Background:

American actor Anthony Ruivivar became known to television audiences for his portrayal of  FDNY paramedic Carlos Nieto in the NBC series “Third Watch” (1999-2005). After the show went off the air, he had regular roles in the short lived series “Traveler” (ABC, 2007) and “The Whole Truth” (ABC, 2010). Ruivivar, who frequently plays Hawaiian, Filipino or Latino characters, also has acted in various films, including “Simply Irresistible” (1999), “Poster Boy” (2004), “Tropic Thunder” (2008), “The Adjustment Bureau” (2011) and “Big Mike” (2011, TV).  

Ruivivar and his actress wife Yvonne Jung have two children together.  


Hawaiian Native

Childhood and Family:

Anthony Michael Ruivivar was born on November 4, 1970, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to musician Tony Ruivivar, who is the founder of Society of Seven. His father is of Filipino, Chinese  and Spanish extraction and his mother is of German and Scottish extraction. He can speak Spanish.   
As a young child, Anthony often accompany his father on tour outside Hawaii. He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama.

In January 1998, Anthony married actress Yvonne Jung (born December 26, 1969). The couple welcomed their first child, son Kainoa, on August 28, 2002. Their second child, daughter Levi, was born on May 3, 2006. He and his family currently live in New York City. In his free time, Anthony enjoys writing and playing music. He also loves boogie-boarding and surfing.     


The Whole Truth

Career:

Anthony Ruivivar had his first taste in front of the cameras when he was cast Peter in “White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf,” a 1994 adventure film directed by Ken Olin and starring Scott Bairstow, Charmaine Craig and Al Harrington. Two years later, he landed a supporting role in the drama film “Race the Sun,” starring Halle Berry, James Belushi and Casey Affleck. In 1997, he had a minor role in director Paul Verhoeven's film adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction novel, “Starship Troopers” (1997), starring Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards, and also made his television debut with an episodic role in the hit NBC series “Law & Order.” Later that same year, he offered a memorable turn as Enrique 'Ricky' in two episodes of the ABC soap opera “All My Children.”

Ruivivar was cast as Xander in the Lisa Cholodenko directed independent film “High Art” (1998, starred Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell) and appeared with Arthur J. Nascarella, Stephen Earnhart and Evan Handler in Stuart Burkin's drama, “Harvest” (1998), portrayed Ramos in the Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery romance/comedy vehicle “Simply Irresistible” (1999) and co-starred with Scott Caan and Mia Kirshner in the drama/thriller film “Saturn” (1999), from director/writer Rob Schmidt. However, the actor did not get his breakthrough role until he won the main role of FDNY paramedic Carlos Nieto in the NBC crime/drama series “Third Watch.” He was on the show throughout its six season run from September 1999 until May 2005. His real life wife Yvonne Jung appeared in seasons 5 and 6 (2003-2005) of the show as FDNY EMS Paramedic Holly Levine. Ruivivar and Jung's characters became a couple and got married in the series finale.

In 2000, Ruivivar played a supporting role in the award winning drama film “Swimming,” opposite Lauren Ambrose, Joelle Carter and Jennifer Dundas. He returned to features four years later in the 2004 gay themed drama “Poster Boy,” starring     Matt Newton, Karen Allen, Michael Lerner and Jack Noseworthy. The same year, he also appeared in the short “Express.” Ruivivar made guest appearances in television series such as “Medical Investigation” (2005, as Carlos Nieto), “Close to Home” (2006, as Detective Vega), “Numb3rs” ( 2007, as Agent Cordero), “Criminal Minds”  (2007, as Lt. Ricardo Vega) and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2007, as Det. Ruben Bejarano). In 2007, he returned to series television as a regular on the short lived drama “Traveler” (ABC), where he portrayed Special Agent Guillermo Borjes. He also played Tommy in two episodes of the NBC action/comedy “Chuck” (2007), starring Zachary Levi.

Ruivivar appeared in the action/comedy film “Tropic Thunder” (2008), which was directed and written by and starred Ben Stiller. The film received good reviews from critics and was a success at the box office. In the following year, he worked with Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez and Steve Zahn. In the psychological thriller film “A Perfect Getaway,”  which was written and directed by David Twohy, and was cast as Jesus in the direct to video film “Play Dead.” Additionally, he played  FBI Agent Dardis in an episode of “Lie to Me” called “A Perfect Score” (2009).

In 2010, Ruivivar co-starred as Alejo Salazar in the ABC legal drama series “The Whole Truth,” opposite Rob Morrow, Maura Tierney, Eamonn Walker, Sean Wing and Christine Adams. The show, unfortunately, only had a short life.

In 2011, Ruivivar supported Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in George Nolfi's action/thriller movie, “The Adjustment Bureau.” The film garnered positive reviews from critics, and grossed over $127 million worldwide (against a budget of $50.2 million). In the Tony Glazer thriller “Junction” (2011), he played the role of Tai, opposite David Zayas  as Lt. Tarelli, Michael O'Keefe as Walters and Anthony Rapp as Connor. On the small screen, Ruivivar played Armando Romero in the A&E film “Big Mike” (2011), along side Nicole Ari Parker, Greg Grunberg and Ken Leung, and  teamed up with Dermot Mulroney, Anne Heche and Judd Hirsch in the TV film version of Richard North Patterson's book, “Silent Witness” (2011). In addition, he made guest appearances in “The Good Wife” and “American Horror Story” (both 2011), playing Captain Moyer and Miguel Ramos, respectively.          


Awards:

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