Richard Cabral

Richard Cabral (born August 28, 1984) is an American actor, occasional producer and writer. He is best known for his roles on Mayans M.C. on FX, the ABC television series American Crime, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2015, and the Fox television series Lethal Weapon.

Richard Cabral
Cabral at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	August 28, 1984 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Baby Jokes
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2009–present
Spouse(s)	Janiece Sarduy ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	4

Early life

Cabral grew up in East Los Angeles, in a second-generation Mexican-American family. He became active in gang activity from an early age.[1] He said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that his family had been a part of the gang scene since the 1970s. He was a documented member of Varrio 213 in Montebello (East Los Angeles), California. When he was a child, he was separated from his family. He was incarcerated at the age of 13 for stealing a wallet.[2] Cabral developed an addiction to crack cocaine by the age of 15.[3] He obtained his GED as a teenager but once again got in trouble with the law. He was sentenced to prison for violent assault with a deadly weapon (shooting), and was released at the age of 25.

Career

Cabral's entertainment career started in the Chicano Rap music scene. He created several albums and features under the moniker "Baby Jokes", or "Joker". The music mostly depicted negative, gang-related street tales.

While Cabral was trying to turn his life around, his friends recommended he seek out the services of Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program based in Los Angeles. There he auditioned and landed his first role, which led him to further his skills through acting classes and seminars. [2] In 2009, he began to act, with Cabral appearing in the television show Southland. In 2010, he appeared in the music video for Bruno Mars' single "Grenade".

In 2015, Cabral starred in the mini-series American Crime, in which he portrayed the character Hector Tontz.[4] For his role, Cabral was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie at the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards.

In 2016, Cabral co-wrote with Robert Egan a one-man show called Fighting Shadows, about his experiences as a former gang member who spent years in and out of prison.[5]

Awards

In 2013, Cabral won the Lo Maximo award from Homeboy Industries, which honors HI service recipients who give back to the community.[6]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	A Better Life	Marcelo Valdez
2012	End of Watch	'Demon'
2013	Snitch	'Flaco'
2013	The Counselor	'The Green Hornet'
2014	Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones	Arturo Lopez
2014	Walk of Shame	Gang Member
2016	Blood Father	'Joker'
2017	Khali the Killer	Khali
2018	Breaking In	Duncan
2018	Peppermint	Salazar
2018	All Creatures Here Below	Hugo
2019	Windows on the World	Domingo

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Southland	'Joker' Ruiz	Episode: "Derailed"
2011	Southland	Cholo #2	Episode: "Code 4"
2011	Southland	'Leprechaun'	3 episodes
2011	Body of Proof	Jorge	Episode: "Hunting Party"
2012	Luck	Store Clerk	Episode: "#1.3"
2013	Chicago Fire	Inmate Rios	Episode: "A Hell of a Ride"
2014	Bosch	Jimmy Uribe (uncredited)	Episode: "Chapter One: 'Tis the Season"
2014	Key and Peele	Eduardo	Episode: "Terrorist Meeting"
2015	American Crime	Hector Tonz	11 episodes
2016	American Crime	Sebastian De Le Torre	5 episodes
2016–17	Lethal Weapon	Detective Alex Cruz	8 episodes
2017	American Crime	Isaac Castillo	5 episodes
2018–present	Mayans MC	Johnny 'Coco' Cruz	20 episodes
2019	Into the dark	Santo Cristobal	Episode: "Culture Shock"

Music Videos

Year	Song	Band	Notes
2012	Good Girls Bad Guys	Falling In Reverse
2010	Grenade	Bruno Mars

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2015	67th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie	American Crime	Nominated
	19th OFTA Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated
2016	20th Satellite Awards	Best Ensemble – Television Series (shared with the ensemble)		Won

References

1. "Former Mexican Gang Member Richard Cabral Reveals How He Left Streets to Star in ABC's 'American Crime'". Latin Post.
2. "How Former Gang Member Richard Cabral Went From Prison To Prime Time". NPR.org. 16 September 2015.
3. "'American Crime' Star Richard Cabral Reveals His Past of Crack Addiction, Life in Gangs". Entertainment Tonight.
4. "Richard Cabral as Hector Tontz - American Crime". ABC.
5. "FIGHTING SHADOWS with Emmy Nominee Richard Cabral to Play Rosenthal Theater". Broadway World.
6. Homeboy Industries. "Richard Cabral - Lo Maximo 2013 - Homeboy Industries". YouTube. Retrieved 2 October 2016.

External links

• Richard Cabral at IMDb