Photo: Richard Sandoval / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Michael Pena is my favorite kind of actor: the one who makes everyone around him better. From Crash to End of Watch, he brings a lived-in, working-class warmth that cannot be faked; you believe him instantly, whether he is breaking your heart or stealing a scene with sly comic timing. Chicago grit seems baked into his instincts. He has never needed top billing to leave the deepest impression in a film, and that, to me, is the truest measure of craft. Hollywood runs on stars, but it survives on actors like Pena, and I find his quiet, dependable excellence genuinely moving.
Overview
Michael Peña (; Spanish: [ˈpeɲa]; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including Crash (2004), World Trade Center (2006), Shooter (2007), Observe and Report (2009), Tower Heist (2011), Battle: Los Angeles (2011), End of Watch (2012), and Gangster Squad (2013).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Michael Peña
- Name (Japanese)
- マイケル・ペーニャ
- Reading
- まいける・ぺーにゃ
- Born
- January 13, 1976 (age 50)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Dragon
- Origin
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- stage actor / film actor / television actor / film producer / voice actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Marist High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Stage actor — see all → · Film actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.