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John Ortiz (born November 21, 1969) is an American actor and artistic director/co-founder of LAByrinth Theater Company. In 1993, John made his film debut as Al Pacino’s young cousin ‘Guajiro’ in Carlito’s Way. He went on to appear in over 30 films including El Cantante, Take the Lead, Before Night Falls, Amistad, Ransom, and Narc. His recent film performances include those in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, as Russell Crowe’s partner Javy Rivera, and Michael Mann’s Miami Vice as drug lord Jose Yero. Among Ortiz’s television roles, he has most recently played the lead in... MORE

John Ortiz (born November 21, 1969) is an American actor and artistic director/co-founder of LAByrinth Theater Company. In 1993, John made his film debut as Al Pacino’s young cousin ‘Guajiro’ in Carlito’s Way. He went on to appear in over 30 films including El Cantante, Take the Lead, Before Night Falls, Amistad, Ransom, and Narc. His recent film performances include those in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, as Russell Crowe’s partner Javy Rivera, and Michael Mann’s Miami Vice as drug lord Jose Yero. Among Ortiz’s television roles, he has most recently played the lead in J.J. Abrams’ Hope Against Hope for HBO, a series regular on Denis Leary’s The Job and CBS’ Clubhouse as well as the NBC cop drama Blue Blood, directed by Brett Ratner. He currently stars in Luck. In 1992, Ortiz formed Latino Actors Base with 13 other Latino actors to provide themselves with a place to work and an opportunity to become a tightly knit ensemble. Today, that ensemble is known as LAByrinth Theater Company: an award winning troupe of over 100 artists from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and creative disciplines. With LAByrinth, he most recently played the role of Clyde in the world premiere of Jack LESS