Oscar Nunez
Oscar Nunez (born November 18, 1958),[1] sometimes credited as Oscar Nuñez, is a Cuban-American actor and comedian. He is best known for being an actor in his role as Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez on NBC's The Office and State Farm's commercials.
Oscar Nunez | |
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![]() Nuñez in February 2009 | |
Born | |
Other names | Oscar Núñez |
Occupation | Actor, comedian |
Years active | 2000–present |
Spouse(s) | Ursula Whittaker |
Children | 1 |
He was a member of The Groundlings and later became a regular cast member on The Office. He also created and co-starred in the Comedy Central series Halfway Home in 2007. In 2010, he portrayed a pet shop owner in Fred: The Movie. In 2014, he co-starred in the short-lived USA Network comedy series Benched.
Life and career
Nunez was born in Colón, Cuba.[2] Nunez's mother, a dentist, and father, a lawyer, attended school at the University of Havana while Fidel Castro was a student there. The family circa 1960 moved first to Caracas, Venezuela, and then to the United States.[3] His family moved to Boston when he was two years old and then to Union City, New Jersey, when he was four.[4][5] He was naturalized an American citizen in 1964.[6] He is bilingual in English and Spanish. Nunez attended various colleges in New York, including Fashion Institute of Technology and the Parsons School of Design for writing, and became a certified dental technician after studying at the Magna Institute of Dental Technology.[7]
Nunez started his comedy career in New York, performing over 300 shows with The Shock of the Funny theater company. The troupe was active in the East Village for several years. In addition to his work with Shock, Nunez appeared in theater in New York and Washington, D.C. before moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1990s. In LA, he joined The Groundlings and performed in their Sunday Company. While with the Groundlings, he wrote and starred in a production called "Smooth Down There."
In 1997, Nunez graduated from the Warner Brothers Comedy Writer's Workshop. In 1999, he was a finalist in the ABC Latino Writers Project.
In 1998, he appeared on the game show Match Game but was not a winner.[8]
Nunez was Adam Carolla's stand-in on The Man Show.
Nunez's television credits include Malcolm in the Middle, 24, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reno 911!, The District and Mad TV, in addition to his role on The Office. He was also the creator and executive producer of the Comedy Central series Halfway Home, in which he co-starred as the character Eulogio Pla.
His film credits include The Italian Job (as a security guard), Reno 911!: Miami, and When Do We Eat?. In 2009, Nunez played the role of Ramon, the caterer, stripper, soda jerk, and finally clergy performing the wedding ceremony in The Proposal. In 2012, Nunez played the role of Jose Baez, an attorney in the Lifetime movie Prosecuting Casey Anthony.
Nunez appeared as one of eight judges in the 2010 Miss USA Contest, posing a question about the Arizona undocumented immigrant law to Miss Oklahoma USA, Morgan Elizabeth Woolard. Nunez was booed by the audience before finishing the question; however he asked the audience to wait until he finished the question before they reacted. Although Woolard replied that she supports the law as a state rights issue, she added that she is against racial profiling.[9]
In 2014, Nunez co-starred alongside Eliza Coupe and Jay Harrington in the short-lived USA Network comedy series Benched.
In 2016, Nunez appeared as a regular in the TBS comedy series, People of Earth, on TBS.[10]
In 2018, Nunez portrayed State Farm Insurance Agent Cole Perez in a series of commercials.[11]
In July 2018, Nunez took on the role of Desi Arnaz, starring in the world premiere production of I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom, a behind-the-scenes stage comedy about I Love Lucy by Gregg Oppenheimer (son of series creator Jess Oppenheimer). Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA's James Bridges Theater, the L.A. Theatre Works production aired on public radio and has been released on Audio CD and as a downloadable mp3.[12][13]
Currently, Nunez is portraying Mr. Hernandez on Netflix original Mr. Iglesias.
Personal life
Nunez is married to actress Ursula Whittaker,[14] who gave birth to their first child, daughter August Luce Nunez, on October 4, 2012.[15]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Male Parking Attendant | Season 1 Episode 5: "Interior Decorator" |
2001 | Grounded for Life | Security Guard | Episode: “I Wanna Be Suspended” |
2002–2003 | Malcolm in the Middle | Ranch Hand | 2 episodes |
2003 | The Italian Job | Security Guard | |
Still Standing | Tim | Episode: "Still Hairdressing" | |
Reno 911! | Captain Dwayne Hernandez | 2 episodes | |
24 | Pilot | Season 3 Episode 6: "Day 3: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m." | |
2005–2013 | The Office | Oscar Martinez | Main Cast; 189 episodes |
2006 | Reno 911! | "Spanish Mike" Alvarez | Season 4 Episode 5: "Spanish Mike Returns" |
2007 | Halfway Home | Eulogio Pla | 10 episodes |
Reno 911!: Miami | Jose Jose Jose | ||
2009 | The Proposal | Ramone | |
2010 | Fred: The Movie | Lorenzo | |
2011 | Without Men | Priest Rafael | |
Language of a Broken Heart | Adam Lebowitz | ||
2011–2012 | Bob's Burgers | Cha-Cha / Pepe (voice) | 2 episodes |
2013 | Prosecuting Casey Anthony | Jose Baez | |
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Sudz Manager | Episode: "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award" | |
2014 | Benched | Carlos | 12 episodes |
New Girl | Doug | Season 3 Episode 23: "Cruise" | |
2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | FBI Agent José González | Season 4 Episode 2: "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt & Strappy Sandals" |
The 33 | Yonni Barrios | ||
Adam Ruins Everything | Benny | Season 1 Episode 8: "Adam Ruins Work" | |
Life in Pieces | Dr. James Changa | Season 1 Episode 10: "Burn Vasectomy Milkshake Pong" | |
Romantically Speaking | Carl | Hallmark movie | |
2016 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Dr. Porp | Season 3 Episode 12: "9 Days" |
iZombie | Stan Mendoza | Season 2 Episode 14: "Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind" | |
Shameless | Rick Encarnacion | 2 episodes | |
Liv and Maddie | Mr. Beelick | Season 4 Episode 1: "Sorta-Sisters-A-Rooney" | |
Miss Stevens | Principal Albert Alvarez | ||
Mascots | Cesar Hidalgo | ||
2016–2017 | People of Earth | Father Doug | 10 episodes |
2017 | Baywatch | Councilman Rodriguez | |
2018 | Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition | Himself | Season 13: Celebrity Edition 4 |
2018–2019 | 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Sergeant Costas | 9 episodes |
2019 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Lionel Fernandez | Season 10 Episode 22: "No More Secrets" |
Where's Waldo? | Wizard Featherbeard (voice) | Episode: "Costa Rica... In Color!" | |
2019-2020 | Mr. Iglesias | Carlos | Netflix Original series |
2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride[16] | Inigo Montoya | Miniseries |
References
- "UPI Almanac for Monday, Nov. 18, 2019". United Press International. November 18, 2019. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
…actor Oscar Nunez in 1958 (age 62)
- Janet Varney (May 15, 2014). "Episode #109: Boys of Summer: Oscar Nunez". The JV Club (Podcast). Nerdist.com. Event occurs at 11:27. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- The JV Club at 10:36.
- "'Office' worker Nunez has a second 'Home'", New York Daily News, May 9, 2007. Accessed July 23, 2008.
- Girl on Guy Podcast 91, 20130418, Girlonguy.net
- The JV Club at 10:01.
- "The Offist Biographies" Archived 2012-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, May 17, 2010. Accessed May 16, 2010.
- Rabin, Nathan. "Oscar Nuñez". TV Club. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- "Michigan woman crowned 2010 Miss USA in Las Vegas", Forbes.com, May 16, 2010. Accessed May 16, 2010.
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4695530/news
- "Out with the Stars". Out with the Stars. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- Amazon.com product page for "I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom" recording.
- L.A. Theatre Works catalog page for "I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom" recording.
- "Ursula Whittaker". IMDb. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- "Oscar Nunez, Wife Ursula Whittaker Welcome Baby Girl August Luce". Us Weekly. October 10, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- Starner, Nina (June 26, 2020). "Quibi just announced a Princess Bride remake you never expected to see". Looper.com. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oscar Nuñez. |
- Oscar Nuñez at IMDb
- Oscar Nuñez at NBC.com's The Office