Raymond Cruz | |
|---|---|
 Cruz in 2024 | |
| Born | September 10, 1964 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | East Los Angeles College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | Simi Mehta |
Raymond Cruz (born September 10, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his starring role as Detective Julio Sanchez in the series The Closer and its spinoff Major Crimes , [1] as well as his recurring role as drug lord Tuco Salamanca in the crime drama Breaking Bad and its prequel series Better Call Saul .
Cruz, who is of Mexican descent, was born on September 10, 1964. [2] He grew up in East Los Angeles, California, in a neighborhood that regularly saw gang activity, and had relatives in such street gangs as Maravilla and Barrio South Gate. [3] In an interview with The Daily Beast , Cruz stated he witnessed someone shot in front of him when he was 12 years old, noting that "his brains came out the back of his head." [3] For his portrayal of Tuco Salamanca, he was able to relate to his experiences witnessing people who were high on meth. [3]
Cruz has said that becoming interested in American literature early in life helped him avoid joining such gangs himself. His favorite novel is Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird . [4] [5] [3] Cruz attended 3 high schools after being expelled for writing editorials on the newspaper that caused him to be late to class as well as being considered inappropriate. [6] He attended East Los Angeles College. [7]
Cruz's film roles include sniper Ding Chavez in Clear and Present Danger , [8] Hector in Out For Justice , [8] Tom Berenger's second-in-command Joey Six in The Substitute , [8] U.S. Marine Sergeant Rojas in The Rock , [8] as Jesus in From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money , [8] USM Private Vincent DiStephano in Alien Resurrection , [8] and Ramirez in Under Siege . [8] He appeared as Chuey, a gang member from the Vatos Locos, in the gang film Blood In Blood Out . [8]
In 2005, he played Chino in Havoc . [8] He appeared in Gremlins 2: The New Batch , [8] credited as "The Messenger," and in Training Day as a gang member named Sniper. [8] He played a Los Angeles firefighter in Collateral Damage . [8] He had guest roles in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Siege of AR-558", The X-Files episode "El Mundo Gira", and the second season of 24 . [8] He also made an appearance as the father of a murdered girl in CSI. He played Det. Julio Sanchez for the entire seven season run of The Closer and continued in that role for all six seasons of the spin-off Major Crimes . [8]
Cruz performed the well-known role of Tuco Salamanca, a sadistic and psychotic meth dealer in Breaking Bad in 2008 and 2009, [8] a role he reprised in 2015-16 during the first two seasons of the Breaking Bad prequel spin-off, Better Call Saul . [8]
He had a recurring role as Paco on My Name Is Earl , and as Alejandro Perez on Nip/Tuck . [8]
Cruz is married to fellow actress Simi Mehta with whom he co-starred on The X-Files in the episode "El Mundo Gira". [5]
On September 8, 2025, Cruz was arrested after allegedly spraying a woman with his water hose outside his house. [9] He was released on his own recognizance and had a court date scheduled for October 1. [10] [11] On October 1, the Los Angeles city attorney's office said in an email that prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Cruz. They did not provide a reason. [12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Maid to Order | Sam | |
| 1988 | Twice Dead | Gang Member | |
| 1989 | I Know My First Name Is Steven | Punk | |
| 1990 | Gremlins 2: The New Batch | The Messenger | |
| Cold Dog Soup | Gang Member | ||
| 1991 | Prison Stories: Women on the Inside | Montoya | Television film |
| Dead Again | Store Clerk | ||
| Out for Justice | Hector | ||
| Fallen Angels | Diego | Television film | |
| 1992 | Man Trouble | Balco | |
| Nails | Paco Sanchez | Television film | |
| Judgement | Cyclone | ||
| Under Siege | Ramirez | ||
| 1993 | Blood In Blood Out | Chuey | |
| When the Party's Over | Mario | ||
| 1994 | Dead Badge | Tomas Gomez | |
| Clear and Present Danger | Ding Chavez | ||
| Dragstrip Girl | Doogie | Television film | |
| 1995 | Operation Dumbo Drop | Staff Sergeant Adams | Uncredited |
| 1996 | The Substitute | Joey "Six" | |
| The Rock | Sergeant Rojas | Uncredited | |
| Up Close & Personal | Fernando Buttanda | ||
| Broken Arrow | USAF Lieutenant Colonel | Uncredited | |
| 1997 | Last Stand at Saber River | Manuel | Television film |
| Alien Resurrection | Private Vincent DiStephano | ||
| 1998 | Playing Patti | ||
| 1999 | From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money | Jesus | |
| The Last Marshal | T-Boy | ||
| 2000 | Blood Money | Gutierrez | Television film |
| 2001 | Training Day | Sniper | |
| 2002 | Collateral Damage | Junior | |
| 2004 | Just Hustle | Spanish Professor | |
| My Name Is Modesty | Raphael Garcia | ||
| 2005 | Havoc | Chino | |
| Brothers in Arms | Reverend | ||
| 2006 | 10 Tricks | Sal | |
| 2015 | Cleveland Abduction | Ariel Castro | Television film |
| 2019 | The Curse of La Llorona | Rafael Olvera | |
| 2020 | Wander | Luis Santiago | |
| 2021 | Blue Miracle | Hector | |
| 2023 | Medellin | El Diablo | |
| 2025 | Love, Danielle | Stan DeManuel | |
| Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires | TBA (voice) | Direct-to-Video [13] | |
| TBA | The Revenge of La Llorona † | Rafael Olvera | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Beauty and the Beast | Hal | Episode: "Down to a Sunless Sea" |
| Cagney & Lacey | Alonzo | Episode: "Land of the Free" | |
| CBS Schoolbreak Special | Angel Perez | Episode: "Gangs" | |
| Vietnam War Story | Diaz | Episode: "Separated" | |
| Knots Landing | Van Driver, Young Man | 2 episodes | |
| 1989 | A Nightmare on Drug Street | Felipe | Short Film |
| 1990 | Hunter | Tomas Delgado | Episode: "La Familia" |
| Freddy's Nightmares | Johnny "Mac" McFarland | Episode: "Life Sentence" | |
| Matlock | Alien Worker | Episode: "The Cookie Monster" | |
| Lifestories | Episode: "Frank Brody" | ||
| China Beach | Lopez | Episode: "One Small Step" | |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | José "Joseph" Galvan | Episode: "Double Jeopardy" |
| 1995 | The Marshal | Rossiter | Episode: "The Ballad of Lucas Burke" |
| Walker, Texas Ranger | Sergeant Perez | Episode: "Case Closed" | |
| 1995–2000 | NYPD Blue | Raoul / Rico | 2 episodes |
| 1995–2000 | The Eddie Files | Johnny | 16 episodes |
| 1997 | The X-Files | Eladio Buente | Episode: "El Mundo Gira" |
| Cracker | MacCormick | Episode: "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" | |
| 413 Hope St. | Rico | Episode: "Lost Boys and Gothic Girls" | |
| 1998 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Vargas | Episode: "The Siege of AR-558" |
| The Practice | Miguel Moreno | Episode: "Truth and Consequences" | |
| 1999 | Seven Days | Rodriguez | Episode: "Daddy's Girl" |
| 2000 | Strange World | Rinaldo Molina | Episode: "Man Plus" |
| Seven Days | Teo Millar | Episode: "The Cuban Missile" | |
| Harsh Realm | Sergeant Escalante | 2 episodes | |
| 2002 | Robbery Homicide Division | Jesus "Termite" Rosales | Episode: "City of Strivers" |
| Boomtown | Ruben | Episode: "Crash" | |
| 2002–2003 | The Division | Roland / Ray Sanchez | 3 episodes |
| 2003–2011 | CSI: Miami | Martin Medesto / Marcos Trejo | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | 24 | Rouse | 2 episodes |
| 2003–2008 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Miguel Durado / Donald Balboa | 2 episodes |
| 2003–2006 | Nip/Tuck | Alejandro Perez | 2 episodes |
| 2005–2012 | The Closer | Detective Julio Sanchez | 105 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | My Name Is Earl | Paco | 5 episodes |
| 2007 | Day Break | Luis Torres | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Ylse | Jesse | |
| 2008–2009 | Breaking Bad | Tuco Salamanca | 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Los Americans | Memo | 7 episodes |
| 2012 | White Collar | Enrico Morales | Episode: "Most Wanted" |
| 2012–2018 | Major Crimes | Julio Sanchez | 105 episodes |
| 2013 | Lauren | Martinez | 3 episodes; Web series |
| 2015–2016 | Better Call Saul | Tuco Salamanca | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The Eric Andre Show | Himself | Episode: "Raymond Cruz; Amber Rose" |
| 2018 | Get Shorty | Swayze | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Madam Secretary | President Mateo Sandino Sr. | Episode: "Something Better" |
| 2023 | Mayans M.C. | Smokey | |
| 2024 | Grey's Anatomy | Daniel Jiménez (inmate) | Episode: "The Marathon Continues" |
Actor Raymond Cruz is 57.
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
