Jose Moreno Brooks

Jose Moreno Brooks was an American actor who broke out in late 2015 as one of the stars of the NBC sitcom "Telenovela" (2015-16). Born and raised in San Jose, California, Moreno initially took the most unlikely of paths to Hollywood stardom. After graduating with superior grades from a noted college preparatory school, Brooks enrolled in the University of California, Los Angeles where he studied Economics and Philosophy. Brooks graduated four years later, and initially set his sights on becoming a lawyer. Given his good grades, Brooks was quickly accepted into law school. However, he soon came to the realization that becoming a lawyer was not his chosen path. With that mindset, Brooks tried a variety of new and exciting jobs, like professional modeling and semi-pro soccer, before settling on acting as his chosen career. He landed his first TV role on "Big Time Rush" (Nickelodeon, 2009-13), and followed that up with guest spots on "One Bad Choice" (MTV, 2015) and "The Game" (The CW, 2006-2016). Then in 2015 Brooks nabbed a part in the sports drama "Mikael," about a young Iraqi man who travels back to his native country to play semi-professional soccer. The film held a lot of personal weight with Brooks, who was a longtime soccer fan, and even pursued his own quixotic dream of becoming a professional soccer player. 2015 also proved to be the year Brooks nabbed his biggest acting role to date when he joined the cast of NBC's "Telenovela." That show, which starred Eva Longoria as a telenovela star that does not speak fluent Spanish, premiered in December of that year, with Brooks playing the endearingly earnest young actor Gael.