Efren Ramirez

Efren Ramírez
Ramirez at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Efrain Antonio Ramírez (1973-10-02) October 2, 1973 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Iyari Limon ​ ​ (m. 1998; ann. 1999)​

Efrain Antonio Ramírez (born October 2, 1973) is an American actor and DJ, best known for playing Pedro Sánchez in the 2004 indie film Napoleon Dynamite. He later reprised his role in the 2012 animated series of the same name.

Early life

Ramírez was born in Los Angeles, California, to Salvadoran parents. He has four brothers, one of whom is his identical twin Carlos.

Career

Ramirez has starred in a number of films, including Napoleon Dynamite as Pedro Sánchez, Employee of the Month, Crank and Crank: High Voltage, Searching for Mickey Fish, All You've Got, and Walkout and made cameos in Nacho Libre and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. In 2009, Efren starred in the comedy American Summer as well as appearing as a contestant on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar. On July 14, 2008 Sierra Mist released a series of commercials aimed at multicultural consumers in which Efren stars.

Soon after the success of Napoleon Dynamite, the music group G. Love and Special Sauce asked Efren to appear in their music video "Booty Call". He also played Ashlee Simpson's boyfriend in the music video for her 2005 song "Boyfriend". Ramírez made a cameo appearance in a 2005 episode of ABC's George López wearing a T-shirt similar to the shirt Jon Heder wears in Napoleon Dynamite that reads, "Vote For Pedro". In 2007 Ramírez appeared as the judge for an acting challenge on Cycle 8 of America's Next Top Model.

Ramírez made several cameos throughout his career. In King Cobra, he portrayed a teenager playing a game of hide-and-seek with his girlfriend (portrayed by Ramirez's wife Iyari Limon). They later end up as prey for the title antagonist. In the music video for Sleazy, Pedro appears as a cameo and lip syncs André 3000's verse.

He co-founded Powerhouse Pictures Entertainment, LLC with Chris Barrett, and they co-authored the book Direct Your Own Life: How To Be A Star in Any Field You Choose being published on June 10, 2008 through Kaplan Publishing.

Personal life

In 1998, Ramírez married actress Iyari Limon. The marriage was later annulled.

Ramírez is also a DJ, who has performed worldwide and toured in over 50 cities across 5 continents. His sets include a variety of music, from hip hop, funk, disco, to hard house. His production company "Nocturnal Rampage" throws a recurring rave event every summer in Austin, Texas.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1994	Tammy and the T-Rex	Pizza Boy
1995	Jury Duty	Pirate Pete's employee
1996	Kazaam	Carlos
1998	Melting Pot	Miguel Álvarez
1999	King Cobra	Teen Boy	Direct-to-video release
2000	Rave	Bookie
2001	Delivering Milo	Street Hustler	Uncredited role
2004	Napoleon Dynamite	Pedro Sánchez
	Just Hustle	Street Connection
2006	Tomorrow's Yesterday	Ron
	Gettin' Some Jail Time	Pico
	Crank	Kaylo
	Employee of the Month	Jorge Mecico
	Walkout	Bobby Verdugo
2007	Moola	Hector
	Crossing the Heart	Jesus
2009	Ratko: The Dictator's Son	Ratko Volvic
	American Summer	Hector
	Gamer	DJ Twist
	Crank: High Voltage	Venus/Kaylo
2010	When in Rome	Juan	Uncredited role
2011	The Pool Boys	Hector
2012	Casa de Mi Padre	Esteban
2014	School Dance	El Matador
2015	Endgame	Mr. Alvarado
2016	Varsity Punks	Coach Menlo
	Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life	Gus
2017	Trafficked	Enrique
	Mad Families	Rolando
2022	Lightyear	Airman Díaz
2022	Satanic Hispanics	The Traveler
2023	Due Justice	Detective Santigo

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Relativity	Xavier	Episode: "No Job Too Small"
1997	Dangerous Minds	Nutty	Episode: "The Feminine Mystique"
	Nothing Sacred	Guillermo	Episode: "A Bloody Miracle"
1999	Ryan Caulfield: Year One	Juan	Episode: "Nocturnal Radius"
	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Paco	Episode: "Paco Come Home"
2000	Missing Pieces	Renaldo	TV film
2000, 2001	Boston Public	Amaad Wilkens	Episodes: "Chapter Six", "Chapter Twenty-Two"
	Even Stevens	Scrub Patrol	Episodes: "Scrub Day", "Easy Crier"
2003	Judging Amy	Ricky Diaz	Episode: "Picture of Perfect"
	ER	Jimmy	Episode: "Death and Taxes"
2004	The District	Fernando Guttierez	Episode: "Ten Thirty-Three"
2005	George Lopez	The new class treasurer (parody of Pedro Sánchez)	Episode: "George's Extreme Makeover-Holmes Edition"
	Robot Chicken	Pedro Sanchez/Domino's Pizzaman	Voice role Episode: "The Black Cherry"
2006	Walkout	Bobby Verdugo	HBO TV film
	All You've Got	Carlos	MTV TV film
	MADtv	Various roles	Episode: 12.3
2007	El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera	El Cucharón	Voice role Episode: "The Bride of Puma Loco"
	American Dad!	Paco	Voice role Episode: "American Dream Factory"
	Celebrity Rap Superstar	Himself
	Scrubs	"Caramel Bear" Ricky	Episode: "My Growing Pains"
2010	Eastbound & Down	Catuey	Season 2
2012	Napoleon Dynamite	Pedro Sánchez	Voice role
2015	Constantine	Julio	Episode: "The Saint of Last Resorts: Part 2"
2016	Bordertown	Ruiz Gonzalez	Voice role
	Deadbeat	Morgue Ghost	Season 2
2020	Perpetual Grace, LTD	Felipe Guillermo Usted	Episodes: "Eleven" "Felipe G. Usted. Almost First Mexican on the Moon. Part 1" "Felipe G. Usted. Almost First Mexican on the Moon. Part 2" "A Sheriff in the Era of the Cartel"
2021	The Casagrandes	Picosito	Voice role Episode: "Bend It Like Abuelo"
2022	Made for Love (TV series)	Oz Wimmer	S2E4: Episode: "Another Byron, Another Hazel"
2022	FBI: Most Wanted	Oscar Zamora	S4E3: Episode: "Succession"

External links

• Efren Ramirez on Twitter
• Efren Ramirez at IMDb