Randy Vasquez

Randy Vasquez, born in Escondido, California, is an American actor and martial artist who also directs. He left the University of California, Los Angeles in 1979 to pursue acting, and talent manager Bob Marcucci discovered him in an acting class before helping him get auditions. His first screen role came in 1984, a small part on Highway to Heaven. He became familiar on television as Marcos on Acapulco H.E.A.T. and Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez on JAG, and in 1998 he took the part of Paolo Kaire, a bartender, on Love Boat: The Next Wave. Moving into direction, he made the 2002 documentary Testimony, about Salvadorean activist Maria Guardado, and the 2005 comedic drama Perceptions. Later documentaries included Badger Creek in 2017, about a Blackfeet Nation family. The Thick Dark Fog, his 2011 film, won Best Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival. In What You Wish For (2024), he appeared as Detective Ruiz.