Efren Ramirez

Efrain Antonio Ramírez^[2] (born October 2, 1973)^[1] is an American actor, 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.

Efren Ramírez
Ramirez at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Efrain Antonio Ramírez (1973-10-02) October 2, 1973 (age 51)[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Iyari Limon ​ ​ (m. 1998; ann. 1999)​

Early life

Ramírez was born in Los Angeles, California, to Salvadoran parents. He has four brothers, one of whom is his identical twin Carlos.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Ramírez is also a DJ,^[6] 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.^[5]

Filmography

Film

Film work by Efren Ramirez Efren Ramirez's film credits

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1994	Tammy and the T-Rex	Boy	Film debut role
1995	Jury Duty	Pete's employee
1996	Kazaam	Carlos
1998	Melting Pot	Álvarez
1999	King Cobra	Boy	Direct-to-video
2000	Rave	Bookie
2001	Delivering Milo	Street Hustler	Uncredited
2004	Napoleon Dynamite	Pedro Sánchez
2004	Just Hustle	Street Connection
2006	Tomorrow's Yesterday	Ron	Short film
2006	Gettin' Some Jail Time	Pico	Short film
2006	Crank	Kaylo
2006	Employee of the Month	Jorge Mecico
2006	Walkout	Bobby Verdugo
2007	Moola	Hector	Independent film
2007	Crossing the Heart	Jesus
2009	Ratko: The Dictator's Son	Ratko Volvic	Direct-to-video
2009	The Pool Boys	Hector
2009	Gamer	DJ Twist
2009	Crank: High Voltage	Venus/Kaylo
2010	When in Rome	Juan	Uncredited
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
2016	Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life	Gus
2017	Trafficked	Enrique
2017	Mad Families	Rolando	Crackle original movie
2022	Lightyear	Airman Díaz (voice)
2022	Satanic Hispanics	The Traveler
2023	Due Justice	Detective Santigo

Television

Television work by Efren Ramirez Efren Ramirez's television credits

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1996	Relativity	Javier	Episode: "Fathers"
1997	Dangerous Minds	Nutty	Episode: "The Feminine Mystique"
1997	Nothing Sacred	Guillermo	Episode: "A Bloody Miracle"
1999	Ryan Caulfield: Year One	Juan	Episode: "Nocturnal Radius"
1999	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Paco	Episode: "Paco Come Home"
2000	Missing Pieces	Renaldo	Television film
2000 – 2001	Boston Public	Amaad Wilkens	2 episodes
2000 – 2001	Even Stevens	Scrub Patrol	2 episodes
2003	Judging Amy	Ricky Diaz	Episode: "Picture of Perfect"
2003	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"
2005	Robot Chicken	Pedro Sanchez / Domino's Pizzaman (voice)	Episode: "The Black Cherry"
2006	Walkout	Bobby Verdugo	Television film
2006	All You've Got	Carlos	Television film
2006	Mad TV	Various roles	2 episodes
2007	El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera	El Cucharón (voice)	2 episodes
2007	American Dad!	Paco (voice)	Episode: "American Dream Factory"
2007	Celebrity Rap Superstar	Himself	Television special
2007	Scrubs	"Caramel Bear" Ricky	Episode: "My Growing Pains"
2010	Eastbound & Down	Catuey	7 episodes
2012	Napoleon Dynamite	Pedro Sánchez (voice)	6 episodes
2015	Constantine	Julio	Episode: "The Saint of Last Resorts: Part 2"
2016	Bordertown	Ruiz González (voice)	Episode: "Viva Coyote"
2016	Deadbeat	Morgue Ghost	Episode: "El Caboose"
2019	Perpetual Grace, LTD	Felipe Guillermo Usted	9 episodes
2021	The Casagrandes	Picosito (voice)	Episode: "Bend It Like Abuelo"
2022	Made for Love	Oz Wimmer	Episode: "Another Byron, Another Hazel"
2022	FBI: Most Wanted	Oscar Zamora	Episode: "Succession"

References

1. "Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 27-Oct. 3". The Associated Press. September 21, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
2. "Efren Ramirez - Biography". Archived from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
3. "Efren Ramirez Bio - BuddyTV".
4. Sleazy Remix 2.0 Get Sleazier. January 27, 2012. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
5. "Efren Ramirez Biography - Yahoo! Movies". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
6. "Efren Ramirez - DJ Home". Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.

External links

• Efren Ramirez on Twitter
• Efren Ramirez at IMDb