A long-time aspiring actor who initially grabbed the public's attention with his role (as one of the first Latino's of color to portray a Latino on a nationally televised program) on the children's television show Villa Alegre, Marco Martinez is emerging from years of obscurity to become an accomplished and respected performer. Not one to choose style over substance after many successful stints, Marco has largely eschewed typical Hollywood fare to concentrate on meatier roles in smaller, but significant films that elevated the actor's critical esteem. The cost, however, has been the spotlight-despite recognition from various popular prime time television programs, Marco is yet a household name. But the comfortable anonymity suited the young actor just fine, even as he stood out as the star performer in roles both large and small, establishing what could be long and productive career for years to come.Born in the Bronx, N.Y., where his father, Miguel, a native of Cuba and former manager of the world famous Tropicana nightclub in Havana, Cuba, settled and married a young Cuban chef, Lidia Pereira. The couple separated when Marco was 8 months old, leaving his mom to raise three children-including eldest Miguel Jr. (aka Mike), Yvette and Marco as the youngest child-on her own. She coped to quickly learn the language and find work to make ends meet, eventually earning her degree, opening her own catering business while landing a job with HUD and purchasing a home for her and her children.Marco would sing and dance at traditional Cuban parties thrown by his mother called "Tambores." He was spotted at one of the parties by a Hollywood producer and cast in the bilingual PBS show titled Villa Alegre. Marco continued taking vocal and dance lessons as well as studying theater while simultaneously appearing in various plays and musicals in Los Angeles and off-Broadway plays and musicals in New York City during the summer months. In high school, Marco became close friends with O'Shea Jackson (aka Ice Cube) and they began performing in lunchtime music shows together. Marco was later signed to a recording deal as a rap artist with the group the Kartune Krew and performed at various locations throughout California and Nevada. Marco continued with this style of artistry and added dancing to his repertoire by forming an L.A. based dance group called The Godfatherz and winning a major L.A. Dance competition, which led to performances on Sesame Street, and for various fairs, charities and celebrities events. He would later form the singing group Cornerstone, which performed for Ed McMahon's Next Big Star, making it all the way to the semi-finals and selling several CD's in the U.S., Japan and Europe, through an independent recording deal.Shortly after honorably serving a two-year commitment in a U.S. Army, Military Intelligence unit in Weisbaden, West Germany, Marco joined the Roadside Theater in Heidelberg, West Germany and performed as the lead in various plays and musicals. He spent an additional two months traveling throughout Europe and eventually enrolled in an intensive acting course at the Rose Bruford College of Performing Arts, just outside of London's West End. Upon returning to California, Marco landed lead roles various plays, including August Wilson's Jitney and Shakespeare's Othello. He attended UCLA and Cal State University at Northridge as an undergraduate student and received his Masters in Public Administration at USC.Marco has landed many small and substantial film roles and has appeared on several hit TV shows including CSI:Miami, Medium, The West Wing, House M.D., The Nine and The Bold and the Beautiful. His inspirations include actors such as Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby and Denzel Washington. He states, "When I was growing up, these were the people that I always admired and that made me realize what I really wanted to be in life!"
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