J.R. Villarreal | |
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Born | Houston, Texas, United States | September 28, 1992
Other names | Juan Villarreal Jr. |
Occupations |
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J.R. Villarreal is an American actor, producer, and second-line director, best known for his roles as Javier in 2006 Film Akeelah And The Bee , Black Scorpion on the Disney Channel action-comedy series Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion , and Tio Tonio on Netflix's On My Block -spinoff series Freeridge .
Inspired by early-2000s teen sitcoms That's So Raven , Boy Meets World , Even Stevens , and Smart Guy , Villarreal began acting at 10 years old, appearing in network procedurals Without a Trace and House , among others. [1] In 2006, he received acclaim for his role as Javier Mendez, a talented 12-year-old Mexican-American contestant from upscale Woodland Hills who competes in the Scripps National Spelling Bee alongside actress Keke Palmer in Akeelah and the Bee , eventually becoming her love interest and friend in the film after extending an invitation to his birthday party and middle school spelling club. [2]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Senor White | |||
2006 | Akeelah and the Bee | Javier Mendez | [3] | |
2007 | The Death and Life of Bobby Z | Kit | [4] | |
2011 | Magic City Memoirs | Mikey Acosta | ||
2013 | Ghost Team One | Brad | [5] | |
2015 | Spare Parts | Hector | ||
2017 | An American In Texas | Paul Villarreal | Co-Producer | |
Whiteblood | Rico | |||
2023 | The Uncanny | Terrence | ||
TBA | Jenni | Juan 'Cinco' Lopez | [6] | |
TBA | The Low-End Theory | Chino | ||
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Without a Trace | Nelson Rodriguez | Episode: "A Tree Falls" | |
2004 | Cold Case | Boy #2 | Episode: "The Plan" | |
2005 | Strong Medicine | Marcos Garcia | Episode: "Promising Treatment" | |
House | Manny | Episode: "Humpty Dumpty" | ||
Ghost Whisperer | Joseph Borgia | Episode: "On The Wings of a Dove" | ||
2007 | CSI: Miami | Ben Tavez | Episode: "No Man's Land" | |
2013 | Chamacas | Episode: "Bikini Line" | ||
The Bridge | Mando | Episode: "The Beast" | ||
2017 | High & Mighty | Hugo | Recurring (7 episodes) | |
2018 | Medal of Honor | Justin Gallegos / Gallegos | Recurring (2 episodes) | |
2020 | United We Fall | Felix Rodriguez | Recurring (3 Episodes) | |
2022 | Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion | Black Scorpion / Cruz de la Vega | Main Cast (16 Episodes) | [1] |
2023 | Freeridge | Tio Tonio | Recurring (7 Episodes) | [7] [8] |
2025 | Landman | Manuel | Recurring | [9] |
Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Doug Atchison. It tells the story of Akeelah Anderson, an 11-year-old girl who participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, her mother, her schoolmates, and her coach, Dr. Joshua Larabee. The cast also features Curtis Armstrong, J.R. Villarreal, Sean Michael Afable, Erica Hubbard, Lee Thompson Young, Julito McCullum, Sahara Garey, Eddie Steeples, and Tzi Ma.
Lauren Emily Iungerich is a writer, director and showrunner known for Awkward.
Scarlett Estevez is an American actress, disc jockey and music and television producer. She began her career as a child actress playing Megan in the films Daddy's Home (2015) and its sequel Daddy's Home 2 (2017). Estevez went on to play Trixie on the television series Lucifer from 2016 to 2021, and Gwen on the fourth season of the Disney Channel television series Bunk'd in 2019. She starred as Violet Rodriguez / Ultra Violet in the Disney Channel series Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion in 2022.
On My Block is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft. Set in the fictional Los Angeles neighborhood Freeridge, it revolves four teenagers who find their friendship tested upon entering high school. It stars Sierra Capri, Jason Genao, Brett Gray, Diego Tinoco, Jessica Marie Garcia, Julio Macias, and Peggy Blow.
Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion is an American superhero coming-of-age action-comedy television series developed by Leo Chu and Eric S. Garcia and created by Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit that aired on Disney Channel from June 3 to November 11, 2022. The series stars Scarlett Estevez, J.R. Villarreal, Marianna Burelli, Juan Alfonso, Brandon Rossel, Zelia Ankrum, and Bryan Blanco.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan, or simply Raising Kanan is an American crime drama television series created by Sascha Penn that premiered on July 18, 2021 on Starz. It is a prequel and second spin-off to Power.
Netflix Animation is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018. The studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and feature films.
Landman is an upcoming American drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan, based on the Boomtown podcast by Christian Wallace. It is set to premiere on Paramount+.
Freeridge is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, Jeremy Haft, Jamie Dooner, and Jamie Uyeshiro that premiered on Netflix on February 2, 2023. It is a spin-off of On My Block. In April 2023, the series was canceled after one season.
1923 is an American Western drama television series that premiered on December 18, 2022, on Paramount+. The series is a prequel to the Paramount Network series Yellowstone and serves as a sequel to the series 1883, with Isabel May reprising her role from the latter as narrator Elsa Dutton. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season of eight episodes.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a historical fiction television limited series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix. The series is a prequel spin-off of the Netflix series Bridgerton. The story is loosely based on an alternate history take on the rise of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to prominence and power in the late 18th century. The series premiered on May 4, 2023, and consists of 6 episodes that are roughly an hour in runtime each.