Rick Gonzalez
| Rick Gonzalez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
June 30, 1979 Brooklyn, New York City |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998–present |
Rick Gonzalez (born June 30, 1979) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture Coach Carter, as Ben Gonzalez on the CW supernatural drama television series Reaper, and as Naps In Roll Bounce. He currently plays the recurring role of the superhero vigilante character Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog on The CW superhero drama series Arrow.
Early life
Gonzalez was born in New York City, of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent.[1] His parents met in Washington, DC, where they married and later divorced. They settled down in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn where they raised Rick.[2] There, he attended elementary and junior high school. Ever since he was a young child, Rick would put on improvised "shows" for his family and participate in all of his school's plays. His teachers were instrumental in convincing Rick to apply and try out for the High School of the Performing Arts, on which Fame was based, in Manhattan. He did as suggested and was accepted. In 1997, he graduated and began to pursue a career in acting.[3]
Career
Gonzalez started his acting career in New York where he landed a small role in the made for television movie Thicker Than Blood (1998) as Sanchez. In 1999, he made his feature movie debut as Ricky in the movie Mambo Cafe, which was released in the year 2000. He followed that by participating in the film Prince of Central Park (2000) before heading for Los Angeles, California.[3] In Hollywood, he landed a small part as a gangbanger in the 2001 film Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. He followed that with the roles of Rudy Bonilla in The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid and as the sex-crazed Primo in the 2003 movie Biker Boyz. In 2005, he played the role of Timo Cruz in the movie Coach Carter. Gonzalez also appeared in Twista's video "Hope", which is the lead single off the Coach Carter movie soundtrack. He played the male lead in Mashonda's "Back of Tha Club" video; and has also starred in the video to the Obie Trice song "Snitch", where he plays a member of a group who successfully pull off a bank robbery, and then snitches on them. Gonzalez was also in Red Cafe's video for "All Night Long" which was also in the Coach Carter movie soundtrack.
Among the other movies in which Gonzalez has appeared are the 2003 comedy Old School (alongside Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell) as "Spanish", Laurel Canyon (2003) as Wyett, Subway Cafe (2004) as Vincent Young, War of the Worlds (2005) as Vincent, Roll Bounce (2005) as Naps, Pulse (2006) as Stone, First Snow (2006) as Andy Lopez,[4] Illegal Tender (2007) as Wilson DeLeon Jr.,[4] What We Do Is Secret (2007) as Pat Smear. He also appears in Apartment 143 as Paul Ortega.
His TV guest appearances have been in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2000), Touched by an Angel (2001) as Ramone, ER (2001) as Jorge Escalona, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2002) as Tomas, The Shield (2002), CSI: Miami (2006), Castle (2010), Lie to Me (2010), and Bones (2011). Most recently, he co-starred in the CW television series Reaper as Ben Gonzalez. Gonzalez had a blog about the 2008 MLB Post Season and was nicknamed the "October Gonzo". He co-starred in Lady Gaga's 2011 music video for her single "Judas" where he portrays Jesus. In 2013, Gonzalez appeared in the NCIS episode "Oil & Water", as Lenny Machaca.
Music career
On May 24, 2011 Rick released his mixtape album hosted by DJ G-Spot titled "The Invisible Man" citing "I called it the invisible man because of my frustration trying to get my music career going for at least 7 years and feeling ignored by the industry. So I felt invisible to them (music industry).". The album is available for free download on his own music website "Realm Reality". He will also appear on the song "Bully Rap" off of Sean Price's new album Mic Tyson, scheduled for release October 30.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Thicker Than Blood | Sanchez | Television movie |
| 2000 | Mambo Café | Ricky | |
| Prince of Central Park | Gangbanger | ||
| 2001 | Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles | Gang Banger | |
| 2002 | The Rookie | Rudy Bonilla | |
| Laurel Canyon | Wyatt | ||
| 2003 | Biker Boyz | Primo | |
| Old School | Spanish | ||
| 2004 | Subway Cafe | Vincent Young | |
| 2005 | Coach Carter | Timo Cruz | |
| War of the Worlds | Vincent | ||
| Roll Bounce | Naps | ||
| 2006 | First Snow | Andy Lopez | |
| Pulse | Stone | ||
| For Your Consideration | Chillaxin' Host | ||
| 2007 | Game of Life | Gerardo | |
| What We Do Is Secret | Pat Smear | ||
| Illegal Tender | Wilson DeLeon Jr. | ||
| In the Valley of Elah | Phone Technician | ||
| 2008 | The Promotion | Ernesto | |
| Pride and Glory | Eladio Casado | ||
| 2010 | Flying Lessons | Benji | |
| 2011 | Apartment 143 | Paul Ortega | |
| 2012 | Bad Girls | Rodrigo | Television film |
| The Guilt Trip | Mark | ||
| 2013 | Make Your Move | Rene | |
| 2014 | Commencement | ||
| Blame It On The Streets | Braze | Short film | |
| Victor | Pablo | ||
| 2015 | November Rule | Nick | |
| 2016 | 179th Street | Chelo Santiago | |
| 2016 | "Bad Dad Rehab" | Pierre | Television Movie |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | F/X: The Series | Episode: "Spanish Harlem" | |
| 2000 | Law and Order: Special Victims Unit | Alfonso | Episode: "The Third Guy" |
| Touched by an Angel | Ramone | Episode: "Living the Rest of My Life" | |
| 2000-2001 | Boston Public | Juan Figgis | 4 episodes |
| 2001 | Nash Bridges | Hector | Episode: "Slam Dunk" |
| ER | Jorge Escalona | Episode: "Quo Vadis?" | |
| 2002 | The Shield | Lucas | Episode "Pay in Pain" |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Tomas | Episode: "Help" | |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Marcus | Episode: "Poppin' Tags" |
| CSI: Miami | Hector Rivera | Episode: "Backstabbers" | |
| 2007-2009 | Reaper | Ben Gonzalez | |
| 2009 | Medium | Juan Espinosa | Episode: "The Future's So Bright" |
| 2010 | Castle | Mickey Carlson | Episode: "The Third Man" |
| Cold Case | Tut' 82 | Episode: "Bombers" | |
| Lie to Me | Raul Campos | Episode: "Headlock" | |
| Dark Blue | Manny Aguilar | Episode: "Shelter of the Best" | |
| The Whole Truth | Ronnie Soto | Episode: "Cold Case" | |
| 2011 | Traffic Light | Charlie | Episode: "No Good Deed" |
| The Protector | Jamie Sosa | Episode: "Help" | |
| The Closer | Bruno Perez | Episode: "Star Turn" | |
| Bones | Rick Cortez | Episode: "The Prince in the Plastic" | |
| 2012-2014 | Dark Prophet | DJ Rashnu | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Blue Bloods | Ricky | Episode: "The Bitter End" |
| Ironside | Episode: "Uptown Murders" | ||
| NCIS | Lenny Machacha | Episode: "Oil & Water" | |
| 2014 | Rush | Manny Maquis | |
| 2015 | Battle Creek | Omar | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015 | Mr. Robot | Isaac Vera | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Arrow | Rene Ramirez / Wild Dog | Recurring role (season 5) |
See also
References
- ↑ TV Guide
- ↑ Arispe, Rudy. "New World Man", San Antonio Express-News, June 30, 2005. Accessed June 8, 2009. "I'm from Bushwick (an area of Brooklyn)..."
- 1 2 From Brooklyn Archived June 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 Rick Gonzalez