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Award-winning actor Kirk Acevedo was born on November 27, 1974 in New York City. Of Puerto Rican and Chinese descent, he has shown an interest in acting since he was a kid, first performing in front of his family, and later joining the drama club of LaGuardian High School of Performing Arts, where he studied. He eventually graudated with a BFA degree from the SUNY Purchase School of Acting.

He began acting in 1995, appearing in the television movie The Sunshine Boys. He had several other small roles on film and television afterwards. In 1997, inspired by the success of some of his classmates, he auditioned for a part in the acclaimed prison drama Oz, and eventually landed the role of Miguel Alvarez, the main Latino inmate in the series. His character’s father (Jose R. Rosario), grandfather (Tomas Milian) and pregnant girlfriend are serving time in the same prison. Raised in a poor neighborhood, he resorts to doing anything necessary to survive. He later becomes part of El Norte, and after several bouts with solitary confinement, descends to insanity. He was nominated for four ALMA Awards for this role.

During the time, Acevedo appeared in several other films, including Kirk and Kerry, Boiler Room and The Thin Red Line, which earned him his only ALMA Award. He also had parts in Third Watch and the war miniseries Band of Brothers. When Oz ended its run, he signed on for a role in the short-lived legal drama Law & Order: Trial by Jury, playing injured former police detective Hector Salazar. In 2007, he joined the cast of the ensemble drama The Black Donnellys, where he played suicidal Italian gangster Nicky Cottero. His most recent television role is in the science fiction series Fringe, where he co-stars alongside Joshua Jackson and Tomas Arana.

Kirk Acevedo was born on November 27, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York. Though his parents were also born natives of the Big Apple, he comes from a family line of mixed Chinese and Puerto Rican descent. He also has a brother named Richard, and the two of them were raised in the Bronx after their parents moved there. Ever since he was a young child, Kirk exhibited an aptitude in acting, and started out performing for his family in improvised presentations. He later studied at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, becoming heavily involved with the drama club. Among the productions he has worked on are 24, Band of Brothers, and NYPD Blue.

Miguel Alvarez is portrayed by Kirk Acevedo in the HBO prison drama television series Oz. He is carrying on a sad family tradition, with both his grandfather and his father also imprisoned in Oz. Miguel himself landed in the slammer after he assaulted an old man who had accidentally scratched his car. His girlfriend was convicted of the same crime and is doing time in the Parker Women’s facility. Miguel grew up in a tough and poor Latino neighborhood, and had to learn early on to do whatever he had to in order to survive.




(Photo courtesy of HBO)

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Kirk Acevedo

Kirk Acevedo

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