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Óscar Núñez (born November 18, 1958),[1] sometimes credited as Oscar Nunez, is a Cuban-American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Óscar Martínez on NBC's The Office.
He was a member of The Groundlings and later became a regular cast member on The Office. He also created and co-starred in the Comedy Central series Halfway Home in 2007, and in 2014 co-starred in the short-lived USA Network comedy series Benched. Since 2018, he has appeared in a series of State Farm commercials.
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Núñez was born in Colón, Cuba.[2] Núñez's mother, a dentist, and father, a lawyer, attended school at the University of Havana while Fidel Castro was a student there. The family moved first to Caracas, Venezuela, in 1960 and then to the United States.[3] His family moved to Boston when he was two years old and then to Union City, New Jersey, when he was four.[4][5] He became a naturalized American citizen in 1964.[6] He is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish. Núñez attended various colleges in New York, including the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Parsons School of Design. He became a certified dental technician after studying at the Magna Institute of Dental Technology.[7]
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Núñez 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, Núñez appeared in theater in New York and Washington, D.C. before moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1990s. In L.A., 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, Núñez 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 but was not a winner.[8] Núñez was Adam Carolla's stand-in on The Man Show.
Núñez'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 won the 2007 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Broadband Comedy for The Office: The Accountants. 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, Núñez played the role of Ramon, the caterer, stripper, soda jerk, and finally clergy performing the wedding ceremony in The Proposal. In 2012, Núñez played the role of Jose Baez, an attorney in the Lifetime movie Prosecuting Casey Anthony.
Núñez appeared as one of eight judges in the 2010 Miss USA Contest, posing a question about the Arizona undocumented immigrant law to Miss Oklahoma USA, Morgan Elizabeth Woolard. Núñez 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.[9]
In 2014, Núñez co-starred alongside Eliza Coupe and Jay Harrington in the short-lived USA Network comedy series Benched.
In 2016, Núñez appeared as a regular in the TBS comedy series, People of Earth.[10]
In 2018, Núñez portrayed State Farm Insurance Agent Cole Perez in a series of commercials.[11]
In July 2018, Núñez took on the role of Desi Arnaz, starring in the world premiere production of I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom, a behind-the-scenes stage comedy about I Love Lucy by Gregg Oppenheimer (son of series creator Jess Oppenheimer). Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA's James Bridges Theater, the L.A. Theatre Works production aired on public radio and has been released on Audio CD and as a downloadable mp3.[12][13]
From 2019 to 2020, Núñez portrayed Assistant Principal Carlos Hernandez on the Netflix original comedy series Mr. Iglesias.
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Núñez is married to actress Ursula Whittaker, and they have one child.[14]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Italian Job | Security Guard | |
| 2005 | When Do We Eat? | Santa Designer | |
| 2007 | Reno 911!: Miami | Jose Jose Jose | |
| 2009 | The Proposal | Ramone | |
| 2011 | Without Men | Priest Rafael | |
| Language of a Broken Heart | Adam Lebowitz | ||
| 2014 | Tell | Father Jack | |
| 2015 | The 33 | Yonni Barrios | |
| 2016 | Miss Stevens | Principal Albert Alvarez | |
| Mascots | Cesar Hidalgo | ||
| 2017 | Baywatch | Councilman Rodriguez | |
| 2022 | The Lost City | Óscar | |
| Raymond & Ray | Lawyer | ||
| Disenchanted | Edgar | ||
| A Christmas Mystery | Glenn Martin | ||
| 2023 | Dashing Through the Snow | Conrad Harf | |
| The Long Game | Principal Guerra |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Male Parking Attendant | Episode: "Interior Decorator" |
| 2001 | Grounded for Life | Security Guard | Episode: "I Wanna Be Suspended" |
| 2002–2003 | Malcolm in the Middle | Ranch Hand | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Still Standing | Tim | Episode: "Still Hairdressing" |
| Reno 911! | Captain Dwayne Hernandez | 2 episodes | |
| 24 | Pilot | Episode: "Day 3: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m." | |
| 2005–2013 | The Office | Oscar Martínez | Main cast; 189 episodes |
| 2006 | Reno 911! | "Spanish Mike" Alvarez | Episode: "Spanish Mike Returns" |
| 2007 | Halfway Home | Eulogio Pla | 10 episodes |
| 2010 | Fred: The Movie | Lorenzo | Television film |
| 2011–2012 | Bob's Burgers | Cha-Cha / Pepe (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Prosecuting Casey Anthony | Jose Baez | Television film |
| Family Tree | Discount Car Rental Agent | Episode: "Indians" | |
| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Sudz Manager | Episode: "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award" | |
| 2014 | New Girl | Doug | Episode: "Cruise" |
| Bad Teacher | Louis | Episode: "Life Science" | |
| Benched | Carlos | 12 episodes | |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | FBI Agent José González | Episode: "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt & Strappy Sandals" |
| Adam Ruins Everything | Benny | Episode: "Adam Ruins Work" | |
| Romantically Speaking | Carl | Television film | |
| 2015–2019 | Life in Pieces | Dr. James Changa | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Dr. Porp | Episode: "9 Days" |
| iZombie | Stan Mendoza | Episode: "Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind" | |
| Mutt & Stuff | Claude Puppe | Episode: "Lights! Camera! Bark!" | |
| Shameless | Rick Encarnacion | 2 episodes | |
| Bad Internet | Jim | Episode: "Your Search History Revealed" | |
| Boondoggle | Eduardo | Episode: "The Course" | |
| Uncle Buck | Hector | Episode: "The Interrogation" | |
| Liv and Maddie | Mr. Beelick | Episode: "Sorta-Sisters-A-Rooney" | |
| 2016–2017 | People of Earth | Father Doug | 15 episodes |
| 2018 | American Housewife | Rupert the Cop | Episode: "Midlife Crisis" |
| 9-1-1 | Guillermo | Episode: "Point of Origin" | |
| Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition | Himself | 5 episodes (season 13) | |
| 2018–2019 | 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Sergeant Costas (voice) | 9 episodes |
| 2019 | Those Who Can't | Johnson | Episode: "Yes We Scan" |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Lionel Fernandez | Episode: "No More Secrets" | |
| Where's Waldo? | Wizard Featherbeard (voice) | Episode: "Costa Rica... In Color!" | |
| 2019–2020 | Mr. Iglesias | Assistant-Principal Carlos Hernandez | 18 episodes |
| 2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride[15] | Inigo Montoya | Episode: "Chapter Three: The Cliffs of Insanity" |
| Social Distance | Miguel Villareal | Episode: "A Celebration of the Human Life Cycle" | |
| The Goldbergs | Ted | Episode: "Airplane!" | |
| 2021 | No Activity | (voice) | Episode: "It's Not a Cult!" |
| Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist | Dr. Tesoro | 3 episodes | |
| 2022 | The G Word with Adam Conover | Various | 3 episodes |
| Out of Office | X Fernandez | TV movie | |
| 2022–present | Firebuds | Chef Fernando (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Lucky Hank | Dean Jacob Rose | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Solar Opposites | Oscar (voice) | 1 episode |
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