Clifton Collins, Jr.
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
 |
 | Warning! This page contains information regarding the 2009 film, Star Trek, and thus may contain spoilers. |
Clifton Collins, Jr. (born 16 June 1970; age 38) is an Emmy Award-nominated actor who will play Ayel, the Romulan cohort and general to Eric Bana's Nero, in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. [1][2] Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Collins is the grandson of well-known character actor Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez.
Collins has been acting in film and television since 1990. He had small roles in such films as Grand Canyon (starring Alfre Woodard), Menace II Society, and Poetic Justice and a supporting role in 1993's Fortress, co-starring Jeffrey Combs and Kurtwood Smith. His breakthrough in mainstream cinema came with his role in 1997's One Eight Seven, co-starring Jack Kehler and Tony Plana. Subsequent film credits include The Replacement Killers, Light It Up (also featuring Vanessa Williams) and Confessions of an American Girl (with Michelle Forbes).
More recently, Collins has starred in films such as Tigerland (with James MacDonald), Traffic (with Miguel Ferrer), The Last Castle (which earned Collins an ALMA Award nomination), The Rules of Attraction (co-starring Paul Williams), and Mindhunters (co-starring Christian Slater). Perhaps his best known film role to date is that of serial killer Perry Smith in 2005's Capote, for which he received critical praise and an ALMA Award nomination. This film also starred Bruce Greenwood, whom Collins again worked with on Star Trek.
Collins also played the lead in the 2005 crime drama Dirty, which featured an appearance by TNG's Gates McFadden. Collins later had a small role in the acclaimed 2006 film Babel. He then had the lead role in the as-yet-unreleased baseball drama The Perfect Game, in which he worked alongside Bruce McGill. He has several other films awaiting release or in post-production, including Jonas Åkerlund's The Horsemen, in which he worked with Neal McDonough although McDonough was later replaced and his scenes reshot. Collins' most recent film project was Crank 2: High Voltage, in which he played the main villain. [3]
In addition to his film credits, Collins has also made a name for himself on television, with guest spots on Walker, Texas Ranger, ER, NYPD Blue, Resurrection Blvd., and UPN's The Twilight Zone. Collins first worked with J.J. Abrams and other members of the Star Trek production team when he made guest-starred in three episodes of the ABC series Alias. In 2006, Collins received an Emmy Award nomination for his role as Jack "Bump" Hill on the short-lived FX series Thief.
Gaming fans may recognize Collins as the voice of Cesar Vialpando on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This game also featured the voice talents of Andy Dick and Wil Wheaton.
