Jonny Cruz

He is also the voice of Lúcio in the video game Overwatch and the voice of Lucas Rivera in Need for Speed Heat. His experience in filmmaking has also covered activities as producer, director, writer, editor, SFX artist, voice artist and cinematographer.

• Name — Jonny Cruz • Birth Name — Jonathan Willie Hernández • Born — 1 December 1982 • Birthplace — El Paso, Texas, U.S. • Education — University of Texas at Arlington • Occupation — * Actor • scriptwriter • producer • filmmaker • musician • Height — 5′ 10″

Jonny Cruz was born Jonathan Willie Hernández in El Paso, Texas, on December 1, 1982, and is the son of Maritza Pagan and Orlando Hernández, younger brother of two children with his sister Sharlene. Jonny chose to use Cruz as his professional last name in honor of his Grandmother Nayda Cruz. He attended school in El Paso and studied abroad in Würzburg, Germany, in early grade school. Cruz started acting and performing in his early years in the fourth grade with his first role as Brom Bones in the play Sleepy Hollow. He continued his studies and never lost the chance to keep performing at Eastwood High School and went on to study acting and filmmaking at the University of Texas at Arlington. The ability to be so completely lost in the moment and find perfection through performance and filmmaking attracted Cruz to the art form. Cruz found himself fascinated with Improv comedy performance and joined the well known Four Day Weekend Performance Team in Fort Worth. While performing, Cruz continued to shoot short videos to showcase his comedic and technical talents.

Cruz studied computer science, acting, filmmaking and communication media, all of which he used to understand the complex process of film making. His computer skills allowed him to work as web designer and his passion for acting always prompted him to audition for movie roles as they came. Cruz stated, “I loved to learn so, I would spend endless hours working on the computer learning editing software, visual FX programs, I felt that I could pretty much make a movie on my own from beginning to end after learning all the different aspects of movie making”. So in 2005, with enough knowledge on technical and theoretical aspects of movie making, Cruz made his first incursion as writer, director and producer, besides his acting role, with Cool Wheels where he co-worked with college friends Robby Storey and Kim Matula. He then went on to produce, write, act and direct Small Timers, his first feature-length film. Small Timers took six years to complete due to severe technical difficulties, and Cruz stated that completing the film was one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. In 2013, Cruz featured as Jimmy Romero in the film Infiltraitors, his third production with Sabbatical Pictures. His first and second works with this company were Exit Speed and Haunting at the Beacon. Infiltrators was Cruz's first lead in a feature film. Also in 2013, Cruz performed Victor in the action film Gone Missing. Since 2016, Cruz has appeared as the voice of Lúcio in the highly popular game Overwatch, and reprised the role for Heroes of the Storm.

Cruz has made music for his own movies, such as Small Timers and plays the guitar and performs musical improv with his team Power Up, who with he has played shows in Los Angeles and Hollywood as well as shows at iOwest, Comedy Sportz and The Clubhouse and UCB in California.

Cruz teaches “Self Confidence & Improv” for famous author Neil Strauss consisting of a motivational speaking and helping people to find their best self through facing their fears, Improv being one of the tools to help gain confidence. He also supports “A Course in Miracles”, which is a foundation for inner peace and is method of coping with fear by shifting your perspective from fear to love, parting from the statement that “fear is an illusion that we create”. He also streams on streaming platform, Twitch, as a side hobby. His first stream was on October the 6th 2pm PST, with viewers who tuning in to see the Lúcio voice actor game playing Overwatch. Over time he has created a fanbase of viewers and friends who tune in regularly as he streams each week.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2004 — Sing for Me — The Immigrant — Also Writer of additional dialogue • 2006 — Lazer’s Night Moves — Corey Luján • 2007 — Lion's Den — Cinematographer • 2007 — Little Boy — Grip • 2007 — Relation — Camera operator • 2010 — Cool Wheels — Brent — Also director, writer, producer, editor, executive producer, producer, editor, special effects, casting • 2013 — The Text Pervention Hotline — Hot Guy

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2007 — Prison Break — Inmate — Episode: "Fire/Water" • 2009 — The Closer — Cruz Soto — Episode: "The Life" • 2010 — DialStar — Barnes — 4 episodes • 2011 — Missing Peace — Director • 2011 — Supah Ninjas — Domenic The Magnificent — Episode: "The Magnificent" • 2012 — General Hospital — Ramón — 2 episodes • 2013 — CollegeHumor Originals — Zayn — Episode: "What U Wanna Hear" • 2013 — Don't Trust the B— in Apartment 23 — James Martinez — Episode: "The D..." • 2013 — NCIS: Los Angeles — Raul Herrera/Massil Al-Hawati — Episode: "Fish Out Of Water" • 2013–2014 — Third String Kicker — Cane Wielding Assassin, Robber — 2 episodes • 2014 — Matador — Performing Ricky Sandoval — 10 episodes • 2016 — Castle — Zane Cannon — Episode: "Much Ado About Murder" • 2016–2019 — The Stinky & Dirty Show — Chopper (voice) — 11 episodes • 2016 — Poser — Colt Cortez — Episode: "Pilot" • 2017 — Hers and History — Jason — Episode: "Episode #1.7" • 2017 — The Attack — Himself — Episode: "All's Faire in Love and Roasts" • 2019 — Seis Manos — Jesús (voice) — 8 episodes • 2021 — The Casagrandes — Artemio (voice) — Episode: "Achy Breaky Art"

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2012 — Prototype 2 — Additional Voices • 2016 — Hitman — Jordan Cross • 2016 — Overwatch — Lúcio Correia dos Santos • 2017 — Heroes of the Storm — Lúcio Correia dos Santos • 2017 — Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands — El Boquita • 2018 — Red Dead Redemption 2 — The Local Pedestrian Population • 2019 — Need for Speed Heat — Lucas Rivera • 2022 — Overwatch 2 — Lúcio Correia dos Santos • 2023 — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III — Felix "Slamfire" Ortiz

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2017 — Vanquished — Jay Goldston — Season 2, Main Cast • 2018 — Perception Check — Sham Sham — 3 episodes • 2018 — Roguelike — Various characters — 3 episodes

Cruz made musical beat compilations in Small Timers. Does Musical Improv with his team Power Up, a cappella style with harmonies and beat-boxing.

Cruz played Juan Francisco “Frankie” in Charity: Part III of A Mexican Trilogy, directed by José Luis Valenzuela, starring Ofelia Medina.