Jacob Vargas
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 18, 1971 (age 55)
- Birthplace
- Michoacan, Mexico
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Bad Influence
Movie
Satanic Hispanics
Movie · as El Jefe
Kimi
Movie · as Glasses Thug
Surfside Girls
TV · as Bob · 7 eps
National Treasure: Edge of History
TV · as Rafael · 4 eps
Billy D and the Hall of Feathered Serpents featuring Money Shot by Puscifer
Movie · as Bartesian
Plan B
Movie · as Pastor Pedro
Princess of the Row
Movie · as Donald
GAME ON: A Comedy Crossover Event
TV · as Tony Ochoa · 1 ep
Solar Opposites
TV · 1 ep
The Public
Movie · as Ernesto Ramirez
Peel
Movie · as Chuck
Mr. Iglesias
TV · as Tony Medina · 21 eps
Endgame
Movie · as Alberto
Mayans M.C.
TV · as Allesandro Montez · 3 eps
Mosaic
TV · as Horacio · 6 eps
Beyond Skyline
Movie · as Garcia
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams
TV · as Mario · 1 ep
The Tell-Tale Heart
Movie · as Adams
Crossing Point
Movie · as Jesus
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
Movie · as Animation Voice (voice)
Marvel's Luke Cage
TV · as Domingo Colon · 6 eps
Colony
TV · as Carlos · 3 eps
The 33
Movie · as Edison 'Elvis' Peña
Complications
TV · as Ramon · 1 ep
Cesar Chavez
Movie · as Richard Chavez
Heaven Is for Real
Movie · as Michael
The Journey of a Female Comic
Movie
Water & Power
Movie · as Asuncion Garcia
Red Sky
Movie · as Jorge 'P-Dawg' Vasquez
Hand of God
TV · as Julio Farkas (uncredited) · 1 ep
Go for Sisters
Movie · as Navajas
Blue
TV · as Roy · 4 eps
Devil
Movie · as Ramirez
The Odds
Movie · as Sergio Vargas
Young Justice
TV · as Sebastian Cardona / Cisco Ramon (voice) · 1 ep
The Good Guys
TV · as Tico · 1 ep
Death Race
Movie · as Gunner
Sleep Dealer
Movie · as Rudy Ramirez
Love Lies Bleeding
Movie · as Detective Billy Jones
The Mentalist
TV · as Chief Rick Anaya · 1 ep
Sons of Anarchy
TV · as Allesandro Montez · 15 eps
The Hills Have Eyes 2
Movie · as Crank
The Death and Life of Bobby Z
Movie · as Jorge Escobar
Are We Done Yet?
Movie · as Mike the Plumber
Burn Notice
TV · as Omar Hernandez · 1 ep
Moonlight
TV · as Guillermo · 5 eps
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
Movie · as Tijuana Cop 2 / Announcer / Charlotte
Bobby
Movie · as Miguel
The Virgin of Juarez
Movie · as Detective Lauro
"Jarhead" Diaries
Movie · as Self
Psych
TV · as Juan Lava · 1 ep
The Wendell Baker Story
Movie · as Reyes Morales
Jarhead
Movie · as Juan Cortez
Numb3rs
TV · as Victor Borrego · 1 ep
Medium
TV · as Eduardo Garcia · 1 ep
Flight of the Phoenix
Movie · as Sammi
Memoirs of an Evil Stepmother
Movie · as Vincent Enano
CSI: NY
TV · as Luis Torres · 1 ep
E.D.N.Y.
Movie
Cold Case
TV · as Angelo Rivera (2009) · 1 ep
Kingpin
TV · 1 ep
Road Dogz
Movie · as Danny Pacheco
Dragonfly
Movie · as Victor
Truth Be Told
Movie · as Gonzalez
Greetings from Tucson
TV · as Ernesto Tiant · 22 eps
CSI: Miami
TV · as Felix Medina · 1 ep
Watching Ellie
TV · as Miguel · 1 ep
Dr. Dolittle 2
Movie · as Pepito (voice)
Come and Take It Day
Movie · as Miguel
Six Feet Under
TV · as Manuel 'Paco' Bolin · 1 ep
The Proud Family
TV · as Punch Alto (voice) · 1 ep
Traffic
Movie · as Manolo Sanchez
Next Friday
Movie · as Joker
Max Steel
TV · as Dr. Roberto Martinez (voice) · 22 eps
The Hi-Lo Country
Movie · as Delfino Mondragon
Selena
Movie · as A. B. Quintanilla
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Movie · as Ramon
Santa Fe
Movie · as Jesus
The Pretender
TV · as Javi Padillo · 1 ep
Clueless
TV · 1 ep
Malibu Shores
TV · as Benny · 10 eps
Get Shorty
Movie · as Yayo Portillo
My Family
Movie · as Young Jose
Crimson Tide
Movie · as Sonarman #2
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV · as Prince Luis (voice) · 1 ep
JAG
TV · as Corporal Cortez · 1 ep
Mi Vida Loca
Movie · as Ernesto
Huck and the King of Hearts
Movie · as Pedro
ER
TV · as Diablo · 1 ep
Airborne
Movie · as Snake
Fatal Instinct
Movie · as Flower Delivery Man
Gas Food Lodging
Movie · as Javier
American Me
Movie · as Paulito - Age 15
Seeds of Tragedy
Movie · as Cholo #2
The Great Los Angeles Earthquake
Movie · as Miguel
Little Nikita
Movie · as Miguel
Ernest Goes to Camp
Movie · as Bubba Vargas
The Principal
Movie · as Arturo Diego
Full House
TV · as Enrique · 1 ep
Miracle of the Heart: A Boys Town Story
Movie · as Enrique Mendoza
Last Resort
Movie · as Carlos
Hunter
TV · as Emilio Morales · 1 ep