Wilson Cruz - wikipedia Wilson Cruz Wilson Cruz Cruz at the PaleyFest Fall TV Previews 2014 for Red Band Society Wilson Echevarría ( 1973 - 12 - 27 ) December 27, 1973 ( age 43 ) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Occupation Actor, producer, mentor Years active 1994 -- present Wilson Cruz ( born Wilson Echevarría ; December 27, 1973 ) is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So - Called Life, Angel in the Broadway production of Rent and the recurring character Junito on Noah 's Arc. As an openly gay man of Puerto Rican ancestry, he has served as an advocate for gay youth, especially gay youth of color. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Involvement in the LGBT community 4 Filmography and stage 4.1 Television 4.2 Film 4.3 Stage 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Early Life Wilson Cruz was born in Brooklyn, New York, to parents of Puerto Rican descent. 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 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 a 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 1998, he portrayed Angel in the Broadway production of RENT and in 2000 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 openly gay best friend of a promiscuous woman who tries to find out who got her pregnant so that she can get married. Involvement in the LGBT community Wilson Cruz at Outfest 2010 Cruz works with and advocates on behalf of LGBT 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 and the 2005 Chicago Pride Parade. 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 in order to assist the organization through a leadership transition, and joined the staff of GLAAD in 2012 as a National Spokesperson and Strategic Giving Officer. Filmography and stage Television My So - Called Life ( 1994 -- 1995 ), Enrique ' Rickie ' Vasquez -- 19 episodes On Seventh Avenue ( 1996 ), Reuben Diaz Sister, Sister ( 1996 ), Bobby -- 1 episode ( Season 3, Episode 13 : `` Double Double Date '' ) Ally McBeal ( 1997 ), Steven / Stephanie -- 1 episode Party of Five ( 1999 -- 2000 ), Victor -- 11 episodes ER ( 2002 ), Jeffrey Cruz -- 1 episode The West Wing ( 2004 ), as Jack Sosa -- 2 episodes The Closer ( 2005 ), Man in Bar -- 1 episode Noah 's Arc ( 2005 -- 2006 ), Junito -- 7 episodes Monk ( 2006 ), Smoking Technician -- 1 episode NCIS ( 2007 ), Todd Ryder -- 1 episode Rick & Steve : The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World ( 2007 -- ), Evan -- 2 seasons Raising the Bar ( 2008 -- 2009 ), Rafael de la Cruz -- 3 episodes Pushing Daisies June 13, 2009 ( US ), Sid Tango -- 1 episode Grey 's Anatomy December 2, 2010 ( US ), Kyle -- 1 episode Single Ladies July 18, 2011 ( US ), Vincent -- 2 episodes The Finder ( 2012 ), Jonni -- 2 episodes Red Band Society ( 2014 -- 2015 ), Kenji Gomez - Rejon -- recurring Shameless ( 2016 ), Bartender -- 1 episode Mistresses ( 2016 ), Dante -- 2 episodes Heartbeat ( 2016 ) -- 2 episodes 13 Reasons Why ( 2017 ), Dennis -- 3 episodes Star Trek : Discovery ( 2017 ), Dr. Hugh Culber Film Nixon ( 1995 ), Joaquin ( Hoover 's servant ) Beat the Bash ( 1996 ), Kevin johns ( 1996 ), Mikey Joyride ( 1996 ), James All Over Me ( 1997 ), Jesse Supernova ( 2000 ), Benj Sotomejor Party Monster ( 2003 ), Angel Bam Bam and Celeste ( 2005 ), Tony Coffee Date ( 2006 ), Kelly The Ode ( 2008 ), Adrian He 's Just Not That Into You ( 2009 ), Nathan Green Flash ( 2009 ), Kyle The People I 've Slept With ( 2009 ), Gabriel Convincing Clooney ( 2011 ), Joaquin The Skinny ( 2012 ), The Doctor Stage RENT ( 1998 ), Angel A Perfect Wedding ( 2003 ), Julian Tick, Tick... BOOM ! ( 2005 ), Michael See also Puerto Rico portal Biography portal Film portal Television portal Theatre portal LGBT portal List of famous Puerto Ricans References Jump up ^ `` ABC Leads Nominees for GLAAD Awards ''. Fox News. Associated Press. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2011. Jump up ^ `` The New York Times ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Talkin ' Broadway ''. Talkinbroadway.com. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Atlanta Boy ''. Atlantaboy.com. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Oasis Magazine ''. Oasis Magazine. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 13. Jump up ^ `` My So - Called Life 's Wilson Cruz on Rickie Fans, LBGT Awareness, and ' 90s Fashion ''. Vulture. Retrieved 2014 - 12 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Playing Gay : How America Came Out On Television by Playing Gay -- Kickstarter ''. Kickstarter.com. 2015 - 08 - 01. Retrieved 2015 - 08 - 17. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilson Cruz. Wilson Cruz at the Internet Broadway Database Wilson Cruz on IMDb VIAF : 14709076 LCCN : nr2002043976 GND : 109360896X SUDOC : 149081774 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilson_Cruz&oldid=807265714 '' Categories : Male actors from New York City American male film actors American people of Puerto Rican descent American male stage actors American male television actors Gay actors LGBT entertainers from the United States LGBT people of Puerto Rican descent LGBT people from New York ( state ) LGBT rights activists from the United States 1973 births Living people People from Brooklyn People from Rialto, California 20th - century American male actors 21st - century American male actors Activists from California Activists from New York ( state ) Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Polski Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 26 October 2017, at 22 : 53. 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Question: who played ricky on my so called life
Answer: Wilson Cruz