Bio
Michael Peña is an American actor best known for his prominent roles in Crash, Observe and Report, and Oliver Stone's World Trade Center. He also appeared in the Nickelback music video for their song Savin' Me.
Though Peña has been a regular in independent productions since 1994, his breakthrough performances came in 2004 in two Paul Haggis penned films, Million Dollar Baby and Crash.
The latter was also directed by Haggis, while the former was helmed by Clint Eastwood. Though both films are critically acclaimed, Peña received attention for his particularly emotional performance in Crash.
The following year, he appeared on Golden Globe winning series, The Shield. In 2006, he starred in Oliver Stone's film based on the September 11, 2001 attacks, World Trade Center.
In 2006 Peña performed in the HBO film Walkout playing the part of Sal Castro, a Mexican-American high school teacher who inspires a group of East L.A. high school students to fight for Chicano rights.