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Clifton Collins Jr.

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Clifton Collins Jr.
Collins Jr. at the 2013 Weekend Of Horrors 11
Born (1970-06-16) June 16, 1970 (age 54)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesClifton Gonzalez Gonzalez
Occupation(s)Actor, author
Years active1990–present
RelativesPedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (grandfather)

Clifton Craig Collins Jr. (born June 16, 1970) is an American actor. After starting in 1990 with small roles in film and television, Collins gained attention for his performance as Cpl. Ramon Aguilar, a prisoner "serving" under an imprisoned general played by Robert Redford in the 2001 film The Last Castle. His other film work includes featured roles in One Eight Seven (1997), Traffic (2000), Capote (2005), Star Trek (2009) and Pacific Rim (2013). Collins' work on television series includes Crisis Center (1997), Thief (2006), which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, The Event (2010–2011), and Westworld (2016–2020), as well as the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).

Early life

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Collins was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez. He is sometimes credited as Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez in honor of his grandfather. His father is of German descent and his mother is of Mexican ancestry.[1]

Career

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He first broke through the mainstream in 1997 with a performance as gangster César Sánchez in the film One Eight Seven. In 1998, he was in Ray Bradbury's cult film The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. He next portrayed a gay hitman named Francisco "Frankie Flowers" Flores for the Mexican drug cartels in Steven Soderbergh's 2000 ensemble drama Traffic.[2]

For his portrayal of a US Marine prisoner in the 2001 film The Last Castle Collins was nominated for the 2002 American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Award for Best Supporting Actor in a motion picture. In 2002, he played the role of Buddy in the film American Girl.

In 2005, Collins won reviews for his subtle portrayal of killer Perry Smith in the film Capote, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2006.

He starred in the 2005 film Dirty. Collins starred on FX Networks' series Thief and received an Emmy nomination.[3] Collins also played a supporting role on FX Network's series The Shield as undercover ICE agent Hernan. He also had a small role in 2006's Babel, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

In 2007, Collins took the lead role in the indie feature The Perfect Game, playing former baseball player Cesar Faz, who coaches a local Mexican youth league team, leading them all the way to the Little League World Series.[4]

In 2008, Collins directed two music videos for the country music group Zac Brown Band: "Chicken Fried" and "Whatever It Is". "Chicken Fried" won the 2009 CMT breakthrough music video of the year award.

Collins starred in the comedy Sunshine Cleaning with Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin. He played Winston, the owner of a cleaning supply shop who builds meticulously detailed model airplanes with only one arm. Collins played the role with one arm bound tightly behind his back.[5] In 2009's Star Trek, Collins plays Ayel, a Romulan, second in command to the villain Nero.

In 2009, Collins joined Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker in the psychological thriller The Experiment.[6] Collins starred in Extract, a 2009 film by director Mike Judge. He co-produced the film National Lampoon's TV: The Movie in which he played Officer Sanchez alongside Jacob Vargas. He also voiced the fictional video game character Cesar Vialpando in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In 2009, he played Romeo in the film The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.[7]

In 2010, Collins joined the cast of NBC's drama The Event as Thomas.[8] The following year, he guested on two episodes of CSI: NY as a man named Raymond Harris, an ex-convict who seeks revenge against Mac Taylor and his partner to get some answers regarding a 17-year grudge against them. The episodes also guest-starred Peter Fonda, who Collins previously worked with in San Andreas, as Taylor's ex-partner, who ends up getting killed by Harris. In 2014, Collins portrayed a law enforcement official, Franco Rodriguez, alongside Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Norman Reedus, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet in Triple 9.[9]

In 2015, HBO's science fiction drama Westworld added Collins as Lawrence / El Lazo, a charming but lethal outlaw, with a knack for maneuvering and negotiating the various criminal elements.[10]

In 2019, Collins Jr. filmed Jockey, which won the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for best acting.[11]

Awards

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In 2019, Collins was awarded an Impact Award by the National Hispanic Media Coalition for Outstanding Performance in Film and Television.[12] On October 29, 2021, he received the Distinguished Performance Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.[13]

Writing

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He wrote his first book, Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars with Gustavo "Goose" Alvarez, in 2015.[14]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1991 Grand Canyon Carlos' Friend #2
1992 Fortress Nino Gomez
1993 Menace II Society Vato #2
Poetic Justice Mailroom Supervisor
1994 The Stoned Age Tack
1995 Milestone Clif Short
Dead Presidents Betancourt
One Tough Bastard Jarhead #2
1996 Sgt. Bilko Soldier #2
1997 One Eight Seven Cesar Sanchez
The Bad Pack Townsman 1
1998 The Replacement Killers Loco
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit Martinez
1999 Mascara -
Light It Up Robert "Rivers" Tresmont
My Sweet Killer Horton
Mi Abuela - Short
2000 Price of Glory Jimmy Ortega
Tigerland Private Miter
Traffic Francisco "Frankie Flowers" Flores
2001 The Last Castle Corporal Ramon Aguilar
2002 Road Dogz Raymo Serrano
Hip, Edgy, Sexy, Cool -
The Rules of Attraction Rupert
American Girl Buddy
2003 I Witness Claudio Castillo
2004 Mindhunters Vince Sherman
2005 Capote Perry Smith
Dirty Officer Armando Sancho
Life of the Party Kipp
2006 Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders Kenneth Bianchi
Babel Officer At Border Crossing
Little Chenier "T-Boy" Trahan
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie Tijuana Cop #1/ Minion/Miranda
2008 Sunshine Cleaning Winston
Under Still Waters Jacob
2009 Horsemen "Stingray"
The Perfect Game Cesar Faz
Star Trek Ayel
Crank: High Voltage Jesus "El Huron" Verona
Extract "Step"
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Romeo
Brothers Major Cavazos
Tom Cool Tom Picasso
2010 Tell-Tale Detective Short
The Experiment Nix
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Vegan Police
2011 The FP C.C. Jam
Machine Gun Justice Jack Grizzly Short
2012 Potus Pimp Short
Gotten Gun Dealer Short
Hellbenders Lawrence
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: The Great Calamity Edgar Allan Poe (voice) Short
Freeloaders Vic
2013 Parker Ross
Pacific Rim Ops Tendo Choi
2014 Transcendence Martin
2015 Knight of Cups Jordan
Stung Sydney
Man Down Charles
2016 Triple 9 Detective Franco Rodriguez
Transpecos Hobbs
Punching Henry Dramatic Actor
Hacker Zed
2017 Small Town Crime Mood
M.F.A. Kennedy
A Crooked Somebody Nathan
The Vault Detective Iger
Cabeza Madre John
2018 Super Troopers 2 Bus Driver
The Mule Gustavo
2019 Honey Boy Tom
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Ernesto "The Mexican" Vaquero
Waves Bobby
Running with the Devil The Farmer
Lucky Day DPO Ernesto Sanchez
2021 Breaking News in Yuba County Ray
Jockey Jackson Silva [15]
After Yang George
Nightmare Alley Funhouse Jack
Painted Beauty Peter
2023 Red, White & Royal Blue Senator Oscar Diaz
2024 The Bricklayer Radek
TBA Eddington Post-production
Train Dreams Filming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1990 Freddy's Nightmares Mickey Episode: "Interior Loft"
The Flash Javier O'Hara Episode: "Double Vision"
1991 Adam-12 Kid in Class Episode: "D.A.R.E."
Veronica Clare Latino Manager Episode: "Slow Violence"
Jake and the Fatman Roberto Episode: "Street of Dreams"
1992 For Richer, for Poorer Co-Worker TV movie
1993 Acapulco H.E.A.T. David Kern Episode: "Code Name: Desert Dragon"
Sworn to Vengeance - TV movie
1994 Witch Hunt Tyrone TV movie
1995 Madman of the People Jorge Episode: "Notes from the Underground"
Live Shot Carlos Sandoval Episode: "For Whom the Stinkin' Bell Tolls"
1996 Walker, Texas Ranger Fito Episode: "El Coyote: Part 1 & 2"
Land's End - Episode: "Red Cadillac"
1997 Crisis Center Nando Taylor Main cast
ER Mr. Brown Episode: "Tribes"
NYPD Blue Jimmy Cortez Episode: "I Love Lucy"
1998 Diagnosis Murder Boyd Harcourt Episode: "Rear Windows '98"
The Defenders: Taking the First Nelson Rodriguez TV movie
1999 Martial Law - Episode: "Friendly Skies"
2000–01 Resurrection Blvd. James Garcia Recurring cast: season 1
2002 The Twilight Zone Andy Perez Episode: "Last Lap"
2003 Alias Javiar Parez Recurring cast: season 3
Undefeated Loco TV movie
2005 Bounty Hunters Mouse TV movie
2006 Thief Jack "Bump" Hill Main cast
2007 The Shield Hernan Episode: "Haunts" & "Exiled"
Masters of Science Fiction Frendon Blythe Episode: "Little Brother"
2008 Fear Itself Richard "Family Man" Brautigan Episode: "Family Man"
2010 Southland Detective Ray Suarez Episode: "The Runner"
2010–11 The Event Thomas Main cast
2011 CSI: NY Raymond Harris Episode: "Nothing for Something" & "Life Sentence"
Pound Puppies Scar/Weasel (voice) Episode: "Rebel Without a Collar"
2013 Red Widow James Ramos Main cast
Cleaners Julian Main cast: season 1
The Blacklist Hector Lorca Episode: "The Stewmaker (No. 161)"
2015–17 Ballers Maximo Gomez Recurring cast: seasons 1-3
2016–20 Westworld Lawrence/"El Lazo" Main cast: seasons 1–2, guest: season 3
2019 Veronica Mars Alonzo Lozano Main cast: season 4
2021 The Stand Bobby Terry Episode: "The Vigil"

Video games

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Year Title Voice role
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Cesar Vialpando
2021 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition

Awards and nominations

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Year Awards Category Recipient Outcome
2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Traffic Won
2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Capote Nominated
2006 Primetime Emmy Awards Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Thief Nominated
2007 Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix Film Festival Award for Best Cast Little Chenier Won
2010 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Star Trek Won
2021 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Best Actor Jockey Won

2021 Independent spirit award

Best male lead Jockey Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Beale, Lewis (April 13, 2010). "Clifton Collins Jr. feels safe at home with his Mexican heritage in 'The Perfect Game'". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  2. ^ Roger Ebert (January 1, 2001). "Traffic Movie Review".
  3. ^ "And the nominees are ..." Los Angeles Times. July 7, 2006. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  4. ^ Lyford, Kathy (June 4, 2007). "Clifton Collins Jr. to star in 'Game'". Variety. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  5. ^ Wolcott, Gary (April 16, 2009). "Q & A with Clifton Collins Jr. of 'Sunshine Cleaning'". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (July 5, 2009). "Clifton Collins Jr". Variety. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  7. ^ Debruge, Peter (October 29, 2009). "Review: 'The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'". Variety. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  8. ^ "Clifton Collins Jr. Joins The Event". TVGuide.com.
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 12, 2014). "Clifton Collins Jr. Joins Triple 9". deadline.com.
  10. ^ "Westworld". Entertainment Weekly.
  11. ^ "Anthony D'Alessandro". Deadline. August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Clifton Collins accepts NHMC Impact Award for Outstanding Performance in Film and Television, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved August 4, 2021
  13. ^ "2021 Honored Guests". SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  14. ^ Collins, Clifton; Alvarez, Gustavo "Goose" (November 3, 2015). Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars. Workman. ISBN 978-0761185529.
  15. ^ JOCKEY
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