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Actor mixes comedy, intensity onscreen

Juan Carlos (“J.C.”) Marquez, is part of a rare breed of actor who cares more about making movies than a glamorous Hollywood career.

Rather, the handsome 28-year-old from Queens says his main goal is “to be successful and recognized as a Latino artist.”

“We have a lot of Latin people doing things nowadays and I just want to be a part of that,” he says, “That’s my goal, to be happy in doing what I love and be able to express my talents for our community.”

Marquez’s acting experience includes leads in TV commercials, as extras in movies and characters in theater productions. He recently landed featured parts in the upcoming film Kids in America (with That ‘70s Show star Topher Grace) and independent films The Domain and American Bomber.

Son of a Colombian father and Ecuadorian mother, Marquez has worked on Spanish-language television and with Hispanic theater groups, but he says it is easier for him to do English-language work.

“I’m able to get parts in Spanish, but I’d rather do English. [My Spanish] is more broken and sometimes I forget my words,” he says, “It’s a big market out here, [but] there are more English/American/’White’ gigs than Spanish.”

Marquez moved from Orlando, Fla., to Phoenix a year and a half ago to be closer to the movie industry, but he has no plans of moving to Hollywood soon.

“My main goal is to learn more and work on my craft. If it takes me there, it takes me there,” he said, “Nowadays you don’t have to be in Cali to make it.”

Local directors like Marquez’s work.

“J.C. has the rare ability to display both a natural comedic talent and a powerful intensity,” says Paul Hemmes, director of The Domain. “He is able to fearlessly bounce between both styles with seamless ease and realism.” (For a local screening of The Domain, a thriller with some comic relief, see Calendar.)

“J.C.’s ability to be funny without being silly or two-dimensional is a real skill,” he says, “The most unnerving experience for a viewer is to like or be otherwise drawn to a character who later goes on to commit horrific or cruel acts.”

“J.C.’s versatile range allows him to go from clown to villain with very little effort,” agrees Kim Wagner-Hemmes. Marquez appears in the movie she is currently directing, Sulcata Bloodbath: Vengance of a Lovesick Reptile. The story follows a tortoise from outer space that falls in love with a herpetology teacher and goes on a killing rampage.

Marquez’s long-term goal is to be a director and he says he is happy with his career choice.

“I could do anything: I have a degree in business management. I could be in the corporate world,” he said, “As long as I know that I’m doing what I love, then I’ll know that I’m ultimately happy, whether I’m broke or rich.”

Marquez’s IMDb filography can be found at http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1296239.