Jon Seda

Jon Seda
Born	October 14, 1970 (1970-10-14) (age 39) Manhattan, New York

Jonathan Seda (born October 14, 1970) is an American actor of Puerto Rican descent.

Seda was an amateur boxer who in 1992, auditioned and was given a role in the film Gladiator. He became interested in acting and participated in various films. He played the role of "Chris" opposite Jennifer Lopez in Selena and became widely known to both the Hispanic and non-Hispanic communities. He continues to act and has had numerous television appearances.

Early life

Seda's parents moved from Puerto Rico to Manhattan, New York where he was born. They moved to a neighborhood in Clifton, New Jersey shortly after his birth. There, he received his primary and secondary education; after graduating from high school, Seda started to work out in a gym after two friends convinced him that he should take up boxing. He became obsessed with the idea that someday he could become a champion and participate in the 1992 Olympics. He boxed in several gyms in New Jersey and soon was a runner up in the New Jersey Golden Gloves competition. As an amateur boxer, Seda had a record of 21 wins and one loss.

Career

Seda's film debut was in 1992, in the boxing film Gladiator in which he played the role of "Romano," a Cuban pugilist. He has since worked in various films and TV series.

In 1995, Seda was nominated Best Male Lead at the Spirit Awards for his role the 1994 movie I Like It Like That opposite Rita Moreno and Lauren Velez. In 1996, he was nominated Best Actor for his role as "Blue" in the film The Sunchaser opposite actor Woody Harrelson at the Cannes Film Festival.

Seda became widely known to the Hispanic film audience when he portrayed Chris Pérez opposite Jennifer Lopez in Selena, a 1997 film based on the true story of the Tejano singer, Selena, who was murdered on her way to mainstream stardom. Seda portrayed her husband.

Also in 1997, Seda landed the role of Detective Paul Falsone on NBC's: Homicide: Life on the Street. The writers took advantage of his boxing background, writing a shirtless practice bout into an episode which established his character's attractiveness to fellow detective Laura Ballard. He also boxed opposite Jimmy Smits in the 2000 movie, Price of Glory.^[1]

His first leading role on the large screen was as the protagonist in 2002's King Rikki, a re-imagining of Shakespeare's Richard III in East L.A..^[1][2] Seda has participated in over two dozen movies, including Bad Boys II (2003) as "Roberto."

He has had numerous television appearances. Aside from his well-known Homicide role, among the most notable have been as Dino Ortolani in Oz, Third Watch, Law & Order, House, and CSI: Miami. He will be featured as one of the three leads in the HBO World War II mini-series The Pacific to be released in 2009, playing the part of legendary Marine John Basilone. He was also part of the cast of CBS's hit show Close to Home.

Personal life

Seda established "The Jon Seda Foundation" to fund the research into the causes and cures of Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS) after his sister, Sofia, was diagnosed with the disorder. Seda currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and their three children.

See also

Puerto Rico portal

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

References

External links

• Jon Seda Bio at CBS - Close To Home
• Jon Seda at the Internet Movie Database