Yul Vazquez

Yul Vazquez (born March 18, 1965) is a Cuban-American actor and musician. He has appeared in Runaway Bride (1999), Bad Boys II (2003), War of the Worlds (2005), American Gangster (2007), The A-Team (2010), Captain Phillips (2013), The Infiltrator (2016), Midnight, Texas (2017–2018), Russian Doll (2019), and Severance (2022). Vazquez used to be the lead guitarist for melodic rock bands Urgent and Diving for Pearls. Early life Vazquez was born in Cuba on March 18, 1965 and came to the United States with his family as part of the Cuban Exodus in 1971. He was named after Russian actor Yul Brynner. He grew up in Miami in a studio apartment with his mother, grandmother and older sister, thus being the youngest as well as the only boy in the household. His mother encouraged him in the arts, often taking him to the theater where she worked, and she bought him his first drum set and camera. Acting career Vazquez started his acting career with filler parts in his mother's plays, which led to discovery by an agent who encouraged him to go to acting school. In the 80s, he was lead guitarist for two Billboard-charted rock bands. His musical skills led him to land the part of Flaco in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings. Vazquez went on to numerous film and television projects. With over 40 film credits, other highlights include roles in six time Oscar nominee Captain Phillips (2013), The A-Team (2010) with Liam Neeson, John Sayles's Amigo, Steven Soderbergh’s two-part epic Che (2008), The Take (2008), American Gangster, Music Within (2007), War of the Worlds (2005), Bad Boys II (2003), Traffic and Runaway Bride (1999). He has also been in Kill the Messenger starring Jeremy Renner and directed by Michael Cuesta; Anesthesia; and The Cobbler, opposite Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman and Steve Buscemi.