Alexis Cruz has a veteran film and
television career, having captured audience attention for over a
decade. He is a graduate of New York's prestigious High School of
Performing Arts, and has since gone on to become one of the most
respected young actors of his generation.
A Bronx born native of New York, Alexis
made his first television appearance with a guest-starring role on,
"The Cosby Show" during it's first hit season and then landed the
lead role in, "Gryphon" for the acclaimed PBS series, "Wonder
Works". His feature career began with roles in films such as, "The
Pick-Up Artist" with Robert Downey Jr. and "Rooftops" by legendary
director Robert Wise. A prestigious and prolific body of work soon
followed and Alexis found himself starring opposite Anthony Quinn as
his encouraging young friend, Manolo, in the Hallmark Hall of Fame
television movie, "The Old Man & The Sea", directed by Jud Taylor.
By the age of 17, he had performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie
Hall and began directing theatre at the School of Performing Arts
with his productions breaking 50 years of box-office records at the
institution two years running. Alexis had also become a regular cast
member on PBS's award winning "Sesame Street" at this time which
earned him a huge following of young fans.
Cruz achieved international fame after
starring in Roland Emmerich's box-office hit, "Stargate" with Kurt
Russell and James Spader, in which he played the young Egyptian
rebel leader, Skaara. Along with these achievements, Cruz also had
the distinction of starring in the Hallmark Hall of Fame CBS
mini-series, "The Streets of Laredo" as the hunted killer Joey
Garza, opposite stage and screen icons James Garner, Sissy Spacek,
Sam Shepard, Randy Quaid, George Carlin and Sonia Braga.
After going on to study Acting and
Directing at the Boston University School of Fine Arts Conservatory,
Alexis starred in HBO's Emmy-nominated true story, "P.O.W.E.R.: The
Eddie Matos Story" in the title role. Alexis followed this up with
the critically hailed HBO mini-series, "Grand Avenue" based on the
novel by Greg Sarris about a contemporary Native-American family
coming of age in northern California. Alexis continued to build a
following as broad and diverse as his work, appearing in
guest-starring roles on CBS' "The District", ABC's "Dangerous Minds"
and "NYPD Blue", NBC's "ER" and "Providence", as well as HBO's "Arli$$".
His vast body of film and television credits has included, "The
Brave", directed by Johnny Depp and Gregory Nava's, "Why Do Fools
Fall In Love?" with Larenz Tate, Vivica Fox and Halle Berry about
R&B singer Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers as they rise through the
50's and 60's music scene. After co-starring in Showtime's
controversial film, "Riot" based on the Los Angeles riots of 1992,
Alexis was honored as an ALMA Award nominee for Best Actor among
such contenders as Hector Elizondo and Edward James Olmos for his
performance in "Detention: Siege at Johnson High" starring Henry
Winkler, Rick Schroeder and Freddie Prinze Jr.
His theatrical roots frequently bring him
back to the stage in Rick Najera's, "Latinologues", where he toured
nationally and played to sold out audiences at the Victory Gardens
Theater in Chicago, Austin's Alley Theatre and the Austin Comedy
Festival as well as the Improv and the Coronet Theater in Los
Angeles. Passionate about encouraging arts education, Alexis was
part of the East LA Classic Theatre/LAUSD Teacher's program bringing
theatre education to East Los Angeles middle schools as a certified
Creative Dramatics instructor. Alexis has been a spokesman for the
National Council de La Raza and a member of The National Hispanic
Foundation for the Arts founded by Jimmy Smits, Sonia Braga and Esai
Morales. The foundation provides undergraduate and graduate
scholarships to hispanic-americans for continuing education in the
Arts and Entertainment industry. Cruz has been honored by Hispanic
Unity USA, for his outstanding commitment to the Hispanic community.
Cruz has since starred in the films "Bug"
with Brian Cox and Jamie Kennedy, "Almost A Woman" based on the
novel by Esmeralda Santiago for PBS' Masterpiece Theater, which was
awarded the prestigious Peabody Award and, "Stand Up For Justice";
the true story of Ralph Lazo, a Mexican-American student who
volunteers to join his Japanese-American friends when they are
forced to abandon their homes and sent to a U.S. internment camp in
Manzanar during WWII. In perhaps the most ground-breaking role of
his career, Alexis has found world-wide acclaim for his pioneering
role as the angel, Raphael, on CBS' flagship prime-time drama,
"Touched By An Angel". While recurring on the Emmy award-winning
series, Alexis simultaneously reprised his popular role as, Skaara,
on one of prime-time cable's most successful sci-fi programs, "Stargate
SG-1" with Richard Dean Anderson. He recently recurred as Sgt.
Joaquin Garcia in Gregory Nava's critically acclaimed series,
"American Family" on PBS and is starring in the upcoming independent
feature film, "Tortilla Heaven", with Lupe Ontiveros, George Lopez,
Elpidia Carrillo, and Miguel Sandoval.
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