which premiered January 12, 2022. He returned with Nico Vega in December 2023.
Peña has been a member ofScientology since 2000.[17]
In 2006, he married Brie Shaffer. They have one son, named Roman, born in 2008.[18]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Pacific Blue | Rabbit | Episode: "Bangers" |
| 1997 | Touched by an Angel | Reynaldo Estes | Episode: "At Risk" |
| 1998 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Luis Carrenza | 2 episodes Credited as Michael Anthony Pena |
| The Sentinel | Johnny | Episode: "Night Shift" Credited as Michael A. Pena | |
| 7th Heaven | Roger | Episode: "Let's Talk About Sex" Credited as Michael A. Pena | |
| 1999 | Tracey Takes On... | Busboy | Episode: "Scandal" |
| Moesha | Alejandro | Episode: "Life Imitating Art" | |
| Profiler | Alex Lopez | Episode: "Spree of Love" Credited as Michael Anthony Peña | |
| 1999–2000 | Felicity | Brian Burke | 5 episodes |
| 2000 | The District | Sante | Episode: "The Real Terrorist" |
| 2001 | Roswell | Fly | 2 episodes |
| Men, Women & Dogs | Miguel | 2 episodes | |
| 2002 | American Family | 2 episodes | |
| Andy Richter Controls the Universe | Patrick | Episode: "Wedding" | |
| 2003 | The Twilight Zone | Noah | Episode: "Sunrise" Credited as Michael A. Peña |
| ER | Police Officer | 3 episodes | |
| 1997, 2004 | NYPD Blue | Ferd Wilmer Lopez | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Juanito Concha | Episode: "Snakes" |
| The Shield | Detective Armando Renta | 10 episodes | |
| 2006 | Walkout | Sal Castro | Television film Black Reel Award for Network/Cable - Best Supporting Actor Imagen Award for Best Actor - Television Nominated –ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor - Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie |
| 2008 | My Name Is Earl | Circus | Episode: "No Heads and a Duffle Bag" |
| 2010 | Eastbound & Down | Sebastián Cisneros | 5 episodes |
| 2011, 2013 | American Dad! | Marguerite (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Chozen | Ricky (voice) | 10 episodes |
| Gracepoint | Mark Solano | 10 episodes | |
| 2018 | Narcos: Mexico | Kiki Camarena | Main cast; 10 episodes (Season 1) |
| 2023 | Jack Ryan | Domingo "Ding" Chavez | Main cast (Season 4)[20] |
| 2024 | Landman | Armando | Episode: "Landman" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Lego Marvel's Avengers | Luis | Ant-Man downloadable pack |
…actor Michael Pena in 1976 (age 45)…
