Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. to undocumented Latino parents, Johnny caught the acting bug as a kid when he was cast in his elementary school’s 'Feliz Navidad' play.  

 

His career spans over 35 films, 15 TV shows and countless stage productions.  Highlights:  212 (Sundance Official Selection), SIDE EFFECTS (Steven Soderbergh), BOWFINGER (Frank Oz), AND JUST LIKE THAT... (HBO Max), THE EQUALIZER (CBS), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), and MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon).

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Johnny came up at a time when roles for Latino actors were even more limited than they are today.  Feeling constrained, and wanting to represent a wider range of stories, he started writing and producing.  He co-produced FIND ME GUILTY (directed by Sydney Lumet) starring Vin Diesel and Peter Dinklage, and EVEN MONEY starring Kim Basinger and Forest Whittaker.  

 

He's also produced many award winning short films, including MUSCLE directed by Heidi Miami Marshall -- which played over 30 festivals worldwide and won over 6 awards.  More recently, he wrote and produced the multi-award winning short film S.P.I.C. (inspired by events from his youth), also directed by Heidi Miami Marshall. 

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S.P.I.C. garnered Best of Fest Award (Blackbird Film Fest 2024), Best Multi-Cultural Film (SPE Media Film Fest 2024), Cinema Writing Award (Blackbird Film Fest 2024), Best Filmmaker Award (Barebones Int'l Film Fest 2023), Best Coming-of-Age Short (Manhattan Film Fest 2023), and the Audience Award (Soho Int'l Film Fest 2023).

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While Johnny enjoys protest art, his true passion is uniting people. Bridging different kinds of people, with varied POV's and unrelated lifestyles, is what makes him tick.  Johnny endeavors to use storytelling as a tool to entertain, question and ultimately unite.

 

Johnny and Heidi are a husband-wife filmmaking team.