Jacob Vargas
Jacob Vargas began his impressive acting career when he was discovered break dancing in a schoolyard at the age of 12. This was followed by a role as a break-dancer on the hit TV show "Different Strokes. In 1995 he won the very first ALMA Award (for Emerging Artist of the Year) for his work in both Alison Anders'
Mi Vida Loca and Gregory Nava's
My Family. He later starred in such films as Selena,
Get Shorty,
American Me, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
and the cult favorite Next Friday" as
Ice Cube's nemesis, Joker. He drew acclaim as
Benicio del Toro's partner in Stephen Soderberg's Academy Award-winning film
Traffic which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award and another ALMA Award. More recently, he starred as Sammy the chef in
John Moore's
Flight of the Phoenix and as Marine Sniper Cortez in Sam Medes' war drama "Jarhead. He will next be seen as a DEA Agent opposite
Laurence Fishburne and
Paul Walker in
The Death and Life of Bobby Z and will star in Alex Rivera's Sci-Fi "Sleep Dealer. Jacob has also been focusing his talents on writing and producing through his production company Third Son Productions. In 2001 he executive produced and starred in the independent film
Road Dogz. He also co-produced and starred in the stage play
Latinologues which performed on Broadway in 2005. Through Third Son Productions, he is currently developing several Feature film and television projects.
Jacob Vargas Facts
Selected Filmography
Daily Birthdays