Wilmer Valderrama

Infobox actor
name = Wilmer Valderrama

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birthname = Wilmer Antonio Valderrama
birthdate = birth date and age|1980|1|30
birthplace = Miami, Florida, U.S.
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Wilmer Antonio Valderrama (born January 30, 1980) is an American actor, best known for the role of Fez in the sitcom "That '70s Show".

Biography

Early life

Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida, U.S., the son of Sobeida and Balvino Valderrama, who owned a farm equipment rental company. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/36/Wilmer-Valderrama.html Wilmer Valderrama Biography (1980-) ] ] His mother is from Colombia and his father is from Venezuela. The family moved to Venezuela when he was three years old, then to Los Angeles when he was thirteen. He has two sisters, Marylin and Stephanie, and a brother.

He did not speak English upon his arrival, but he quickly learned the language in school and began drama classes during high school. Valderrama has said that he was aided in learning English from watching shows such as "I Love Lucy". In one teen magazinewho, it was said that Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty has helped him learn English.

Professional work

Valderrama got his start performing in numerous plays, including "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Rumors". He made his professional debut in a Spanish-language Pacific Bell commercial. At his drama teacher's suggestion, he got an agent and was immediately cast in the CBS miniseries "Four Corners" and in "Omba Makamba" on the Disney Channel. He made his big screen debut starring opposite Freddie Prinze Jr., Brittany Murphy, Matthew Lillard and Jessica Biel in the Warner Brothers film "Summer Catch."

Valderrama played Fez on "That '70s Show" from 1998-2006; he was a junior in high school when the pilot episode was filmed. He also played DJ Keoki in the 2003 film "Party Monster" alongside Macaulay Culkin, Chloë Sevigny, Wilson Cruz and Seth Green. He has produced and hosted the MTV series "Yo Momma" since 2006, and appeared (involuntarily) as many as three times on another MTV mainstay, "Punk'd," hosted by fellow "That '70s" alum Ashton Kutcher.

Recent projects

Valderrama recently appeared in the "Los Angeles Times" critic's choice play "Blackout", an adaptation of the feature film "Drunks", and starred opposite Anjelica Huston and Ben Kingsley in the Actors' Fund of America one-performance only reading of "Sunset Boulevard". He has completed filming the short film "La Torcedura" in which he plays the lead, and recently wrapped production on "The Darwin Awards", an independent film directed by Finn Taylor, starring Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes.

In animation work, Valderrama voiced Rodrigo in "Clifford's Really Big Movie", playing alongside John Ritter, Wayne Brady and Jenna Elfman. He also voices the main character, Manny, in Disney Channel’s "Handy Manny" series for preschoolers. [ [http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/handymanny/a/wilmerbio.htm Kidstcmovies: Wilmer Valderama bio] ] He had starring role in "El Muerto", an indie film directed by Brian Cox and based on the successful comic book created by Javier Hernandez. [ [http://www.wilmerv.com/ Wilmer Valderrama Official Site] ] In January 2007, Valderrama announced that he would launch his own men's fashion label called "Calavena". [ [http://www.enjoyfashion.com/fashion/fashion-news/wilmer-valderrama-to-launch-his-own-fashion-label-20070104-31.html Wilmer Valderrama to launch his own fashion label] EnjoyFashion, January 4, 2007]

Valderrama made an appearance in Paula DeAnda's music video for "Easy", as well as Colombian singer Fanny Lu's new video "Tu No Eres Para Mi", where he portrays her boyfriend.

Personal life

Valderrama, who maintains close friendships with former "That '70s" co-stars Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson, has also managed some notable romantic liaisons in his off-screen life, having dated Mandy Moore for 18 months in 2000-01, [http://in.news.yahoo.com/070101/139/6aqg6.html] and Lindsay Lohan in 2003-04. [ [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,781868,00.html Lindsay Lohan, Wilmer Valderrama Split - Lindsay Lohan, Wilmer Valderrama : People.com ] ] [ [http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?month=March&day=27&year=2006&x=32&y=4 HowardStern.com] . March 27, 2006.] He has also been rumored to have dated Christina Milian. [ [http://www.usmagazine.com/fez_a_fesses_up_on_howard_stern?page=1 Usmagazine.com | Fez ’Fesses Up On Howard Stern ] ]

Filmography

Features:
*"Summer Catch" (2001)
*"Party Monster" (2003)
*"Clifford's Really Big Movie" (2004) (voice)
*"Beauty Shop" (2005)
*"The Darwin Awards" (2006)
*"Fast Food Nation" (2006)
*"Unaccompanied Minors" (2006)
*"El Muerto" (2007) [also known as- THE DEAD ONE]
*"The Condor" (2007) (voice)
*"Save the Date" (2007)
*"Columbus Day" (2008)
*"Days of Wrath" (2008)
*"CHiPs" (2009)Short Subjects:
*"La Torcedura" (2004)
*"Longtime Listener" (2006)
*"What a Girl Wants" (2005)

Television work

*"Four Corners" (1998) (canceled after 4 episodes)
*"That '70s Show" (1998-2006)
*"Yo Momma (TV series)" (2006-present)
*"Handy Manny" (2006-present) (voice)
*"A Day in a life of Allan Lund" (In Production for 2009)

Charity Work

In 2008 he used his celebrity status to endorse a charity against drunk driving.

ee also

* Celebrities who have been Punk'd
* Famous Venezuelans

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0005519|name=Wilmer Valderrama
* [http://www.wilmerv.com/ Wilmer Valderrama Official Website]
* [http://www.tv.com/person/1888/summary.html Wilmer Valderrama] on TV.com
* [http://yomomma.tv Website of Wilmer Valderrama's show "Yo Momma"]