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.
He played a Los Angeles firefighter in Collateral Damage. He appeared in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, credited as "The Messenger," and in Training Day as a gang member named Sniper. He appeared as Chuey, a gang member from the Vatos Locos, in the gang film Blood In Blood Out. Marine Sergeant Rojas in The Rock, as Jesus in From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, USM Private Vincent DiStephano in Alien: Resurrection, and Ramirez in Under Siege. Career Ĭruz's film roles include sniper 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. His favorite novel is Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Ĭruz has said that becoming interested in American literature early in life helped him avoid joining such gangs himself. 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." For his portrayal of Tuco Salamanca, he was able to relate to his experiences witnessing people who were high on meth. He is of Mexican descent and 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. Cruz was born in Los Angeles, and attended East Los Angeles College.