Alexis Cruz   Alexis Cruz has a veteran film and television career, having captured audience attention for over a decade. He is a graduate of New York's prestigious High School of Performing Arts, and has since gone on to become one of the most respected young actors of his generation. A Bronx born native of New York, Alexis made his first television appearance with a guest-starring role on, "The Cosby Show" during it's first hit season and then landed the lead role in, "Gryphon" for the acclaimed PBS series, "Wonder Works". His feature career began with roles in films such as, "The Pick-Up Artist" with Robert Downey Jr. and "Rooftops" by legendary director Robert Wise. A prestigious and prolific body of work soon followed and Alexis found himself starring opposite Anthony Quinn as his encouraging young friend, Manolo, in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie, "The Old Man & The Sea", directed by Jud Taylor. By the age of 17, he had performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and began directing theatre at the School of Performing Arts with his productions breaking 50 years of box-office records at the institution two years running. Alexis had also become a regular cast member on PBS's award winning "Sesame Street" at this time which earned him a huge following of young fans. Cruz achieved international fame after starring in Roland Emmerich's box-office hit, "Stargate" with Kurt Russell and James Spader, in which he played the young Egyptian rebel leader, Skaara. Along with these achievements, Cruz also had the distinction of starring in the Hallmark Hall of Fame CBS mini-series, "The Streets of Laredo" as the hunted killer Joey Garza, opposite stage and screen icons James Garner, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Randy Quaid, George Carlin and Sonia Braga. After going on to study Acting and Directing at the Boston University School of Fine Arts Conservatory, Alexis starred in HBO's Emmy-nominated true story, "P.O.W.E.R.: The Eddie Matos Story" in the title role. Alexis followed this up with the critically hailed HBO mini-series, "Grand Avenue" based on the novel by Greg Sarris about a contemporary Native-American family coming of age in northern California. Alexis continued to build a following as broad and diverse as his work, appearing in guest-starring roles on CBS' "The District", ABC's "Dangerous Minds" and "NYPD Blue", NBC's "ER" and "Providence", as well as HBO's "Arli$$". His vast body of film and television credits has included, "The Brave", directed by Johnny Depp and Gregory Nava's, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" with Larenz Tate, Vivica Fox and Halle Berry about R&B singer Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers as they rise through the 50's and 60's music scene. After co-starring in Showtime's controversial film, "Riot" based on the Los Angeles riots of 1992, Alexis was honored as an ALMA Award nominee for Best Actor among such contenders as Hector Elizondo and Edward James Olmos for his performance in "Detention: Siege at Johnson High" starring Henry Winkler, Rick Schroeder and Freddie Prinze Jr. His theatrical roots frequently bring him back to the stage in Rick Najera's, "Latinologues", where he toured nationally and played to sold out audiences at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, Austin's Alley Theatre and the Austin Comedy Festival as well as the Improv and the Coronet Theater in Los Angeles. Passionate about encouraging arts education, Alexis was part of the East LA Classic Theatre/LAUSD Teacher's program bringing theatre education to East Los Angeles middle schools as a certified Creative Dramatics instructor. Alexis has been a spokesman for the National Council de La Raza and a member of The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts founded by Jimmy Smits, Sonia Braga and Esai Morales. The foundation provides undergraduate and graduate scholarships to hispanic-americans for continuing education in the Arts and Entertainment industry. Cruz has been honored by Hispanic Unity USA, for his outstanding commitment to the Hispanic community. Cruz has since starred in the films "Bug" with Brian Cox and Jamie Kennedy, "Almost A Woman" based on the novel by Esmeralda Santiago for PBS' Masterpiece Theater, which was awarded the prestigious Peabody Award and, "Stand Up For Justice"; the true story of Ralph Lazo, a Mexican-American student who volunteers to join his Japanese-American friends when they are forced to abandon their homes and sent to a U.S. internment camp in Manzanar during WWII. In perhaps the most ground-breaking role of his career, Alexis has found world-wide acclaim for his pioneering role as the angel, Raphael, on CBS' flagship prime-time drama, "Touched By An Angel". While recurring on the Emmy award-winning series, Alexis simultaneously reprised his popular role as, Skaara, on one of prime-time cable's most successful sci-fi programs, "Stargate SG-1" with Richard Dean Anderson. He recently recurred as Sgt. Joaquin Garcia in Gregory Nava's critically acclaimed series, "American Family" on PBS and is starring in the upcoming independent feature film, "Tortilla Heaven", with Lupe Ontiveros, George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo, and Miguel Sandoval. Click Here for Filmography