If you were to look up the definition of “underused” in the Big Dictionary of Hollywood, you’d find a picture there–a stone-faced Latino with black, penetrating eyes and a poorly concealed air of danger. That would be Raymond Cruz, and as his long-lasting TV cop-show The Closer ends, and the program itself transforms into a spin-off called Major Crimes, it’s worth taking a look at this tremendously powerful actor. Along with a host of other quietly brilliant long-time stalwarts like G.W. Bailey, Anthony Dennison, and J.K. Simmons, Cruz has kept this show rock-solid and effective no matter how whacky things got with Kyra Sedgwick at the Chief.
Raymond was born and raised in East L.A. He grew up in a tough neighborhood, and found performance was his way out. Now, having just celebrated his 50th birthday in July, he’s heading towards twenty-five years as a successful actor. His film roles include work in A Clear and Present Danger, Alien: Resurrection and Training Day. He’s done a host of decent nighttime dramas, from 24 to Nip/Tuck to CSI and CSI: Miami. And his work the crafty, lethal, and ultimately batshit crazy Tuco Salamanca in the ’07–’08 season of AMC’s Breaking Bad was just…just amazing. (And it was a tough role. Click here to read AMCtv.com’s Q&A about how hard it was, and why Cruz himself asked to have the character killed off.) And while it was going on, and after it was done, he was back on TNT, back in the LAPD, working for Major Crimes.
His work hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed, of course. Cruz has won a couple of Imagen Awards for his Closer work. He’s been part of the Closer ensemble’s nomination for a SAG Award, four years in a row (though they’ve yet to win). And he’s extremely well-respected in the industry; he was a welcome and important part of the cast for Los Americans, Dennis Leoni’s warm family drama that’s still available online and (in part) in MTA busses all over L.A.
Over the years, there have been a few Closer episodes that have focused on his character, Det. Julio Sanchez, but like the other members of the Major Crimes Unit, he’s primarily been in the background, part of the team. That’s why this conversion to Major Crimes may be the best thing that could happen; word has it that the new show will not only be darker and grittier, but that the new head of the unit, played by Mary McDonnell, won’t be at singular star of the new show the way Sedgwick was–that the members of the team will. McDonnell recently told TV Guide Magazine that, “I’ll be near the center, but all those guys start to blossom and emerge. Symbolically, when you lose your mother, the children grow up. That’s how I see it. I think the future lies in a different relationship to the story and a different energy with an ensemble.” And it appears that most of the current case, including Denison, Bailey, and Cruz, will be part of the new program, though details are still pretty sketchy.
And it’s about time he had a chance to shine a bit more. Cruz has shown here and elsewhere that he has huge abilities, a great intelligence and intensity, just like his colleagues. It’s time to see even more of that. So maybe now–as the series finale of The Closer appears Monday night at 9P on TNT–is a good time to say, “Good-bye, Chief,” and “Hello, Major Crimes”–and Raymond Cruz.
