Clifton Collins

Clifton Craig Collins Jr. (born June 16, 1970) is an American film and television actor. He is a Primetime Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Satellite Award, and four-time ALMA Award nominee, and a Screen Actors Guild Award winner. Prior to 1999, he was credited as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez.

After various small parts, he gained attention for his performance as a gangster in the crime drama One Eight Seven (1997). He then played featured parts in the major productions Traffic (2000) and The Last Castle (2001), and gained further recognition for his co-starring role as Perry Edward Smith in the biographical film Capote (2005). His subsequent films include Babel (2006), Star Trek, Crank: High Voltage (both 2009), Pacific Rim (2013), Knight of Cups (2015), The Mule (2018), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and Nightmare Alley (2021). He won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his performance in the independent film Jockey (2021).

Collins' work on television series includes a starring role as Jack Hill on Thief (2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination, Thomas on The Event (2010–11), Maximo Gomez on Ballers (2015–17), and Lawrence Gonzales / "El Lazo" on Westworld (2016–2020). He also provided the voice of Cesar Vialpando in the action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).

Early life Clifton Craig Collins Jr. was born on June 16, 1970 in Los Angeles, California. He is the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez. He is sometimes credited as Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez in honor of his grandfather. His father is of German descent and his mother is of Mexican ancestry.

Career

Collins made his acting debut on a 1990 episode of Freddy's Nightmares, and made his film debut the following year in Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon. He played various small roles, notably in the Hughes brothers' Menace II Society (1993) and Dead Presidents (1995), and a more prominent supporting part in the cult action film Fortress (1992).

He first broke through the mainstream in 1997 with a performance as gangster César Sánchez in the film One Eight Seven. In 1998, he was in the Stuart Gordon-directed, Ray Bradbury-written cult film The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. He next portrayed a gay hitman named Francisco "Frankie Flowers" Flores for the Mexican drug cartels in Steven Soderbergh's 2000 ensemble drama Traffic.

For his portrayal of a US Marine prisoner in the 2001 film The Last Castle, Collins was nominated for the 2002 American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. In 2002, he played the role of Buddy in the film American Girl.

In 2005, Collins won reviews for his subtle portrayal of killer Perry Smith in the film Capote, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2006.

He starred in the 2005 film Dirty. Collins starred on FX Networks' series Thief and received an Emmy nomination. Collins also played a supporting role on FX Network's series The Shield as undercover ICE agent Hernan. He also had a small role in 2006's Babel, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

In 2007, Collins took the lead role in the indie feature The Perfect Game, playing former baseball player Cesar Faz, who coaches a local Mexican youth league team, leading them all the way to the Little League World Series.

In 2008, Collins directed two music videos for the country music group Zac Brown Band: "Chicken Fried" and "Whatever It Is". "Chicken Fried" won the 2009 CMT breakthrough music video of the year award.

Collins starred in the comedy Sunshine Cleaning with Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin. He played Winston, the owner of a cleaning supply shop who builds meticulously detailed model airplanes with only one arm. Collins played the role with one arm bound tightly behind his back. In 2009's Star Trek, Collins plays Ayel, a Romulan, second in command to the villain Nero.

In 2009, Collins joined Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker in the psychological thriller The Experiment. Collins starred in Extract, a 2009 film by director Mike Judge. He co-produced the film National Lampoon's TV: The Movie in which he played Officer Sanchez alongside Jacob Vargas. He also voiced the fictional video game character Cesar Vialpando in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In 2009, he played Romeo in the film The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.

In 2010, Collins joined the cast of NBC's drama The Event as Thomas. The following year, he guested on two episodes of CSI: NY as a man named Raymond Harris, an ex-convict who seeks revenge against Mac Taylor and his partner to get some answers regarding a 17-year grudge against them. The episodes also guest-starred Peter Fonda, who Collins previously worked with in San Andreas, as Taylor's ex-partner, who ends up getting killed by Harris. In 2014, Collins portrayed a law enforcement official, Franco Rodriguez, alongside Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Norman Reedus, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet in Triple 9.

In 2015, HBO's science fiction drama Westworld added Collins as Lawrence / El Lazo, a charming but lethal outlaw, with a knack for maneuvering and negotiating the various criminal elements.

In 2019, Collins filmed Jockey, which won the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for best acting.

Writing He wrote his first book, Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars with Gustavo "Goose" Alvarez, in 2015.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 Grand Canyon Carlos' Friend 1992 Fortress Nino Gomez 1993 Menace II Society Vato Poetic Justice Mailroom Supervisor 1994 The Stoned Age Tack 1995 Milestone Clif Short film Dead Presidents Betancourt One Tough Bastard Jarhead 1996 Sgt. Bilko Soldier 1997 One Eight Seven Cesar Sanchez The Bad Pack Townsman 1998 The Replacement Killers Loco The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit Martinez 1999 Mascara Light It Up Robert "Rivers" Tresmont My Sweet Killer Horton Mi Abuela Short film 2000 Price of Glory Jimmy Ortega Tigerland Private Miter Traffic Francisco "Frankie Flowers" Flores 2001 The Last Castle Corporal Ramon Aguilar 2002 Road Dogz Raymo Serrano Hip, Edgy, Sexy, Cool The Rules of Attraction Rupert American Girl Buddy 2003 I Witness Claudio Castillo 2004 Mindhunters Vince Sherman 2005 Capote Perry Edward Smith Dirty Officer Armando Sancho Life of the Party Kipp 2006 Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders Kenneth Bianchi Babel Officer At Border Crossing Little Chenier "T-Boy" Trahan National Lampoon's TV: The Movie Tijuana Cop #1 / Minion / Miranda 2008 Sunshine Cleaning Winston Under Still Waters Jacob 2009 Horsemen "Stingray" The Perfect Game Cesar Faz Star Trek Ayel Crank: High Voltage Jesus "El Huron" Verona Extract "Step" The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Romeo Brothers Major Cavazos Tom Cool Tom Picasso 2010 Tell-Tale Detective Short film The Experiment Nix Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Vegan Police 2011 The FP C.C. Jam Machine Gun Justice Jack Grizzly Short film 2012 Potus Pimp Short film Gotten Gun Dealer Short film Hellbenders Lawrence Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: The Great Calamity Edgar Allan Poe (voice) Short film Freeloaders Vic 2013 Parker Ross Pacific Rim Ops Tendo Choi 2014 Transcendence Martin 2015 Knight of Cups Jordan Stung Sydney Perch Man Down Charles 2016 Triple 9 Detective Franco Rodriguez Transpecos Hobbs Punching Henry Dramatic Actor Hacker Zed 2017 Small Town Crime Mood M.F.A. Kennedy A Crooked Somebody Nathan The Vault Detective Iger Cabeza Madre John 2018 Super Troopers 2 Bus Driver The Mule Gustavo 2019 Honey Boy Tom Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Ernesto "The Mexican" Vaquero Waves Bobby Running with the Devil The Farmer Lucky Day DPO Ernesto Sanchez 2021 Breaking News in Yuba County Ray Jockey Jackson Silva After Yang George Nightmare Alley Funhouse Jack Painted Beauty Peter 2023 Red, White & Royal Blue Senator Oscar Diaz 2024 The Bricklayer Radek2025 By Design Jacob the Stalker Train Dreams Boomer Eddington Lodge TBA Red, White & Royal Wedding Senator Oscar Diaz Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1990 Freddy's Nightmares Mickey Episode: "Interior Loft" The Flash Javier O'Hara Episode: "Double Vision" 1991 Adam-12 Kid in Class Episode: "D.A.R.E." Veronica Clare Latino Manager Episode: "Slow Violence" Jake and the Fatman Roberto Episode: "Street of Dreams" 1992 For Richer, for Poorer Co-Worker TV movie 1993 Acapulco H.E.A.T. David Kern Episode: "Code Name: Desert Dragon" Sworn to Vengeance TV movie 1994 Witch Hunt Tyrone TV movie 1995 Madman of the People Jorge Episode: "Notes from the Underground" Live Shot Carlos Sandoval Episode: "For Whom the Stinkin' Bell Tolls" 1996 Walker, Texas Ranger Fito Episode: "El Coyote: Part 1 & 2" Land's End Episode: "Red Cadillac" 1997 Crisis Center Nando Taylor Main cast ER Mr. Brown Episode: "Tribes" NYPD Blue Jimmy Cortez Episode: "I Love Lucy" 1998 Diagnosis: Murder Boyd Harcourt Episode: "Rear Windows '98" The Defenders: Taking the First Nelson Rodriguez TV movie 1999 Martial Law Episode: "Friendly Skies" 2000–2001 Resurrection Blvd. James Garcia Recurring cast: season 1 2002 The Twilight Zone Andy Perez Episode: "Last Lap" 2003 Alias Javiar Parez Recurring cast: season 3 Undefeated Loco TV movie 2005 Bounty Hunters Mouse TV movie 2006 Thief Jack "Bump" Hill Main cast 2007 The Shield Hernan Episode: "Haunts" & "Exiled" Masters of Science Fiction Frendon Blythe Episode: "Little Brother" 2008 Fear Itself Richard "Family Man" Brautigan Episode: "Family Man" 2010 Southland Detective Ray Suarez Episode: "The Runner" 2010–2011 The Event Thomas Main cast 2011 CSI: NY Raymond Harris Episode: "Nothing for Something" & "Life Sentence" Pound Puppies Scar/Weasel (voice) Episode: "Rebel Without a Collar" 2013 Red Widow James Ramos Main cast Cleaners Julian Main cast: season 1 The Blacklist Hector Lorca Episode: "The Stewmaker (No. 161)" 2015–2017 Ballers Maximo Gomez Recurring cast: seasons 1-3 2016–2020 Westworld Lawrence/"El Lazo" Main cast: seasons 1–2, guest: season 3 2019 Veronica Mars Alonzo Lozano Main cast: season 4 2021 The Stand Bobby Terry Episode: "The Vigil" 2025 The Last Frontier Isaac 'Ike' Romero Main Cast: season 1 2026 Lucky Harris "Dutch" Ocampo Recurring TBA The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey Thomas Trujillo Upcoming series

Video games Year Title Voice role Notes 2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Cesar Vialpando 2021 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Archival recordingsRemaster of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas only

Awards and honors In 2019, Collins was awarded an Impact Award by the National Hispanic Media Coalition for Outstanding Performance in Film and Television. On October 29, 2021, he received the Distinguished Performance Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.