Date of Birth: January 13, 1976

Born and raised in Chicago, Michael Peña began his acting career in the low budget film Running Free (1994), which never made it to theaters. His first big break came when he beat out hundreds of others in an open call for a role in Peter Bogdanovich’s TV movie To Sir, with Love II (1996), starring Sidney Poitier.

Although he hasn’t acquired household name status (yet), Peña has worked steadily ever since, amassing an impressive number of television and movie credits.

On television, he’s made guest appearances on shows such as Touched by an Angel, The Sentinel, 7th Heaven, Felicity, Roswell, ER, NYPD Blue, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Shield.

His films include Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) starring Nicolas Cage, Buffalo Soldiers (2001) with Joaquin Phoenix, The United States of Leland (2003) with Ryan Gosling and Million Dollar Baby (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood.

For his work in the Oscar-winning film Crash (2004), Peña won a Best Actor Award at the 2006 ALMA Awards. In Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center (2006), he garnered a starring role as Will Jimeno, one of two Port Authority police officers who were trapped under the rubble at Ground Zero in New York City on 9/11.

Peña makes his home in Los Angeles.

FILMOGRAPHY:


The Lucky Ones (2007)
Lions For Lambs (2007)
Shooter (2007)
World Trade Center (2006)
Fifty Pills (2006)
Sueño (2005)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Crash (2004)
The Calcium Kid (2004)
Love Object (2003)
The United States of Leland (2003)
Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Bellyfruit (1999)
Paradise Cove (1999)
La Cucaracha (1998)
Boogie Boy (1998)
Star Maps (1997)
My Fellow Americans (1996)