Jacob Vargas
Known for
Born in Michoacan, Mexico in 1971, Jacob Vargas grew up in Los Angeles and broke through as Selena's brother-in-law Chris Perez's brother in the biopic Selena (1997). He worked for Steven Soderbergh in Traffic (2000), for Fernando Meirelles in the disaster relief drama Blindness (2008) and turned up as a heavy in Sons of Anarchy and other cable series. He has stayed a busy character actor across Latino-led film and mainstream Hollywood. Sharp, wiry and easy on camera, he is one of Mexican-American cinema's most durable working faces.
Jacob Vargas
55 Movies
34 Series
Born in Michoacan, Mexico in 1971, Jacob Vargas grew up in Los Angeles and broke through as Selena's brother-in-law Chris Perez's brother in the biopic Selena (1997). He worked for Steven Soderbergh in Traffic (2000), for Fernando Meirelles in the disaster relief drama Blindness (2008) and turned up as a heavy in Sons of Anarchy and other cable series. He has stayed a busy character actor across Latino-led film and mainstream Hollywood. Sharp, wiry and easy on camera, he is one of Mexican-American cinema's most durable working faces.
Movies
Plays Gunner
Death Race
2008
Plays Sonarman #2
Crimson Tide
1995
Plays Manolo Sanchez
Traffic
2000
Plays Juan Cortez
Jarhead
2005
Plays Crank
The Hills Have Eyes 2
2007
Plays Yayo Portillo
Get Shorty
1995
Plays A. B. Quintanilla
Selena
1997
Plays Victor
Dragonfly
2002
Plays Edison 'Elvis' Peña
The 33
2015
Plays Pepito (voice)
Dr. Dolittle 2
2001
Plays Ramirez
Devil
2010
Plays Sammi
Flight of the Phoenix
2004
Plays Mike the Plumber
Are We Done Yet?
2007
Plays Michael
Heaven Is for Real
2014
Plays Joker
Next Friday
2000
Plays Glasses Thug
Kimi
2022
Plays Paulito - Age 15
American Me
1992
Plays Jorge Escobar
The Death and Life of Bobby Z
2007
Plays Arturo Diego
The Principal
1987
Plays Animation Voice (voice)
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
2016
Plays Young Jose
My Family
1995
Plays Miguel
Bobby
2006
Plays Ernesto Ramirez
The Public
2019
Plays Flower Delivery Man
Fatal Instinct
1993
Plays Pastor Pedro
Plan B
2021
Plays Snake
Airborne
1993
Plays Jorge 'P-Dawg' Vasquez
Red Sky
2014
Plays Garcia
Beyond Skyline
2017
Plays Miguel
Little Nikita
1988
Plays Ernesto
Mi Vida Loca
1994
Plays Richard Chavez
Cesar Chavez
2014
Plays Javier
Gas Food Lodging
1992
Plays Delfino Mondragon
The Hi-Lo Country
1998
Plays Bubba Vargas
Ernest Goes to Camp
1987
Plays Reyes Morales
The Wendell Baker Story
2005
Plays Jesus
Crossing Point
2016
Plays Donald
Princess of the Row
2020
Plays Detective Billy Jones
Love Lies Bleeding
2008
Producer
Plays Tijuana Cop 2 / Announcer / Charlotte
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
2006
Plays El Jefe
Satanic Hispanics
2022
Plays Chuck
Peel
2019
Plays Rudy Ramirez
Sleep Dealer
2008
Plays Carlos
Last Resort
1986
Plays Navajas
Go for Sisters
2013
Plays Adams
The Tell-Tale Heart
2016
Plays Jesus
Santa Fe
1997
Plays Detective Lauro
The Virgin of Juarez
2006
Plays Pedro
Huck and the King of Hearts
1994
Producer
Plays Danny Pacheco
Road Dogz
2002
Plays Gonzalez
Truth Be Told
2002
TV Shows
Plays Dr. Roberto Martinez (voice)
Max Steel
2000
Plays Ernesto Tiant
Greetings from Tucson
2002
Plays Tony Medina
Mr. Iglesias
2019
Plays Allesandro Montez
Sons of Anarchy
2008
Plays Bob
Surfside Girls
2022
Plays Domingo Colon
Marvel's Luke Cage
2016
Plays Horacio
Mosaic
2018
Plays Guillermo
Moonlight
2007
Plays Roy
Blue
2012
Plays Rafael
National Treasure: Edge of History
2022
Plays Carlos
Colony
2016
Plays Allesandro Montez
Mayans M.C.
2018
Plays Manuel 'Paco' Bolin
Six Feet Under
2001
Plays Victor Borrego
Numb3rs
2005
Plays Javi Padillo
The Pretender
1996
Plays Angelo Rivera (2009)
Cold Case
2003
Plays Luis Torres
CSI: NY
2004
Plays Omar Hernandez
Burn Notice
2007
Plays Emilio Morales
Hunter
1984
Plays Diablo
ER
1994
Plays Eduardo Garcia
Medium
2005
Plays Ramon
Complications
2015
Plays Chief Rick Anaya
The Mentalist
2008
Plays Sebastian Cardona / Cisco Ramon (voice)
Young Justice
2010
Plays Mario
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams
2017
Plays Prince Luis (voice)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
Plays Punch Alto (voice)
The Proud Family
2001
Plays Corporal Cortez
JAG
1995
Plays Tony Ochoa
GAME ON: A Comedy Crossover Event
2020
Plays Juan Lava
Psych
2006
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Satanic Hispanics
Full Filmography
National Treasure: Edge of History
Rafael · 4 episodes
2022–
TV
Satanic Hispanics
El Jefe
2022
Film
Surfside Girls
Bob · 7 episodes
2022–
TV
Kimi
Glasses Thug
2022
Film
Plan B
Pastor Pedro
2021
Film
Billy D and the Hall of Feathered Serpents featuring Money Shot by Puscifer
Bartesian
2021
Film
Princess of the Row
Donald
2020
Film
GAME ON: A Comedy Crossover Event
Tony Ochoa · 1 episode
2020–
TV
Mr. Iglesias
Tony Medina · 21 episodes
2019–
TV
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Jacob Vargas and where are they from?
Jacob Vargas is 54 years old, born on August 18, 1971 in Michoacan, Mexico.
What are the most famous roles of Jacob Vargas?
Jacob Vargas is best known for roles in Death Race, Jarhead, Devil.
How many movies has Jacob Vargas been in?
Over a 40-year career (since 1986), Jacob Vargas has appeared in 55 movies and 34 TV shows.
What was Jacob Vargas's first movie?
The career of Jacob Vargas began with Miracle of the Heart: A Boys Town Story (1986).
What is Jacob Vargas's most recent movie or series?
Jacob Vargas's most recent release is National Treasure: Edge of History, which premiered on December 14, 2022.
What TV shows has Jacob Vargas appeared in?
On television, Jacob Vargas has appeared in The Mentalist, Sons of Anarchy, Marvel's Luke Cage, CSI: Miami.
Jacob Vargas
1971-08-18 · Michoacan, Mexico
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.