And he was doing that for everybody who saw themselves in him.” He was somebody who was demanding to be seen. “I mean, up until that point, we were the sidekicks, and the people that were always thought of after the fact, but Rickie Vasquez forced you to notice him,” he continued. “I have great pride in being that person, but the freedom and the relief and the strength that people were able to garner, just from seeing him, and the feeling of validation they received by his existence - his very existence of being on a national television show about teenagers, that people like him felt seen, and included and were a part of the story,” Cruz told TODAY for our 2021 LGBTQ Pride Month series. He is currently guest starring as Jonni in The Finder.In 1994, Wilson Cruz became the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay teen on primetime TV, as Rickie Vasquez on “My So-Called Life.” Nearly three decades later, Cruz says it’s the response to the groundbreaking character that means the most to him. He also appeared/starred in the 2009 movie The People I've Slept With He plays the openly gay best friend of a promiscuous woman who tries to find out who got her pregnant so that she can get married. Cruz starred as Adrian in the film Ode (2007), based on the novel Ode to Lata by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla. He also had a recurring role as Rafael de la Cruz on the series, Raising the Bar.Ĭruz's other acting credits include the films Joyride (1996), All Over Me (1997), Supernova (2000), Party Monster (2003), Margaret Cho's Bam Bam and Celeste (2005), Coffee Date (2007), and He's Just Not That Into You (2009) the television film The Perfect Pitch (2002) and guest appearances on television series’ Great Scott!, Sister, Sister, ER, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Noah's Arc, and Grey's Anatomy. In 1998, he portrayed Angel in the Broadway production of RENT and in 2000 played Victor in the final season of Party of Five. In 1996, he appeared with David Arquette as Mikey in Johns, about the day-to-day struggles of male prostitutes. Edgar Hoover's servant Joaquin in Oliver Stone's film Nixon and had a small role in the television movie On Seventh Avenue. In one episode (entitled "So-Called Angels") drawn from Cruz's own life, Rickie comes out to his family, who throw him out of the house.įollowing My So-Called Life’s cancellation, Cruz went on to play J. In 1994 he was cast as Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez, a troubled gay teen, in the short-lived critically acclaimed cult classic TV series My So-Called Life. He later reconciled with his father.Īfter coming out to his parents, Cruz went to Hollywood to seek work as an actor, intending to be open about his sexuality from the beginning of his career. His father, however, threw him out of the house, and Cruz spent the next few months living in his car and at the homes of friends. While his mother was initially hurt and shocked, she eventually accepted the news. At age 19, Cruz came out to his parents as gay, first to his mother and then his father. His family eventually moved to Rialto, California where he attended Eisenhower High School, graduating in 1991. Wilson Cruz was born in Brooklyn, New York to parents of Puerto Rican descent. He portrays Kenji Gomez-Rejon on Red Band Society. As an openly gay person of Puerto Rican ancestry, he has served as an advocate for gay youth, especially gay youth of color. Wilson Cruz is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life and the recurring character Junito on Noah's Arc.
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