Jacob Vargas Mexican American actor, Jacob Vargas was born on August 18, 1971, in Michoacán, Mexico. Growing up in California, Vargas was discovered at the age of twelve, while break-dancing in his schoolyard. He was then cast in a bit part as a break-dancer on hit 80s sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes, starring Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato. In 1996, Vargas landed a role on the Aaron Spelling teen drama, Malibu Shores. Although the show was short-lived, it propelled many teen stars of the 90s into stardom, including Keri Russell, Charisma Carpenter, and Michelle Phillips. Vargas has also guest-starred on such shows as ER, JAG, and The Tracey Ullman Show, for which he earned a Youth in Film Award nomination.
Vargas worked steadily in film throughout the 90s, starring in such movies as Mi vida loca in 1993 and My Family in 1995, both of which earned him a 1995 ALMA Award for Emerging Artist of the Year. During the latter half of the decade, Vargas starred in 1997’s Selena, with Jennifer Lopez; Get Shorty in 1995, with John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito; and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion in 1997, with Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino. The new millennium saw Vargas working in such films as 2000’s Next Friday, with Ice Cube; and Traffic in 2000, with Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Dennis Quaid; for which Vargas earned a Screen Actors Guild Award and another ALMA Award. In 2005, Vargas starred in Jarhead, alongside Jake Gyllenhall, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jamie Foxx. The following year, Vargas joined an all-star cast for Emilio Estevez’s film, Bobby, alongside Anthony Hopkins, Elijah Wood, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Martin Sheen, and Lindsay Lohan.
In addition to acting, Vargas also writes and produces through his own production company, Third Son Productions. In 2001 he served as executive producer and also acted in Indie film, Road Dogz; and he also co-produced and starred in the 2005 Broadway production Latinologues, which is also available on DVD. Vargas is married to grade school teacher, Sylvia Arzate, and the couple has a daughter, Rose, born on September 11, 2004. A fan of both Latin music and Lowrider car culture, Vargas volunteers with several inner-city youth programs in his spare time, traveling to schools and speaking to kids. Most recently, Vargas stars in the 2007 film The Hills Have Eyes 2, a sequel to the 2006 remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 film of the same name, about a band of mutants living in the New Mexico desert. YUDDY |
