Tony Plana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tony Plana
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Plana in 2019
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| Born |
José Antonio Plana
April 19, 1952 Havana, Cuba
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| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | Loyola Marymount University |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1974–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Ada Maris
(m. 1988) |
| Children | 2 |
José Antonio Plana, born on April 19, 1952, is an actor and director from Cuba and the United States. Many people know him as Ignacio Suarez, Betty Suarez's dad, from the TV show Ugly Betty. He also voiced Manny Calavera in the video game Grim Fandango.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Tony Plana was born in Havana, Cuba. In 1960, when he was young, his family moved to Miami, USA. He went to Loyola Marymount University. He also studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England.
Acting and Directing Career
Tony Plana is famous for his work in movies and on TV. But he is also very skilled at acting and directing plays for the stage.
Theater Work
In 1995, he started a group called East L.A. Classic Theatre. For ten years, he directed many plays by William Shakespeare. These plays were made for audiences from different backgrounds. He has worked in theaters in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York City. He even performed on Broadway. He was the first actor to play Rudy in the play Zoot Suit in Los Angeles. He then played Rudy in the movie version.
TV Shows and Movies
Tony Plana has acted, directed, and written for many TV shows. Some of these include Hill Street Blues, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The West Wing. He also appeared in 24 and Desperate Housewives. In Desperate Housewives, he played Gabrielle Solis's stepfather, Alejandro Perez. He also directed an episode of the show called Witch's Lament.
He has been in many movies too. Some of his films are An Officer and a Gentleman, Three Amigos, and Lone Star. Gamers might know his voice from the 1998 adventure game Grim Fandango, where he voiced Manny Calavera.
Other Projects
In 2011, Tony Plana was part of a web series called Los Americans. This series was about a middle-class family living in Los Angeles. He also teaches acting at California State University, Dominguez Hills and Rio Hondo College. In 2012, he was a judge for the Noor Iranian Film Festival.
Public Speaking and Politics
Tony Plana volunteers to speak about making immigration laws better. He was a main speaker at the 2012 LULAC conference. This event took place in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Awards and Recognitions
Tony Plana has won and been nominated for several awards for his acting.
Awards Won
- Satellite Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his part as Ignacio Suarez in Ugly Betty (2006).
Award Nominations
- Screen Actors Guild Awards: Best Group Performance in a Comedy Series for Ugly Betty (2006).
- ALMA Awards: Outstanding Actor in a TV Series for Resurrection Blvd. (2002).
- ALMA Awards: Outstanding Actor in a New TV Series for Resurrection Blvd. (2001).
- Bravo Awards: Outstanding Actor in a Movie for Lone Star (1996).
Selected Filmography
- 1978 What's Happening!! (TV Series) as Amid
- 1978 The Boss' Son as Juan
- 1978 The Paper Chase (TV Series) as Marcos
- 1980 Seed of Innocence (uncredited)
- 1980 First Family as White House Gardener
- 1981 Madame X (TV Movie) as Senor Rueda
- 1981 Love & Money as National Guard General
- 1981 Zoot Suit as Rudy
- 1981 Circle of Power as Reza Haddad
- 1982 An Officer and a Gentleman as Emiliano De la Serra
- 1983 Valley Girl as Low Rider
- 1983 Nightmares as Father Luis Del Amo (segment "The Benediction")
- 1983 El Norte as Carlos, The Bus Boy
- 1983 Deal of the Century as Chicano Man
- 1983 What's Up, Hideous Sun Demon as Officer Ignatz
- 1985 City Limits as Ramos
- 1985 Latino as Ruben
- 1986 The Best of Times as Chico
- 1986 Salvador as Major Max
- 1986 Three Amigos as Jefe
- 1987 Disorderlies as Miguel
- 1987 Born in East L.A. as Feo
- 1984-1988 Miami Vice (TV Series) as Ernesto Guerrero / Cinco
- 1988 Buy & Cell as Raoul
- 1988 Break of Dawn (TV Movie) as Rodriguez
- 1989 Romero as Father Manuel Morantes
- 1990 Why Me? as Benjy Klopzik
- 1990 The Rookie (1990) as Morales
- 1990 Havana as Julio Ramos
- 1991 Seinfeld (Season 2 Episode 5: "The Apartment") as Manny
- 1991 One Good Cop as Beniamino Rios
- 1991 The Golden Girls (TV Series) as Alvarez
- 1991 JFK as Carlos Bringuier
- 1992 Live Wire as Al-Red
- 1993 Bakersfield, P.D. as Luke Ramirez
- 1993 Red Hot as KGB Investigator
- 1993 Greshnitsa v maske as Le Arden
- 1994 A Million to Juan as Jorge
- 1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 2 Episode 20 and 21: "The Maquis part 1 and 2") as Amaros
- 1995 Silver Strand (TV Movie) as Richie Guttierez
- 1995 Nixon as Manolo Sanchez
- 1996 Primal Fear as Martinez
- 1996 Lone Star as Ray
- 1996 The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca as Marcos, Lorca's Friend
- 1996 Canción desesperada as Patrick
- 1997 Down for the Barrio as Cesar
- 1997 Santa Fe as Chief Gomez
- 1997 One Eight Seven as Principal Garcia
- 1998 The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit as Victor Medina
- 1998 Shadow of Doubt as Detective Krause
- 1999 Let the Devil Wear Black as Tall
- 1999 Every Dog Has Its Day as The Cop
- 2000 Knockout as Chuck Alvarado
- 2000 Picking Up the Pieces as Usher
- 2001 Vegas, City of Dreams as Captain Martin
- 2002 Half Past Dead as Warden Juan Ruiz 'El Fuego' Escarzaga
- 2003 John Doe (Season 1, Episode 17: "Doe or Die") as Captain Ruiz
- 2003 Monk (TV Series) as Captain Alameda
- 2004 24 (TV Series) as Omar
- 2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV Series) as Elindio Zapata
- 2005 The Lost City as The Emcee
- 2005 Goal! as Hernan Munez
- 2005 The Closer as Alonzo Lopez
- 2006-2010 Ugly Betty (TV Series) as Ignacio Suarez
- 2007 El Muerto as Aparicio
- 2007 Hacia la oscuridad as Carlos Gutierrez
- 2007 Half Past Dead 2 as Warden Juan Ruiz 'El Fuego' Escarzaga
- 2008 AmericanEast as Dez
- 2009 Life Is Hot in Cracktown as Lou
- 2011 Desperate Housewives (TV Series) as Alejandro Perez
- 2011 Body of Proof (Episode 3: "Helping Hand") as Armando Rosas
- 2011 America as Tio Poldo
- 2012 The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez as Dr. Dominguez
- 2013 Psych (Season 7, Episode 4: "No Country for Two Old Men") as Pablo Nuñez
- 2013 Pain and Gain as Captain Lopez
- 2013 Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret as Prosecutor Juan Martinez
- 2013-2014 Alpha House (TV Series) as Benito 'Benny' Lopez
- 2013 A Miracle in Spanish Harlem as Mariano
- 2014 Jane the Virgin (TV Series) as Father Ortega
- 2015-2017 The Fosters (TV Series) as Victor Gutierrez
- 2015 Cristela (TV Series) as Joaquin Alvarez
- 2015 Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (TV Series) as Father Consolmango
- 2016 The Young Pope (TV Series) as Carlos García
- 2016 America Adrift as William Fernandez
- 2016-2018 Lethal Weapon (TV Series) as Ronnie Delgado
- 2017-2020 Superstore as Ron Sosa
- 2017 Roman J. Israel, Esq. as Jessie Salinas
- 2017 Butterfly Caught as Michael Channis
- 2017-2019 One Day at a Time (TV Series) as Berto
- 2017-2018 Colony as Proxy Alcala
- 2017-2019 The Punisher (TV Series) as Rafael Hernandez
- 2018 Mayans M.C. (7 episodes) as Devante Cano
- 2018 Shooter (1 episode) as Guitierez
- 2019 Jugar con fuego (TV series) as Peter Miller
- 2019 Dynasty as Cristal Jennings’ father, Silvio Flores.
- 2019 Elena of Avalor (1 episode) as Qapa
- 2019 Wasp Network as Luis Posada Carriles
- 2020 Enemigo íntimo (season 2) as Santilla
- 2020 Connecting... (TV series) as Ramon
Voice Acting Roles
- Godzilla 1985 (1985) as Goro Maki (voice, uncredited)
- Santo Bugito (1995, TV Series) as Paco
- Extreme Ghostbusters (1997, TV Series) (voice)
- Grim Fandango (1998, Video Game) as Manuel "Manny" Calavera
- Cuba Libre (2003) as Narrator (voice)
- Hiroshima - Radio play based on the book by John Hersey, adapted by John Valentine (2003)
- Ghost Recon Wildlands(2017,Video Game) as El Cardenal
- Elena of Avalor (2018, TV Series) as Oapa (voice)
- The Legend of Vox Machina (2023, TV Series) as Kamaljiori (voice)
See also
In Spanish: Tony Plana para niños
