''Traffic''

Background:

"I’m one of those actors that, when I see a film and it’s not accurate, it just takes me totally out of the picture. And if I’m playing a cop, I like to meet with cops and talk to them about how it’s really done. It’s funny because a lot of times they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s a Hollywood movie.’ People understand that Hollywood takes certain liberties and takes a creative license, but it’s always impressive when they see a film and they go, 'Hey, that guy did his homework and did it right.'" Jacob Vargas

Mexico-born, Los Angeles-raised Jacob Vargas, who first broke into acting as a street dancer on the popular NBC sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," is widely remembered as Tijuana cop Manolo, the partner of Benicio del Toro's character, in Steven Soderbergh's highly acclaimed thriller ''Traffic'' (2000), and as Marine sniper Cortez in the Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes' war drama ''Jarhead'' (2005). He recently appeared in the films "Bobby," "The Hills Have Eyes II," "Are We Done Yet," and "The Death and Life of Bobby Z." He will next be seen in the upcoming films "Love Lies Bleeding," "The Sleep Dealer," "Death Race," and will star in "Bitter Grapes."

On the small screen, TV viewers could catch the 5' 5" actor on the TV shows "The Tracey Ullman Show" and "Malibu Shores." He currently plays Guillermo, a morgue worker who steals blood from dead bodies for himself and St. John (the lead character played by Alex O'Loughlin), on CBS' new supernatural television drama series, "Moonlight."

Vargas also co-produced and starred in the stage play "Latinologues," which ran on Broadway in 2005.

He is married and has one daughter.

Los Angeles

Childhood and Family:

Born in Michoacan, Mexico, on August 18, 1971, Jacob Vargas moved to Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, at age 1 and spent the rest of his upbringing there. He is married to Sylvia Arzate, a school teacher. On September 11, 2004, they welcomed a daughter, Rose, into their life.

Jarhead

Career:

While break-dancing in a local schoolyard, Jacob Vargas was spotted by a talent scout who encouraged him to take on an audition for the popular NBC sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes." He won a bit part as a street dancer and made his first guest star appearance in a 1986 episode of the NBC's cop drama ''Hunter,'' which won him a Young Artist Award for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television, Comedy or Drama Series. He received another Young Artist Award nomination (for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor in a Television Comedy Series) the next year for his appearance in "The Tracey Ullman Show."

In 1988, Vargas received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his performance in Christopher Cain's film starring James Belushi and Louis Gossett, Jr., ''The Principal'' (1987). Two years later, in 1990, he earned another Young Artist Award nomination (for Best Young Actor Starring in a TV Movie, Pilot or Special) for his performance on CBS' action TV series "Hard Time on Planet Earth."

Vargas subsequently went to films and was first noticed as the son of a deaf woman in director Allison Anders' big screen adaptation of the novel "Don't Look and It Won't Hurt" by Richard Peck, "Gas, Food Lodging" (1992), starring Brooke Adams, Ione Skye and Fairuza Balk.

The following year, Vargas reunited with filmmaker/writer Allison Anders when she cast him in her controversial film ''Mi vida loca'' (1993; aka ''My Crazy Life''). That same year, he could also be seen in the films "Huck and the King of Hearts," Michael Keusch's independent film based on the Mark Twain's novel, "Airborne," Rob Bowman's surfing and rollerblading comedy starring Shane McDermott, and "Silent Rain," Martin Curland's critically-acclaimed 20-minute film. Additionally, he was cast in "Fatal Instinct," a comedy spoof movie directed by Carl Reiner.

In the mid 1990s, Vargas acted opposite Jennifer Lopez (in her first film role) in Gregory Nava's Oscar-nominated film, ''My Family'' (1995; aka ''My Family, Mi Familia''), which also stars Jimmy Smits, Edward James Olmos, and Esai Morales. In the award-winning film, Vargas portrayed José Sanchez, the father of a family who makes a journey on foot from Mexico to Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Vargas had memorable cameo roles in such films as Barry Sonnenfeld's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel, ''Get Shorty'' (1995; starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito; Vargas played the mobster's nephew Yayo Portillo), Tony Scott's submarine film ''Crimson Tide'' (1995; starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman), and David Mirkin's film version of Robin Schiff's comedic play, ''Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion'' (1997; starring Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino). During this time, he also starred as Benny on NBC's primetime teen drama/teen soap opera created by Aaron Spelling, "Malibu Shores" (1996), alongside Charisma Carpenter, Keri Russell and Katie Wright.

In 1997, Vargas teamed up again with Jennifer Lopez and writer/director Gregory Nava in the Golden Globe-nominated biopic ''Selena.'' He then appeared in Stephen Frears' take on Max Evans' novel, the drama/western ''The Hi-Lo Country'' (1998), starring Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, and Sam Elliott, and in the box office hit and the cult favorite ''Next Friday'' (2000; starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps; Vargas played Ice Cube's nemesis, Joker) for director Steve Carr. Vargas later lent his comedic voice talent as Pepito the chameleon in Carr's comedy film ''Dr. Doolittle 2'' (2001; starring Eddie Murphy), the theatrical sequel to the 1998's "Dr. Dolittle."

In 2000, Vargas executive-produced and starred in the brutally honest drama ''Road Dogz,” which was written and directed by Alfredo Ramos. He also garnered rave reviews as Tijuana cop Manolo, the partner of Benicio del Toro's character, in Steven Soderbergh's Academy Award-winning crime/drama film ''Traffic'' (2000). It won him a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture.

In 2004, Vargas delivered a comic performance as Sammy the chef in John Moore's ''Flight of the Phoenix,'' with Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Giovanni Ribisi, and Tony Curran. The following year, he was seen in the Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes' war drama ''Jarhead,'' which was based on former U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 Gulf War memoir about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, ''Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.'' The movie starred Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford. He also co-produced and starred in the stage play "Latinologues," which ran on Broadway in 2005 and is available on DVD.

Recently, Vargas joined an all-star cast in Emilio Estevez's Golden Globe Award-nominated historical drama about the final hours in the life of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, ''Bobby'' (2006) and played the lead role of a straight-arrow DEA agent in John Herzfeld's action drama ''The Death and Life of Bobby Z'' (2007). He also reunited with Ice Cube and Steve Carr for the comedy film "Are We Done Yet" and was cast in the horror film "The Hills Have Eyes II" (2007).

TV viewers can catch him as Guillermo on CBS' new supernatural television drama series, "Moonlight," which premiered on September 28, 2007.

As for his upcoming film work, Vargas has wrapped up "Love Lies Bleeding," an action/drama/thriller by Keith Samples in which Vargas co-stars with Christian Slater and Jenna Dewan. He will soon complete "The Sleep Dealer," a sci-fi political love story by director Alex Rivera in which he will star as a psychologically tortured drone pilot opposite Leonor Varela. About the latter film, Vargas revealed, "It’s very interesting and it was shot on a shoestring in Mexico City. It deals with, I guess, immigration in the near future or in the far future. I guess the way people immigrate now is instead of jumping the border, they attach these electrodes into these nodes that are implanted into their forearms. They transfer their energy and their souls across the border into these droids. It’s really out there. I play a drone pilot. I control a fighter jet from my video monitor and I patrol. I’m like a U.S. military personnel."

Vargas is currently filming "Death Race," Paul W.S. Anderson's thriller alongside Jason Statham and Joan Allen. He will also co-star with Laura Harring in Leandro Sanchez's upcoming tense family drama film, "Bitter Grapes."

Vargas has founded a production company named Third Son Productions, through which he is currently developing several feature film and television projects.

Awards:

• Hollywood Film Festival: Ensemble of the Year, "Bobby," 2006

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture, "Traffic," 2001

• NCLR Bravo: Emerging Artist of the Year, 1995