Michael Peña Biography

Fast Facts

• Parents were farmers who migrated to the U
• S
• from Mexico
• His first role was in Peter Bogdanovich's movie-of-the-week To Sir, With Love 2
• Briefly lived in a van while pursuing acting work in Los Angeles
• Appeared in back-to-back Academy Award Best Picture winners Million Dollar Baby (2005) and Crash (2006)
• Lived with New York City Port Authority police officer Will Jimeno and his family before playing Jimeno in the film World Trade Center (2006)
• Was at the scene of a Los Angeles gang shooting with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2011
• The two were riding along with LAPD officers to prep for their roles in End of Watch