Rick Najera
Known For: Acting
Biography
California born Rick Najera started his artistic career as an actor. He is an award-winning actor-writer-director-producer with credits in film, television, theatre and Broadway. Early in his career, he was inspired and mentored by Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg, Keenen Ivory Wayans and comedian Cheech Marin. Realizing there were few roles for him to play, he took matters into his own hands and started writing his way into Hollywood, and landed his first big writing gig on In Living Color. Rick Najera is one of three Latinos in the history of Broadway to write and star in his own show. Najera made his Broadway debut in 2005 with his award-winning sketch comedy show, Latinologues (TM), the longest running and only showcase of its kind for Latinos in America. Najera penned the holiday film Nothing Like the Holidays starring Debra Messing, Alfred Molina and John Leguizamo, which won him an Alma Award. He was also honored with two WGA nominations for his writing on MADtv. Najera has been honored twice as 100 Most Influential Latinos in America along with several other awards. Rick Najera's fourth book was released in 2013, Almost White: Forced Confessions of a Latino in Hollywood garnering a press tour and five-star reviews on Amazon.com. Rick Najera is the director of the annual CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase going on 12 years. Rick Najera is a regular contributor to NPR radio and is also a professional speaker (The World Bank, Google, Harvard Law School, Wellesley College, Stanford, CBS, CNN, Al Jazeera, UCLA and more). He is the writer of the multi-Emmy nominated Hulu original series, East Los High and producer of talk show, Latino Thought Makers.
Filmography
2020
- Feliz NaviDAD as Minister
2018
- Taco Shop ... (Writer)
2014
- Habla Men as Self
2013
- American Lowrider as Mr. Galvez
2011
- Legally Brown as Bubba Gomez
2010
- Maria Costa's Macho Men and the Women Who Love Them ... (Writer)
2008
- Loco Comedy Jam Volume 1 as Self
2007
- Universal Remote as Beta Max
- Pledge This! as Buford Gomez
2006
- National Lampoon's TV: The Movie as Alfredo Garcia Steven / Self
2004
- A Day Without a Mexican as Magician Announcer
1999
- The West Wing as Ivan 'Izzy' Perez
1997
- Spicy City as Vic Guapo (voice)
1995
- Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child as The Pig Farmer (voice)
1994
- Floundering as Good Samaritan
1993
- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ... (Writer)
- Bakersfield P.D. as Dispatcher
1989
- Red Surf as Calavera
1988
1981
- Falcon Crest as Paco
1971
- Columbo as Henry Santos