Vico Ortiz
Ortiz at the 2022 Ren Faire
Born (1991-10-10) October 10, 1991
San Juan, Puerto Rico[1][2]
EducationAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
OccupationActor
Years active2011–present

Vico Ortiz (born October 10, 1991) is a Puerto Rican actor, drag king and activist.[3] They are best known for their role as Jim in the HBO Max television series Our Flag Means Death.[4]

Early life and education

Vico Ortiz was born on October 10, 1991,[5] in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they were raised.[1][2][6] Their mother tongue is Spanish, and they also speak English.[7]

Ortiz received their education at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles.[8]

Career

Ortiz started their acting career in 2011 when they starred in the short film Oprah's Audience Moves On. For the following years, they had many small roles in others shorts and TV shows.[9]

Around 2017–2018, Ortiz told their agent that they wanted to go for roles of all genders, whether non-binary (like them) or not. When they were hired for non-queer roles, they started suggesting to the writers that their characters could be non-binary, and some shows accepted to make the change.[10]

In 2018, they starred in the queer web series Recon, about a group of teenagers attending a secret spy school, as Ren St. Claire, one of the main characters.[9] Later that year, they starred in two episodes of the TV show Vida.

In 2019, they starred in another queer web series titled These Thems, where they played Vero, a non-binary character befriending a 30 year old woman who just came out.[9] Ortiz also wrote the Spanish subtitles for the show.[10]

In 2021, they had recurring roles in both The Sex Lives of College Girls and S.O.Z. Soldados o Zombies.[9]

In 2022, they had their first main role in a television show, Our Flag Means Death.[9] Ortiz plays a non-binary pirate in this queer comedy about the romantic relationship between Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet which quickly became a hit.[11] Ortiz says that their interactions with fans have changed their life, and that they felt allowed to get top surgery after seeing fan art of their character, Jim, getting gender-affirming surgery from the show's cook and de facto surgeon Roach (played by Samba Schutte).[12]

In 2023, they had two recurring voice acting roles in the animated television show Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake.[9] They voiced the supporting characters Hunter, Skater Y and Fern.

Personal life

Ortiz is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns in English[13][14][15] and elle/le/e in Spanish.[3][16] In an episode of the podcast Gender Reveal, they identified as genderfluid as well as non-binary, comparing their gender to a waterbed, "constantly moving, but in a fun way".[10]

They are a drag king going by "Vico Suave".[3] Their character takes inspiration from both their Hispanic/Caribbean and American culture,[8] as well as "men who are comfortable with their femininity", such as Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and Bad Bunny.[17] They have another drag king persona named AJ when performing with their boy band the Backstreet Butches.[10] Ortiz's drag king career started when a friend convinced them to participate in a show before they even knew what drag was.[17]

Ortiz is an activist in subjects such as Puerto Rican federal voting rights, anti-racism and gender neutrality in the Spanish language.[3]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Transparent Cindy 1 episode
2015 The Fosters Cole's buddy 1 episode
2017 Criminal Minds Worker 1 episode
2018 Vida Tasha 2 episodes
2019 American Horror Story Rudy 1 episode
2020 Everything's Gonna Be Okay Lyndsey 2 episodes
2021–2022 The Sex Lives of College Girls Tova 6 episodes
2021 S.O.Z. Soldados o Zombies Sgt. Vicky Valencia Recurring role
2022-Present Our Flag Means Death Jim Jimenez Main role
2023 Harley Quinn Tefé Holland (voice)
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Hunter/Skater Y/Fern (voice)

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2023 Craig Before the Creek Serena (voice)

Web series

Year Title Role Notes
2018 Recon Ren St. Claire Main role
2019 These Thems Vero Main role

Accolades

Year Award Nominated Work Category Result Ref.
2022 Gold Derby TV Award Our Flag Means Death Best Comedy Supporting Actor Nominated [18]

References

  1. 1 2 Del Rosario, Alexandra (April 13, 2022). "'Our Flag Means Death,' 'Vida' Actor Vico Ortiz Inks With Paradigm". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Kelleher, Patrick (March 17, 2022). "HBO's new swashbuckling, non-binary pirate is 'reclaiming our stories', actor Vico Ortiz says". PinkNews. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Politics & Pride: Getting To Know Vico Ortiz". Ladygunn. June 25, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Vico Ortiz". LezWatch.TV. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. ↑ @V_Vico_Ortiz (April 19, 2022). "Been getting a lot of lovely congratulations but just wanted to say that it is not my birthday tomorrow. Not sure how that happened… but I was born 10/10/91 at 10:10am 🖤✨ hahahaha 😅 I'm a confused millennial in their 30s ✌🏽" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ @V_Vico_Ortiz (April 19, 2022). "For the girlies doing my chart I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico 💅🏽💁🏽‍♂️✨" (Tweet). Retrieved May 11, 2022 – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ "Vico Ortiz Talks 'Our Flag Means Death,' Being a Non-Binary Actor & Working with Taika Waititi". Remezcla. April 26, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Vico Ortiz Bio". IMDb. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Vico Ortiz". IMDb. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Gender Reveal: Episode 72: Vico Ortiz". gender.libsyn.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  11. ↑ "All of "Our Flag Means Death's" Impressive Rankings". The Geekiary. April 13, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ "'OFMD's Vico Ortiz Says Fan Art Encouraged Them to Get Top Surgery". Out.com. April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  13. ↑ Dawson, Lamar (September 17, 2021). "Latinx actor Vico Ortiz talks coming out non-binary, breaking down gendered barriers". Today.com. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  14. ↑ Rude, Mey (March 17, 2022). "Vico Ortiz Talks Playing a Nonbinary Pirate in Our Flag Means Death". Out. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  15. ↑ Spielberger, Daniel (March 3, 2022). "Vico Ortiz Plays A Pirate Grappling with Gender on "Our Flag Means Death"". them. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Vico Ortiz". Twitter. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Vico Ortiz Takes on the Binary and Zombie Apocalypse". Advocate.com. September 27, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  18. ↑ Rosen, Daniel Montgomery,Chris Beachum,Denton Davidson,Marcus James Dixon,Joyce Eng,Christopher; Montgomery, Daniel; Beachum, Chris; Davidson, Denton; Dixon, Marcus James; Eng, Joyce; Rosen, Christopher (August 11, 2022). "2022 Gold Derby TV Awards winners ceremony: 'Only Murders, 'Pachinko,' 'The White Lotus' …". GoldDerby. Retrieved November 16, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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