Sal Lopez

Sal Lopez is popular for his performance in films like ‘American Me’ (1992), where he played the role of Pedro Santana and ‘Return of the Living Dead 3’ (1993), where he played the role of Felipe. Born on 8th November 1954 in Mexico, Lopez has been acting in various films, TV shows, drama since the 1980’s. He is the founding member of the Latino Theatre Company as well as the Manager for Arenas Entertainment. He was first seen doing an episodic appearance on ‘The Applicant’ in the year 1979. He was then, seen on the film called ‘Midnight Madness’ by Buena Vista performing the role of Blade. In the same year, he made guest appearances on the episodes of the NBC series ‘Hill Street Blues’, playing the role of a Puerto Rican. He has appeared on our TV screens and the big screen since then. In 1982, he played Hobo in the movie ‘Zoot Suit’ by Universal as well as made a special appearance in ‘ Journey Click to look into! >> Read More... to Survival’ as Cesar Martinez, a CBS series. Also, Lopez made episodic appearances on two NBC series called ‘Diff’rnt Strokes’ as Roberto and as Carlos in ‘CHiPS.’ After a year’s gap, in 1984, Lopez played the role of Chuey Verdugio in the HBO movie, ‘The Glitter Dome’ and also played the role of Luis Molina in the episode “Gang War” of the ABC series ‘T.J. Hooker’. In 1985, Lopez acted as an Illegal Alien in the documentary ‘Get out of My Room’ directed by Cheech Marin.

After this, in 1876, he only made an episodic appearance in the “Overnight Sensation” in the series ‘Hunter’ as Melendez. In 1987, he bagged the role of T.H.E. Rock in the movie ‘Full Metal Jacket’ by Warner Bros and supporting roles in the films ‘Born in East L.A.’ and ‘Million Dollar Mystery.’ He made special appearances in the PBS series called ‘Corridos Tales of Passion and Revolution’ and ‘Wiseguy’. He was also a part of an ABC series ‘Dolly’. The Latino Charm of this actor has always drawn viewer’s attention in any of his films or TV shows. Because of his charm, he had also been a dancer in ‘A Romantic Evening in Old Mexico’ (Canciones de mi Padre) in the year, 1988. Later in 1989, Lopez made a special appearance in the PBS series ‘Linda Ronstadt’s Canciones de mi padre’. In 1990, he bagged various roles in movies as Carlos in ‘Pucker Up and Bark like a Dog’, Sentry in ‘El Diablo’, Chico in ‘Down the Drain’ and Steve Rodriguez in ‘Cartel.’ He made episodic appearances as Bartender in “Nowhere to Turn” in the series ‘Matlock’ and as Molina in “Pointers from Paz” in the series ‘Shades of L.A.’ He performed the supporting role of a young doctor in the movie ‘Cold Heaven’ by Hemdale Film Corp. in 1991. He was a part of the pilot episodes of two NBC series - ‘Reasonable Doubts’ as Alvarez and ‘Lockwell.’ Apart from ‘American Me’, Lopez made a special appearance in the series ‘Without a Pass’ and the movie ‘From the Files of Joseph: A Jury of One’ in 1992.

Then, in 1993, we saw him in the TriStar movie ‘Mr. Jones’ as Henry, a miniseries ‘The Fire Next Time’ as Emiliano Valdez and in the CBS series ‘River of Rage: The Taking of Maggie Keene’ as Paco. In 1994, he played the role of Chicano in ‘There Goes My Baby’ and the role of Luis in ‘Blue Tiger.’ Later, in 1995, Lopez performed the role of El Mohado in ‘And the Earth did not Swallow Him’ and the role of Boone in ‘Journey.’ He was the supervisor, Sanchez in the ABC series ‘Breaking Through’ (1996). Lopez got more opportunities in the following year. He played several roles in films such as – ‘Selena’ as Juan Luis, ‘The End of Violence’ as Titu, ‘Out to Sea’ as a Mexican dancer and ‘Flypaper’ as Leon. He also performed the role of Randy in the CBS series ‘Sleeping with the Devil’ and appeared in the “World Premiere” episode of ‘Nightman’. For all those who love Batman, Lopez gave the voice of Enrique El Gancho in the animated series ‘Batman Gotham Knights’. He also made an episodic appearance in the series ‘Dangerous Minds’ as Father Rios. In 1998 and 99, Lopez didn’t act in any films but appeared in two episodes of the series – ‘Melrose Place’ as Father Maldonado and in an episode of ‘Snoops’. He was the voice of Salvador Limones in the video game ‘Grim Fandango’. After a gap of a year, he played the role of Hector Salmon in ‘Price of Glory’ and Castillo in ‘Missing Pieces’ in 2000. He also played the role of Pablo in the movie ‘Luminaries’ which he produced. He played the role of E.M.T. Emilio Garza in the ABC series ‘Port Charles’ till ’02. He worked in the replacement dialogue group for ‘The Way of the Gun.’

He also acted as a Hispanic Man in the series ‘ER.’ He played the supporting role of a cop in ‘Gabriela’ and appeared in the episodes of the two series such as - ‘NYPD Blue’ and ‘Resurrection Blvd.’ in 2001. In 2002, he played the role of a pump attendant in the Twentieth Century-Fox Film ‘The Banger Sisters’ and the role of Chuck Lopez in ‘Hunter: Return to Justice.’ He also appeared in the pilot episode “Beto” of the ABC series ‘American Family’. He made special appearances in two CBS series – ‘Touched by An Angel’ and ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.’ In 2003, Lopez gave additional voices in the episode “Mystery of the Batwoman”, in the ‘Batman Gotham Knight’ series. He was also a part of the pilot episode of ‘Nip/Tuck’ as Julio Esperanza and in an episode of the series ‘The Lyon’s Den’. In 2004, he played the role of Loco in ‘El Padrino’ and Tony Guerra in ‘Silver City.’ He gave the voice for a show called ‘King of the Hill’ in 2005. In the 2006 film ‘The Astronaut Farmer’, Lopez played the role of Pepe Gracia. In 2007, he bagged the characters in the movies ‘The Onion Movie’ and ‘American Son.’ He also performed on the TV show ‘American Heiress’. Then, in 2008, he acted in the film ‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua’. He also acted in series such as – ‘The Shield’ and ‘ Life Click to look into! >> Read More... .’ In 2011, he performed in the show called ‘Off the Map.’ Lopez made an appearance in the famous series called ‘Castle’ in 2012. In the following years, he bagged a role in the movie ‘Cry now’ in 2013 and the 2014 series ‘The Bridge.’ Sal Lopez was a recipient of awards such as ALMA Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in Made for Television Movie or Mini – series, DramaLogue Award for August 29th, and National Council of La Razo Bravo Award nomination. Though he acted in various movies in 1980’s, Lopez continues to charm us till today. His recent projects include the film ‘Road to Juarez’ with William Forsythe, and the TV shows - ‘Code Black’, ‘Agent X’ in 2015. He also produced and performed his solo show called ‘This is a Man’s World’ at Los Angeles Theatre Centre. He is also the narrator for ‘Masa Revolution’. His upcoming projects are the movies ‘Water Power’ and ‘Boyle Heights’ in 2016. He played the lead role of a detective in ‘Water Power’. In an interview, he gives his views on Water and Power Company and other utilities and the issue of corruption in current times. Lopez’s acting skills are exemplary. He does justice to the role he’s given and provides his audience with his best performance. Hopefully, we will get to see this talented actor in more films and TV shows. He is an inspiration for all the aspiring Latino actors.