Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Valderrama | |
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 Wilmer Valderrama |
Wilmer Valderrama (born January 30, 1980) is a Venezuelan/American comic actor best known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show and as the host of the MTV series Yo Momma.
Biography
Early life
Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida, USA, on January 30, 1980. His parents Sobeida and Balbino Valderrama moved to Venezuela when he was three years old, then to Los Angeles when he was thirteen. He has two sisters, Marylin and Stephanie.[1]
He did not speak English upon his arrival, but he quickly learned the language in school and began drama classes during high school. Valderrama has said that he was aided in learning English from watching shows such as I Love Lucy.
Professional work
Valderrama got his start performing in numerous plays, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and Rumors. He made his professional debut in a Spanish-language Pacific Bell commercial. At his drama teacher's suggestion, he got an agent and was immediately cast in the CBS miniseries Four Corners and in Omba Makamba on the Disney Channel. He made his big screen debut starring opposite Freddie Prinze Jr., Brittany Murphy, Matthew Lillard and Jessica Biel in the Warner Brothers film Summer Catch.
Valderama played Fez on That '70s Show from 1998-2006; he was a junior in high school when the pilot episode was filmed. He also played DJ Keoki in the 2003 film Party Monster alongside Macaulay Culkin, Chloe Sevigny, Wilson Cruz and Seth Green. As of 2006, he hosted Yo Momma, a show he also created and produces.
Recent projects
Valderrama recently appeared in the Los Angeles Times critic's choice play Blackout, an adaption of the feature film Drunks, and starred opposite Anjelica Huston and Ben Kingsley in the Actors' Fund of America one-performance only reading of Sunset Boulevard. He has completed filming the short film La Torcedura in which he plays the lead, and recently wrapped production on The Darwin Awards, an independent film directed by Finn Taylor, starring Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes.
In animation work, Valderama voiced "Rodrigo" in Clifford's Really Big Movie, playing alongside John Ritter, Wayne Brady and Jenna Elfman. He also voices the main character, Manny, in Disney Channel’s Handy Manny series for preschoolers.[2]
He will soon begin work on a starring role in El Muerto, an indie film directed by Brian Cox and based on the successful comic book created by Javier Hernandez.[3]
In January 2007 Valderrama announced that he would launch his own men's fashion label called "Calavena".[4] Also Valderama made an appearance in Paula DeAnda's music video (Easy featuring Bow Wow).
Personal life
Valderrama was previously in a serious relationship with Julia K L.[5], dated Mandy Moore for 18 months in 2000, and dated Lindsay Lohan in 2003-2004.[6]
Filmography
Features:
- Summer Catch (2001)
- Party Monster (2003)
- Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004) (voice)
- Beauty Shop (2005)
- The Darwin Awards (2006)
- Fast Food Nation (2006)
- Unaccompanied Minors (2006)
- El Muerto (2007)
- The Condor (2007) (voice)
- Save the Date (2007)
Upcoming:
Short Subjects:
- La Torcedura (2004)
- Longtime Listener (2006)
Television Work
- Four Corners (1998) (canceled after 4 episodes)
- That '70s Show (1998-2006)
- Yo Momma (2006-present)
- Handy Manny (2006-present) (voice)
Reference
- ^ Many unofficial sources (i.e. blogs, pages that rely upon Wikipedia for their info, etc.) state that Valderama is of mixed Colombian and Venezuelan descent; while not unlikely, this is unverified.
- ^ Kidstcmovies: Wilmer Valderama bio
- ^ Wilmer Valderrama Official Site
- ^ Wilmer Valderrama to launch his own fashion label EnjoyFashion, January 04, 2007
- ^ Hollywood Gossip
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,781868,00.html