Raymond Cruz


Raymond Cruz is an American actor, best known for his starring role as Detective Julio Sanchez in the series The Closer and its spinoff Major Crimes, as well as his recurring role as the drug lord Tuco Salamanca in the crime drama Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul.

Early life

Cruz was born in Los Angeles, and attended East Los Angeles College. Of Mexican descent, he grew up in East Los Angeles, a neighborhood that regularly saw gang activity, and has relatives in such street gangs as Maravilla and Barrio South Gate. He brings this reality to his roles, particularly as Julio Sanchez on The Closer and Major Crimes, as well as a range of gang-affiliated characters. In an interview with LADbible, Cruz stated he witnessed someone get shot in front of him when he was 12 years old, noting that "his brains came out the back of his head." For his portrayal of Tuco Salamanca, he was able to relate that to experiences witnessing people who were high on meth.
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.

Career

His film roles include Ding Chavez in Clear and Present Danger, Hector in Out For Justice, Tom Berenger's second-in-command Joey Six in The Substitute, U.S. Marine Sergeant Rojas in The Rock, as Jesus in ', USM Private Vincent DiStephano in ', and Ramirez in Under Siege. He appeared as Chuey, a gang member from the Vatos Locos, in the gang film Blood In Blood Out. In 2005, he played Chino in Havoc. He appeared in ', credited as "The Messenger," and in Training Day as a gang member named Sniper. He played a Los Angeles firefighter in Collateral Damage. He had guest roles in the ' episode "The Siege of AR-558", the X-Files episode "El Mundo Gira", and the second season of 24. He also made an appearance as the father of a murdered girl in CSI. He played a short-lived but well-known role as Tuco Salamanca, a sadistic and psychopathic meth dealer in Breaking Bad in 2008 and 2009. He later reprised the role of Tuco in the Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul. He had a recurring role as Paco on My Name Is Earl, and as Alejandro Perez on Nip/Tuck.

Filmography

Film

Television