The actor who changed his fate in Hollywood with his performance in "Crash": Who is Michael Peña?

His full name is Michael Anthony Peña, he was born on January 13, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois. He was born the son of Eleuterio Peña, whose father was a factory worker, and Nicolasa, whose mother was a social worker. Growing up in the North Lawndale area, Peña was educated at Marist High School. He later enrolled and graduated from Hubbard High School, where he became a state qualifier in wrestling and track and field.

In 1996, he starred in the political comedy "My Fellow Americans" directed by Peter Segal. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, was also met with a production budget at the box office. In 1999, he appeared in five episodes as Brian Burke in the drama television series "Felicity" created by JJ Abrams and Matt Reeves. In 2000, he appeared as Ignacio in the action heist movie "Gone in 60 Seconds" directed by Dominic Sena. The film, which was met with negative reviews, was a healthy success at the box office.

In 2004, he starred in the sports drama movie "Million Dollar Baby" directed by Clint Eastwood. The film, which was successful at the box office, was critically acclaimed and won many awards. In the same year, he appeared as Daniel Ruiz in the crime drama "Crash" directed by Paul Haggis. The film, which received positive reviews from the critics, was successful at the box office with its revenue in return for the production budget. In addition to this, he has also received many awards and nominations.

The following year, he starred in the crime drama television series "The Shield", which premiered on FX and ran for seven seasons. Later, he appeared in the documentary drama disaster movie "World Trade Center" directed by Oliver Stone. The film, which received generally positive reviews from critics, was also financially healthy at the box office. Later in the year, he had a small role in the psychological drama film "Babel" directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The film, which received positive reviews, was also a financial gain at the box office.

In 2006, he played Sal Castro, a high school teacher, in the film "Walkout", directed by Edward James Olmos and based on a true story. His performance earned him nominations for the Black Reel Award, Imagen Award, and ALMA Award. In 2007, he appeared as Nick Memphis in the action thriller "Shooter" directed by Antoine Fuqua and based on a novel. The film, which grossed moderately at the box office, was met with mixed and average reviews from critics. That same year, he starred in the war drama film "Lions for Lambs" directed by Robert Redford, with Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Andrew Garfield. The film was met with both negative reviews and only moderate grossing.

Two years later, he starred as Dennis Chavante in the black comedy "Observe and Report" written and directed by Jody Hill. The film, which received average reviews, was also able to make a small commercial gain at the box office. In 2010, he appeared as Sebastian Cisneros in the sports comedy television series "Eastbound & Down" on HBO. In 2011, he appeared as Joe Rincon in the military science fiction action movie "Battle: Los Angeles" directed by Jonathan Liebesman. The film, which achieved a successful revenue at the box office after its release, resulted in negative reviews from critics. He was nominated for an ALMA Award for his performance.

That same year, he starred in the legal thriller "The Lincoln Lawyer", directed by Brad Furman and based on a novel. The film, which received mostly positive reviews, also grossed twice the production budget at the box office. He then appeared in the action comedy "30 Minutes or Less" directed by Ruben Fleischer, with Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari and Nick Swardson. The film resulted in both positive reviews from critics and a moderate box office success. Later that year, he appeared in a supporting role in the heist comedy film "Tower Heist" directed by Brett Ratner. Upon its release, the film resulted in mixed reviews and moderate box office receipts.

In 2012, he co-starred with Jake Gyllenhaal in the action thriller "End of Watch" written and directed by David Ayer. After its release, it was a huge success with a small production budget. It was also generally critically acclaimed and earned Spirit Award and MTV Movie Award nominations. The following year, he starred in the action crime thriller "Gangster Squad" directed by Ruben Fleischer. The film, which grossed moderately at the box office, received mixed reviews from critics.

Also in 2013, Peña voiced in the animated sports comedy "Turbo" produced by DreamWorks Animation. The critically acclaimed film grossed more than double its production budget at the box office. He then starred in the black comedy crime film "American Hustle" directed by David O. Russell. The movie, which resulted in a successful box office revenue, was also appreciated by the critics and was crowned with awards as a cast.

In 2014, he played the lead role in a biopic called "Cesar Chavez" about the life of labor leader Cesar Chavez. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, did not find success at the box office. Despite this, he won the Special Achievement Award at the ALMA Awards and the Best Actor Award at the Imagen Awards for his performance. 

Later in the year, he appeared in the war movie "Fury", written and directed by David Ayer, with Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman and Jon Bernthal. The film, which received positive reviews, achieved the same success at the box office. He also took a voice role in the adult animated sitcom "Chozen" aired on FX. Additionally, he appeared as Mark Solano in the crime drama television series “Gracepoint” created by Chris Chibnall.

The following year, he appeared as Luis in the superhero movie "Ant-Man" based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Upon its release, it resulted in positive reviews from critics and a box office success. In 2015, he took the lead role in the supernatural horror movie "The Vatican Tapes" directed by Mark Neveldine. The film, which was released by Lionsgate on July 24, 2015, was met with negative reviews with a production budget-matching gross.

He then appeared in the road comedy "Vacation", written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Despite a healthy box office success, the film resulted in negative reviews. Later that year, he appeared in a supporting role in the science fiction movie "The Martian" directed by Ridley Scott. Upon its release, the film resulted in a huge commercial gain and became the 10th highest-grossing film of 2015. It has also won awards and nominations, along with many positive reviews.

In 2016, he appeared in the fantasy drama "Collateral Beauty" directed by David Frankel with Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren. The film, which was criticized by critics, managed to achieve a healthy income at the box office. In 2017, Peña voiced in an animated musical fantasy film called "My Little Pony: The Movie". After its release, the film was a success with its production budget in return. Despite this, it garnered mixed reviews from critics.

The next year, he played one of the leading roles in the action war movie "12 Strong" directed by Nicolai Fuglsig. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, was able to earn moderate financial gains at the box office. He then starred in the science fiction adventure movie "A Wrinkle in Time", based on the novel of the same name. The film received mixed reviews from critics, grossing nearly the same as its production budget at the box office.

Also in 2018, he portrayed the same role in the superhero movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp", the sequel to the series. The film was successful both critically and at the box office. He later got a lead role in the science fiction action movie "Extinction" directed by Ben Young. Later in the year, he took part in the crime drama "The Mule", starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, playing one of the leading roles. The film received generally positive reviews and was a good success at the box office. He also appeared in its first season as Kiki Camarena in the crime drama broadcast television series "Narcos: Mexico", which premiered on Netflix.

The following year, he appeared as Cole Marquez in the adventure comedy film "Dora and the Lost City of Gold" directed by James Coil. The film was both a success at the box office and met with rave reviews from critics. In 2020, he appeared in the supernatural horror movie "Fantasy Island" directed by Jeff Wadlow as one of the main roles, Mr. Roarke. The film, which was met with negative reviews from critics, was able to make a healthy financial profit at the box office.

In 2021, he got a voiceover role in the live-action/computer-animated slapstick comedy film "Tom & Jerry" based on cartoon characters named . The film, which met with mixed reactions after its release, was able to earn a moderate amount at the box office. In 2022, he was cast as part of the main cast in the science fiction disaster film "Moonfall", co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. The film, which received negative and mixed reviews from critics, was considered a box office bomb against an expensive production budget.

He later got a lead role as Ansel Argon in the superhero comedy "Secret Headquarters" directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Released on August 12, 2022, the film received generally mixed reviews.

Private life

In 2006, Peña married Brie Shaffer. The couple has a son named Roman, born in 2008.

Peña formed the Los Angeles rock band "Nico Vega", named after his mother, in 2005, and left the band two years later to pursue an acting career.