Wilson Cruz

Wilson Cruz (born Wilson Echevarría; December 27, 1973) is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life, Dr. Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery, and the recurring character Junito on Noah's Arc. As a gay man of Afro-Puerto Rican ancestry, he has served as an advocate for gay youth, especially gay minorities.

Early life Cruz was born in Brooklyn, New York, to parents born in Puerto Rico. His family eventually moved to Rialto, California, where he attended Eisenhower High School, graduating in 1991. At age 19, Cruz came out to his parents as gay, first to his mother and then to his father. While his mother was initially hurt and shocked, she eventually accepted the news. His father, however, threw him out of the house, and Cruz spent the next few months living in his car and at the homes of friends. He later reconciled with his father.

Career Cruz went to Hollywood to seek work as an actor, intending to be open about his sexuality from the beginning of his career. In 1994, he was cast as Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez, a troubled, gay teen, in the short-lived, critically acclaimed cult classic TV series My So-Called Life. This made Cruz the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay character in a leading role in an American television series.

Following My So-Called Life'''s cancellation, Cruz went on to play J. Edgar Hoover's servant Joaquin in Oliver Stone's film Nixon and had a small role in the television movie On Seventh Avenue. In 1996, he appeared with David Arquette as Mikey in Johns, about the day-to-day struggles of male prostitutes. In 2000, he played Victor in the final season of Party of Five. He also had a recurring role as Rafael de la Cruz on the series, Raising the Bar.

Cruz's other acting credits include the films Joyride (1996), All Over Me (1997), Supernova (2000), Party Monster (2003), Margaret Cho's Bam Bam and Celeste (2005), Coffee Date (2007), and He's Just Not That Into You (2009); the television film The Perfect Pitch (2002); and guest appearances on the series Great Scott!, Sister, Sister, ER, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Noah's Arc, and Grey's Anatomy. Cruz starred as Adrian in the film The Ode (2007), based on the novel Ode to Lata by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla.

He also appeared/starred in the 2009 movie The People I've Slept With. He plays the best friend of a promiscuous woman who tries to find out who got her pregnant so that she can get married.

Cruz portrayed Dr. Hugh Culber on the science fiction series Star Trek: Discovery from 2017 to 2024.

Since 2020, Cruz has been a recurring guest on 25 Words or Less.

In 2023, Cruz became the new chair of the board of directors for GLSEN.

Personal life

Cruz works with and advocates on behalf of LGBTQ youth, especially youth of color. He has volunteered his time as host for the Youth Zone, an online community at Gay.com for LGBT youth. He was the Grand Marshal of the 1998 West Hollywood Gay Pride parade, the 2005 Chicago Pride Parade and the 2019 Fierté Montréal Pride Parade in Québec. In 2008, he was the keynote speaker at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Lavender Graduation and Rainbow Banquet honoring graduating LGBT students.

Cruz joined the board of directors of GLAAD in 1997 to assist the organization through a leadership transition, and joined the staff of GLAAD in 2012 as a National Spokesperson and Strategic Giving Officer.

Cruz's maternal stepaunt Brenda Lee Marquez McCool was among the 49 victims killed in the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting; Cruz stated that she was killed while protecting her son Isaiah, who survived the gunfire.

In 2020, Cruz was honored on one of the covers of Out'' magazine's annual Out100 issue, saying Wilson "beautifully weaves his activism inside every aspect of his work".

On October 23, 2025, Cruz and Marti Gould Cummings received the Upstander Award from the Tyler Clementi Foundation during their 11th annual Upstander Legacy Celebration in New York.

Filmography and stage

Television YearTitleRoleNotes 1994–1995 My So-Called Life Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez 19 episodes 1996 On Seventh Avenue Reuben Diaz 1996 Sister, Sister Bobby Episode: "Double Double Date" 1997 Ally McBeal Steven/Stephanie 1 episode 1999–2000 Party of Five Victor 11 episodes 2002 ER Jeffrey Cruz 1 episode 2004 The West Wing Jack Sosa 2 episodes 2005 The Closer Man in Bar 1 episode 2005–2006 Noah's Arc Junito 7 episodes 2006 Monk Smoking Technician 1 episode 2007 NCIS Todd Ryder 1 episode 2007 Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World Evan 2 seasons 2008–2009 Raising the Bar Rafael de la Cruz 3 episodes 2009 Pushing Daisies Sid Tango 1 episode, June 13, (US) 2010 Grey's Anatomy Kyle 1 episode, December 2, (US) 2011 Single Ladies Vincent 2 episodes, July 18, (US) 2012 The Finder Jonni 2 episodes 2014–2015 Red Band Society Kenji Gomez-Rejon Recurring role 2016 Shameless Bartender 1 episode 2016 Mistresses Dante 2 episodes 2016 Heartbeat Various 2 episodes 2017 EastSiders Jerry 1 episode 2017–2019 13 Reasons Why Dennis Vasquez 19 episodes 2017–2024 Star Trek: Discovery Hugh Culber Main cast 2019 The Bravest Knight Prince Andrew 2019 Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story Paul C. Burke Television film 2019–2023 The Casagrandes Romeo (voice) Recurring role 2020–present 25 Words or Less (game show) Self Recurring role 2023 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Mr. Calderon (voice) Recurring role

Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1995 Nixon Joaquin (Hoover's servant) 1996 Beat the Bash Kevin 1996 johns Mikey 1996 Joyride James 1997 All Over Me Jesse 2000 Supernova Benj Sotomejor 2003 Party Monster Angel 2005 Bam Bam and Celeste Tony 2006 Coffee Date Kelly 2008 The Ode Adrian 2009 He's Just Not That into You Nathan 2009 Green Flash Kyle 2009 The People I've Slept With Gabriel 2011 Convincing Clooney Joaquin 2012 The Skinny The Doctor 2017 After Louie Mateo 2024 Mother of the Bride Scott 2025 Noah's Arc: The Movie Dr. Junito Vargas

Stage YearTitleRoleNotes 1998 Rent Angel 2003 A Perfect Wedding Julian 2005 Tick, Tick... BOOM! Michael