Biography: Luis Guzman

Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his character work. For much of his career, his squat build, wolfish features, and brooding countenance have garnered him roles largely as sidekicks, thugs, or policemen, but his later career has seen him move into more mainstream roles. He is a favorite of director Steven Soderbergh, who cast him in Out of Sight, The Limey, and Traffic, and Paul Thomas Anderson, who cast him in Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love. He also voiced Ricardo Diaz in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

Guzmán was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico and was raised in New York City’s Greenwich Village and the surrounding Lower East Side neighborhood. His mother, Rosa, was a hospital worker, and his stepfather, Benjamin Cardona, was a TV repairman.A graduate of The American University, he began his career not as an actor but as a social worker and moonlighted as an actor, eventually becoming heavily involved in street theater and independent films. He currently lives with his wife Angelita Galarza-Guzmán and their five children in Sutton, Vermont, where he owns a ranch called Wild Orchid Stables.