Ricardo Chavira

Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known as Carlos Solis in Desperate Housewives (2004–12) and Abraham Quintanilla in Selena: The Series.

Early life Chavira is the son of Juan Antonio Chavira, a Bexar County judge, and his wife Elizabeth. Through his father he is of Mexican descent, while he is of German and Irish descent through his mother. Raised in San Antonio, he graduated from Robert E. Lee High School and the University of the Incarnate Word. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of California San Diego's graduate acting program in 2000, and moved to Los Angeles shortly thereafter. Since then, he has worked in film, television and theatre.

Career Chavira began his career playing guest-starring roles on television shows, include NYPD Blue, 24, The Division, Joan of Arcadia and JAG. In 2002, he had a recurring role in the HBO comedy-drama Six Feet Under and was series regular on the unaired Fox sitcom The Grubbs. In 2004, he made his big screen debut appearing in a supporting role playing private José Gregorio Esparza in the western film The Alamo (2004).

In 2004, Chavira was cast as Carlos Solis, the husband of Eva Longoria's character, Gabrielle Solis, in the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives. The series was a breakthrough hit for ABC. In 2005, Chavira listed on the "50 Most Beautiful" list in People en Español, and the following year named one of "TV's Sexiest Men" by TV Guide. The series ended in 2012 after eight seasons.

Chavira starred in a production of Tracers at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, and also starred in a co-production of Living Out. He played Stanley Kowalski in the Guthrie Theater's production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, from July 3 to August 21, 2010, in Minneapolis. He also had voice roles as Alejandro Borges in the film Dead Space: Aftermath and as John Carver in the video game Dead Space 3. He also appeared in a number of films, including Days of Wrath (2008), Saving God (2008), and Piranha 3D (2010). Along with the cast, Chavira won Audie Awards for Audiobook of the Year and Multi-Voiced Performance in 2010 for Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales.

Following Desperate Housewives, Chavira guest-starred on two episodes of USA Network drama series, Burn Notice in 2013, playing crime leader Rafael Serrano. Later that year, he went to star in the NBC sitcom Welcome to the Family. The series was canceled after three episodes. In 2015, Chavira guest starred on Castle episode "At Close Range", and in 2016 reunited with Eva Longoria in her short-lived sitcom Telenovela.

From 2016 to 2017, Chavira had a major recurring role in the ABC political thriller Scandal during the fifth and sixth seasons as Democratic Governor Francisco "Frankie" Vargas who runs for president. At the same time, he had a recurring role in The CW comedy series, Jane the Virgin during the third season as Bruce, Xiomara's (Andrea Navedo) lover. In 2017, Chavira also had a recurring role in the Netflix horror-comedy Santa Clarita Diet alongside Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore. In 2020, Chavira was cast as Abraham Quintanilla, the father of late singer Selena in the Netflix limited biographical series, Selena. He was a guest star on Chicago P.D. in 2021.

Personal life Chavira is a supporter of breast cancer research as his mother, Elizabeth Ries Chavira, died of breast and ovarian cancer when she was 43 years old. Chavira is San Antonio's honorary spokesman for the charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and in June 2005 served as the National Team Captain for the Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C. Chavira and James Denton were the 2005 spokespeople for the Lee National Denim Day breast cancer fundraiser.

He has been married to Marcea Dietzel since September 22, 2007. They have two children, a son, Tomás Antonio (b. January 8, 2003) and a daughter, Belén Elysabeth (b. July 28, 2008).

In May 2011, Chavira was arrested for driving under the influence.

In October 2019, Chavira talked on Twitter about the relatively light prison sentence that his former Desperate Housewives castmate Felicity Huffman received for her role in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal, citing "White Privilege."

Filmography

Films YearTitleRoleNotes 1987 De Vaqueros, aventuras y mas cosas Short film Así sucede en los pueblos 2001 Barstow 2008 Guaco 2002 Boris Frank Short film 2004 The Alamo Private Gregorio Esparza 2007 Rockaway Dave Cosmic Radio Vasquez 2008 Ball Don't Lie Ruben Days of Wrath Detective Romeros Saving God Rev. Danny Christopher 2009 Don't Let Me Drown Dionisio 2009 Superman/Batman: Public Enemies Major Force (voice) 2010 Chasing 3000 Dr. Boogie Piranha 3D Sam 2011 Dead Space: Aftermath Alejandro Borges 2015 Being Charlie Drake Powder and Gold Don Toribio 2016 Birth of a Killer Lalo Short film 2018 Tournament Steve 2019 Narco Soldiers Don Toribio 2021 Reefa Officer Morales

Television YearTitleRoleNotes 2001 NYPD Blue Kenny Sotomayor Episode: "Thumb Enchanted Evening" Philly A.D.A. Eddie Price Episode: "Blown Away" 2001–03 JAG Capt. Rapaport / Miguel 2 episodes 2002 24 Agent Bundy Episode: "12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m." Six Feet Under Ramon 4 episodes The Division Bernard 2 episodes The Grubbs Coach Garra Pilot 2003 Kingpin Episode: "Gimme Shelter" Joan of Arcadia Sgt. Eddie Fosberg Episode: "The Boat" 2004–12 Desperate Housewives Carlos Solis Lead role (180 episodes) 2005 George Lopez Victor Episode: "George's Extreme Makeover: Holmes Edition" 2007 Kings of South Beach Enrique Television film 2007–08 Monk Jimmy Belmont 2 episodes 2013 Warehouse 13 Detective Briggs Episode: "Instinct" Burn Notice Rafael Serano 2 episodes Welcome to the Family Miguel Hernandez / Chuey Hernandez Lead, 12 episodes 2014 Bad Teacher Tico 2 episodes 2015 Castle Congressman Alex Lopez Episode: "At Close Range" 2016 Telenovela Martin Episode: "Split Personalities" 2016–17 Jane the Virgin Bruce 8 episodes Scandal Francisco "Frankie" Vargas 15 episodes 2017 Santa Clarita Diet Dan Palmer 7 episodes Hawaii Five-0 Agent Callaghan Episode: "He Kaha Lu'u Ke Ala, Mai Ho'okolo Aku" Mission Control Diaz Television film 2018 Kevin Can Wait Frank 2 episodes Rise Johnny Cruz Episode: "Opening Night" 2019 Christmas Reservations Kevin Portillo Television film 2020–21 Selena: The Series Abraham Quintanilla Lead role (18 episodes) 2021 Chicago P.D. Detective Salvador Ortiz Episode: "End of Watch" 2023 Truth Be Told Vince 5 episodes Blindspotting Darrell Episode: "Meatfest" Glamorous Teddy 7 episodes2024 Will Trent Councilman Victor CarreyS2E3 "You don’t have to understand" 2024–25 Primos Tio Ignacio (voice) Recurring role

Theatre +YearTitleRoleVenueRef(s) 1998 Dogeaters Freddie Gonzaga / Lt. Pepe Carreon La Jolla Playhouse 2004 Living Out Bobby Hernandez Seattle Repertory Theatre 2009 The Three Sisters Alexander Ignatevich Vershinin Chalk Repertory Theatre 2010 A Streetcar Named Desire Stanley Kowalski Guthrie Theater 2015 The Motherfucker with the Hat Jackie Royal National Theatre 2017 Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train Valdez Signature Theatre Company 2018 An Enemy of the People Peter Stockmann Guthrie Theater 2018 The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona Orlando Geffen Playhouse 2023 Shane Joe Starrett Guthrie Theater 2025 A Doll's House Nils Krogstad Guthrie Theater