Biography
Wilmer Valderrama is truly living the American Dream. Since the completion of “That 70’s Show,” Wilmer has been in high demand above and beyond the small screen. Following his role as “Fez,” Wilmer created, produced and hosted the hit MTV show, “Yo Momma,” all the way through its third season.
Wilmer will return to primetime television this fall in a new, one-hour comedy for Fox entitled “The Emancipation of Ernesto,” which he will also co-executive produce. Wilmer will star as ‘Ernesto,’ a man trying to avoid the temptations of Los Angeles after embarking on a journey to find his father. Wilmer will also be staring in two upcoming films, “Days of Wrath” opposite Laurence Fishburne and “Columbus Day” with Val Kilmer. Additionally, MTV has recently picked up the scripted faux-documentary style comedy, “Baby Dolls,” from Wilmer’s production company, WV Enterprises, which centers on celebrity worship as told through the eyes of a naive and jaded personal assistant to a young actress.
His past film credits include “Fast Food Nation,” for Fox Searchlight, directed by Richard Linklater, starring opposite Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, and Catalina Sandino Moreno; and the 2006 holiday feature “Unaccompanied Minors” for Warner Bros., a film about a group of middle-school students who end up stranded at Hoover International Airport. He was seen in the Sundance 2006 hit film “The Darwin Awards,” a dark comedy directed by Finn Taylor, starring Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes and is starring as the voice of Latino hero ‘Manny Garcia,’ in “Handy Manny,” an animated series on the Disney Channel.
Wilmer can also be seen in the indie film “El Muerto,” directed by Brian Cox and based on the successful comic book created by Javier Hernandez. Wilmer stars as ‘Diego de la Muerte,’ a 21 year old, who is abducted, sacrificed and resurrected by the Aztec Gods of Death and Destiny.
Soon he will begin production on the feature film version of “CHiPs” for Warner Bros., in which he will star as ‘Ponch.’ It was recently announced that Wilmer’s production company is developing “PartyBuddys” with production partner Universal Pictures. The project is based on the life stories of James King and Jason Roefaro, who founded the New York company “PartyBuddys,” which offers its clients a type of fast-pass to a celebrity lifestyle for a night.
Wilmer had a stint in the Los Angeles Times critic’s choice play “Blackout,” which is adapted from the feature film “Drunks.” The play gives an in-depth portrayal of an AA meeting. In April, 2005 Wilmer performed in the Actor’s Fund of America one-performance only all-star reading of the Paramount Pictures screenplay “Sunset Boulevard,” directed by Peter Hunt. He starred opposite Anjelica Huston and Sir Ben Kingsley. He recently completed filming the Wim Wenders produced short film “La Torcedura,” in which he plays the lead ‘Jose,’ who dreams about proposing to his girlfriend to find she has been setting him up to be murdered.
Wilmer lent his voice to the character of ‘Rodrigo’ in the feature film “Clifford’s Really Big Movie,” in which he played alongside John Ritter. Other feature film credits include “Party Monster,” and the Warner Bros. film, “Summer Catch.”
Wilmer moved to Los Angeles from Venezuela with his family at thirteen years old. He didn’t speak a word of English. He quickly learned the language and began drama classes in high school to help assimilate him into American culture. He performed in numerous plays, including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Rumors,” “And Never Been Kissed” and “The Impossible Years,” while making his professional debut in a Spanish Pacific Bell commercial.
At his drama teacher’s suggestion, Wilmer got an agent and was immediately cast in a CBS miniseries “Four Corners” as well as the Disney Channel’s “Omba Makamba.” As a junior in high school, Wilmer was cast in the pilot that became “That 70’s Show.”
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