# Ricardo Chavira

Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in Selena: The Series (2020).

## Early life

Chavira was the son of a Bexar County judge, Juan Antonio Chavira and is of Mexican descent. 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. With the cast, he received two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2006, and well as three ALMA Awards nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. 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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | De Vaqueros, aventuras y mas cosas | | Short film |
| 1987 | Así sucede en los pueblos | | Short film |
| 2001 | Barstow 2008 | Guaco | |
| 2002 | Boris | Frank | Short film |
| 2004 | The Alamo | Private Gregorio Esparza | |
| 2007 | Rockaway | Dave | |
| 2007 | Cosmic Radio | Vasquez | |
| 2008 | Ball Don't Lie | Ruben | |
| 2008 | Days of Wrath | Detective Romeros | |
| 2008 | 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 | |
| 2010 | Piranha 3D | Sam | |
| 2011 | Dead Space: Aftermath | Alejandro Borges | |
| 2015 | Being Charlie | Drake | |
| 2015 | 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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | NYPD Blue | Kenny Sotomayor | Episode: "Thumb Enchanted Evening" |
| 2001 | Philly | A.D.A. Eddie Price | Episode: "Blown Away" |
| 2001–2003 | JAG | Capt. Rapaport / Miguel | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | 24 | Agent Bundy | Episode: "12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m." |
| 2002 | Six Feet Under | Ramon | 4 episodes |
| 2002 | The Division | Bernard | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | The Grubbs | Coach Garra | Pilot |
| 2003 | Kingpin | | Episode: "Gimme Shelter" |
| 2003 | Joan of Arcadia | Sgt. Eddie Fosberg | Episode: "The Boat" |
| 2004–2012 | 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 |
| 2007–2008 | Monk | Jimmy Belmont | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Warehouse 13 | Detective Briggs | Episode: "Instinct" |
| 2013 | Burn Notice | Rafael Serano | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | 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" |
| 2016–2017 | Jane the Virgin | Bruce | 8 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Scandal | Francisco Vargas / Frankie Vargas | 15 episodes |
| 2017 | Santa Clarita Diet | Dan Palmer | 7 episodes |
| 2017 | Hawaii Five-0 | Agent Callaghan | Episode: "He Kaha Lu'u Ke Ala, Mai Ho'okolo Aku" |
| 2017 | Mission Control | Diaz | Television film |
| 2018 | Kevin Can Wait | Frank | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Rise | Johnny Cruz | Episode: "Opening Night" |
| 2019 | Christmas Reservations | Kevin Portillo | Television film |
| 2020–2021 | 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 |
| 2023 | Blindspotting | Darrell | Episode: "Meatfest" |
| 2023 | Glamorous | Teddy | 7 episodes |
| 2024–present | Primos | Tio Ignacio (voice) | Recurring |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 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 |