Jacob Vargas

Jacob Vargas started his acting career at the age of 12 when he was discovered breakdancing in a schoolyard. He made his acting debut with a small role as a breakdancer on the popular TV show Diff'rent Strokes (1978). In 1995, he won the first ever ALMA Award for Emerging Artist of the Year, recognizing his outstanding performances in Allison Anders' Mi vida loca (1993) and Gregory Nava's My Family (1995). He went on to star in various films including Selena (1997), Get Shorty (1995), American Me (1992), Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), and the cult favorite Next Friday (2000) where he portrayed Joker, the nemesis of Ice Cube's character. He showcased his talent as Tijuana cop Manolo, partnered with Benicio del Toro, in Steven Soderbergh's award-winning film Traffic (2000), earning him a Screen Actors Guild Award and another ALMA Award. He also impressed as Sammy the chef in John Moore's Flight of the Phoenix (2004) and brought depth to the character of Marine sniper Cortez in Sam Mendes' war drama Jarhead (2005). In 2006, he played a DEA agent in the action drama Death and Life of Bobby Z, alongside Laurence Fishburne and Paul Walker, and appeared in Emilio Estevez's historical drama Bobby (2006) as a politically charged busboy. He also took on the role of a psychologically tormented drone pilot in Alex Rivera's sci-fi political love story Sleep Dealer (2006). In addition to his acting pursuits, Vargas has focused on writing and producing through his production company, Third Son Productions. In 2001, he served as an executive producer and starred in the independent film Road Dogz (2002). He also co-produced and starred in the stage play "Latinologues", which had a successful run on Broadway in 2005 and is available on DVD. Through Third Son Productions, Vargas is currently developing several feature films and television projects.