Efren Ramirez Biography
Efren Ramirez may not yet be a household name, but his visage is already etched in the minds of millions of moviegoers, thanks to one role. As Pedro, the diminutive, bumbling Latino sidekick who runs for student office in Jared_Hess' quirky 2004 cult film Napoleon_Dynamite, Ramirez does wonders with small-scale comic schtick. But Dynamite only marked the beginning; Ramirez refuses to be typed, continually testing his mettle and expanding his repertoire by branching out into a broad array of roles and character types. "Now I must tell you," he admitted to an interviewer, "[Dynamite] is only the beginning. Wait until you see my next films. I enjoy the exploration of characters...[and] I'm only getting started."
Born in Los Angeles to a slightly itinerant family of mixed Salvadorian and Mexican descent, Ramirez attended parochial schools as a youngster, while his working-class parents sustained two jobs apiece to fund their children's private education. Mrs. Ramirez inadvertently sent Efren and his brothers to after-school drama classes in an effort to keep them out of trouble, but in Efren's case, the casual pastime blossomed into a passion. Mentored in drama by the famed actress Diane_Venora (F/X, Bird, Heat), as well as thespians Laura_Henry and Gloria_E._Gifford, Ramirez expended blood, sweat, and tears to hone his acting ability to a fine point; he frequently landed supporting roles in such TV series as Judging_Amy, The_District, ER, and Boston_Public. His official big screen debut, however, arrived in the form of Tom_Musca's little-seen 1998 sociopolitical satire Race (aka Melting_Pot), about a Chicano housepainter from East L.A. (Paul_Rodriguez) who runs for city council office. Tertiary roles in Carl_Schenkel's 2000 Hallmark Hall of Fame effort Missing_Pieces and Ron_Krauss' 2001 Rave followed, but Ramirez went little noticed in either film.
Only in 2003, when director Jared_Hess enlisted Ramirez to play Pedro in his debut feature Napoleon_Dynamite did Ramirez's visibility shoot off like a rocket. He worked diligently to develop the Pedro characterization, and brushed up on his exposure to Buster_Keaton and Charlie_Chaplin, weaving influences from each screen comedian into his own voice and emerging with a thoroughly unique character. Dynamite, of course, became the success d'estime of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and a surprise runaway hit; it also made Ramirez' career.
Innumerable offers and projects followed, which saw Ramirez gradually ascend to higher and higher billing. The most immediate efforts included key contributions to four well-profiled 2006 productions. Crank, an urban thriller from Lionsgate with Jason_Statham and Amy_Smart, in which Ramirez portrays the transvestite Kaylo; the same year's comedy All_You've_Got, co-starring Faizon_Love and Clara Harris; and the 2006 Dane_Cook/Jessica_Simpson vehicle Employee of the Month, wherein Ramirez appears as Jorge.
2006's Walk Out, from MTV Films, marked Ramirez's first lead performance. He starrred opposite Edward_James_Olmos, Michael_Pena, and Alexa_Vega, as Bobby Verdugo, an East L.A.-born Chicano student who fights for better educational conditions during the Chicano movement in 1968.
Nathan Southern, Rovi
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