Johnny Ortiz

A gifted actor with an inspiring personal story, Johnny Ortiz was interested in his craft from a young age. He was only five when, in a charmingly youthful attempt to break into the business, he dialed 411 on his parent's phone to ask the operator at Information how to become an actor. The road to his dream would be paved with a few bumps, as Ortiz got mixed up in the dangerous world of gangs during his pre-teen years. But his interest in the acting remained so strong that his life would be forever changed when a teacher arranged for him to get a look at his would-be craft at a middle-school career fair. It was there that the young Ortiz met a life coach who helped him focus his energy on the interest he'd harbored for so long. Ortiz began taking youth classes at the Casa 0101 theater. After two years, he was ready to find an agent and test his talents with a real audition. He booked the first job he tried out for, an appearance on the series "Southland" (TNT, 2009-2013), in 2011. That same year, he would appear in the Oscar winning short "Nani" (2011). By 2015, Ortiz's star was on the rise with a prominent role alongside Kevin Costner in the sports drama "MacFarland, USA" (2015) and a starring role on John Ridley's series "American Crime" (ABC, 2015-).