Biography
A personable character actor, Rick Gonzalez was featured in both comic and dramatic roles in theatrical releases like "Coach Carter," but more frequently on television series like "Reaper" (The CW, 2007-2009) and "Arrow" (The CW, 2012- ). Born June 30, 1979 in New York City, he was raised by parents of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. A performer from an early age, he was encouraged by teachers to parlay his interests into education at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, from which he graduated in 1997. Soon after, Gonzalez began working in features and on television, and quickly moved from bit parts as hoods and wayward teens in projects like "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles" (2001) and "Biker Boyz" (2003) to character parts in the school drama "Coach Carter" (2003) and major hits like "Old School" (2003) and Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" (2005). In 2007, he was cast as an accident-prone teen turned demon hunter in the cult sitcom series "Reaper" (The CW, 2007-2009), which helped him branch into comedy projects like Christopher Guest's "For Your Consideration" (2006) and "The Guilt Trip" (2012). Gonzalez balanced these projects with more dramatic fare on television, and alternately between mediums for the next half-decade; television eventually became his most prolific showcase, and Gonzales remained in the public eye thanks to turns in high-profile projects like the Netflix feature "Deuces" (2017) and a recurring role on "Arrow" as the DC Comics anti-hero Wild Dog which was elevated to series regular in the action-adventure series' sixth season.
