Allen Maldonado is an actor, philanthropist and entrepreneur . He stars in several film and TV projects due for release this year including Sony Pictures action thriller, The Equalizer. Directed by Antoine Fuqua , Maldonado stars as 'Marcus' opposite Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.
Of African American and Puerto Rican descent, Maldonado is a native of Rialto, CA, a city just outside of Los Angeles. Allen was raised by his single mother; having lost his father to cancer at a very young age. Growing up in a tough neighborhood, he was inspired by his mother's passion and determination. This platform of support has proven invaluable for him to achieve his goals. At the age of 21, Maldonado landed a year--long role in the daytime series "The Young & the Restless" until his career was briefly interrupted when he was involved in a near fatal car accident, as the result of a drunk driver. After a brief yet arduous recovery, Maldonado began to build his resume landing roles in the Emmy® nominated, CBS drama "Judging Amy" and FX's "The Shield," "Detroit 187," "Chase," and "Rizzoli & Isles," to name a few. Additionally, his film credits include Live Free Or Die Hard, The Ugly Truth, The Next Three Days and most recently the Marvel Studios short film All Hail The King.
In 2014, Maldonado appears as as 'Honey Nutz' in the new sitcom "You're The Worst". Adding another hilarious sitcom to his credits, Maldonado will also appear as 'Young L.I.L' in Adult Swim's newest live-action series titled "Black Jesus" premiering on August 7th.
Maldonado will be seen in the upcoming feature Cake alongside Jennifer Aniston, Sam Worthington, Anna Kendrick and William H. Macy, which will bow at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival in September. Additionally, he recently joined the cast of Universal's upcoming NWA biopic 'straight Outta Compton, produced by Ice Cube and helmed by F. Gary Gray, which Releases in August 2015.
Outside of his acting career, Maldonado is a successful entrepreneur as he runs a record company Get It Done Records, a production company Only Son Productions and a T-shirt line Vineyards Phinest where a portion of the proceeds go toward providing free classes for inner city youth. As a staunch advocate for higher education, community service and encouraging youth to pursue the arts, Maldonado is the founder of Demo Nerds, a foundation he created that provides free acting classes, tools and services for at risk youth and foster children in the inner city of Los Angeles. Additionally, the organization frequently collaborates with other city programs such as "The Boys & Girls Club," "The Dream Center" and the "New Village Girls Academy".
During his rare free time, Maldonado enjoys working out, playing basketball and spending time with his family.
