Jun 16, 1970

Los Angeles, California, USA

Clifton Collins Jr. is a native Angeleno who grew up destined to become a part of the Latino entertainment industry. Clifton started his career in 1988 using his real name of Collins, but two years later began billing himself as "Clifton Gonzales-Gonzales" as a tribute to his aged grandfather. After many bit parts he landed his breakout role as Cesar, the vicious student and gangbanger in <i>One Eight Seven</i> (1997) opposite L.A. substitute teacher Samuel L. Jackson. This led to a variety of ... ... (read more...) interesting roles in such films as <i>The Replacement Killers</i> (1998), <i>The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit</i> (1998) and <i>Tigerland</i> (2000). His versatility finally proven, he played everything from a gay Mexican hitman in the critically acclaimed <i>Traffic</i> (2000) to a psychological profiler for the FBI in the mainstream actioner <i>Mindhunters</i> (2004). A number of top guest appearances came his way on such shows as "NYPD Blue" (1993) and "The Twilight Zone" (2002) and he had recurring roles on "Resurrection Blvd." (2000) and "Alias" (2001). A monumental shift forward in his career happened recently with his hypnotic portrayal of killer Perry Smith, the object of writer Truman Capote's obsession, in the art-house favorite <i>Capote</i> (2005).