Oscar Nunez

Oscar Nunez
Nuñez in Los Angeles, California in February 2009
Born	(1958-11-18) November 18, 1958[1] Colón, Cuba[2]
Other names	Oscar Núñez
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Years active	2000–present

Oscar Nunez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Núñez, is a Cuban American actor and comedian.

He was a member of The Groundlings and later portrayed Dunder Mifflin's paper supply accountant, Oscar Martinez, on NBC's The Office. He also created and co-starred in the Comedy Central series Halfway Home in 2007. In 2014, he co-starred in the short-lived USA Network comedy series Benched.

Life and career

Nunez's mother, a dentist, and his father, a lawyer, were classmates of Fidel Castro at the University of Havana. Nunez was born in Cuba, but his parents moved first to Venezuela, and then to the United States. His family moved to Boston when he was two years old and then to Union City, New Jersey when he was four.^[3][4] He is bilingual in English and Spanish. Having attended various colleges in New York, including Fashion Institute of Technology and the Parsons School of Design for writing, Nunez became a certified dental technician from Magna Institute of Dental Technology.^[5]

Nunez started his comedy career in New York, performing over 300 shows with The Shock of the Funny theater company. The troupe was active in the East Village for several years. In addition to his work with Shock, Nunez appeared in theater in New York and Washington, D.C. before moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1990s. In LA, he joined The Groundlings and performed in their Sunday Company. While with the Groundlings, he wrote and starred in a production called "Smooth Down There."

In 1997, Nunez graduated from the Warner Brothers Comedy Writer’s Workshop. In 1999, he was a finalist in the ABC Latino Writers Project.

In 1998, he appeared on the game show Match Game, wearing a Dio shirt, but was not a winner.

Nunez was Adam Carolla's stand-in on The Man Show.

Nunez's television credits include Malcolm in the Middle, 24, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reno 911!, The District and Mad TV, in addition to his role on The Office. He was also the creator and executive producer of the Comedy Central series Halfway Home, in which he co-starred as the character Eulogio Pla.

His film credits include The Italian Job (as a security guard), Reno 911!: Miami, and When Do We Eat?. In 2009, Nunez played the role of Ramon, the caterer, stripper, soda jerk, and finally clergy performing the wedding ceremony in The Proposal. In 2012, Nunez played the role of Jose Baez, an attorney in the Lifetime movie Prosecuting Casey Anthony.

Nunez appeared as one of eight judges in the 2010 Miss USA Contest, posing a question about the Arizona illegal immigrant law to Miss Oklahoma USA, Morgan Elizabeth Woolard. Nunez was booed by the audience before finishing the question; however he asked the audience to wait until he finished the question before they reacted. Although Woolard replied that she supports the law as a state rights issue, she added that she is against racial profiling.^[6]

In 2014, Nunez co-starred alongside Eliza Coupe and Jay Harrington in the short-lived USA Network comedy series Benched.

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oscar Nuñez.

• Oscar Nuñez at the Internet Movie Database
• Oscar Nuñez at NBC.com's The Office