# John Vargas

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American actor

For the American water polo player, see [John Vargas (water polo)](/source/John_Vargas_(water_polo)).

John Vargas Born The Bronx, New York, U.S. Occupation Actor

**John Vargas** is an American actor best known for his roles in the films *[Primary Colors](/source/Primary_Colors_(film))* and *[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan](/source/Star_Trek_II%3A_The_Wrath_of_Khan)*.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Early life

John Vargas was born in [the Bronx](/source/The_Bronx) and moved to [Puerto Rico](/source/Puerto_Rico) when his father Juan A. Maldonado was killed in [Laos](/source/Laos) during the [Vietnam War](/source/Vietnam_War).[1]

## Career

John Vargas was cast in [Neil Simon](/source/Neil_Simon)'s film *[Only When I Laugh](/source/Only_When_I_Laugh_(film))*,[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] with [Marsha Mason](/source/Marsha_Mason) and [James Coco](/source/James_Coco). The following year, he featured in the film *[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan](/source/Star_Trek_II%3A_The_Wrath_of_Khan)* in the role of Jedda, and then joined the cast of [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company)'s *[At Ease](/source/At_Ease_(TV_series))*, becoming one of the first Latino actors to star in an American television sitcom.[2]

Vargas also appeared as Oliviera in *[The Hanoi Hilton](/source/The_Hanoi_Hilton_(film))*.

Vargas joined the ensemble cast of the film *[Primary Colors](/source/Primary_Colors_(film))*, directed by [Academy Award](/source/Academy_Award)-winning director [Mike Nichols](/source/Mike_Nichols), and starring [John Travolta](/source/John_Travolta), [Emma Thompson](/source/Emma_Thompson) and [Kathy Bates](/source/Kathy_Bates).

The following year, Vargas was cast in the role of Asher, the eurotrash maitre d' in the [Fox](/source/Fox_Broadcasting_Company) comedy series *[Action](/source/Action_(TV_series))*, starring [Jay Mohr](/source/Jay_Mohr) and [Illeana Douglas](/source/Illeana_Douglas).

John Vargas has worked on several [soap operas](/source/Soap_opera). He joined the cast of *[General Hospital](/source/General_Hospital)* in the role of Rico Chacone,[3] and *[Santa Barbara](/source/Santa_Barbara_(TV_series))* as Marcos Llamera. In 2004, John was cast as Dr. Rojas in the soap opera *[Days of Our Lives](/source/Days_of_Our_Lives)*. He also appeared in season 4, episode 11 of *[Star Trek: Voyager](/source/Star_Trek%3A_Voyager)*. He played Pierson in the *[Sliders](/source/Sliders_(TV_series))* episode "A Current Affair" (1999).

## Filmography

- *[Only When I Laugh](/source/Only_When_I_Laugh_(film))* (1981) - Manuel

- *[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan](/source/Star_Trek_II%3A_The_Wrath_of_Khan)* (1982) - Jedda

- *[My Tutor](/source/My_Tutor)* (1983) - Manuel

- *[Mass Appeal](/source/Mass_Appeal_(film))* (1984) - Scott Alvarez

- *[Wildcats](/source/Wildcats_(film))* (1986) - Poolhall Man #3

- *[The Hanoi Hilton](/source/The_Hanoi_Hilton_(film))* (1987) - Oliviera

- *Last Stand at Lang Mei* (1989) - Pvt. Wolfdreamer

- *[Sunset Park](/source/Sunset_Park_(film))* (1996) - Mr. Santiago

- *In Dark Places* (1997) - Karl

- *[Primary Colors](/source/Primary_Colors_(film))* (1998) - Lorenzo Delgado

- *[The Minus Man](/source/The_Minus_Man)* (1999) - Priest

- *Largo* (2000) - Lucky Moreno

- *[Across the Line](/source/Across_the_Line_(2000_film))* (2000) - Alvarez

- *[Zoolander](/source/Zoolander)* (2001) - Italian Designer

- *The Commission* (2003) - Loran Hall

- *Charlotta-TS* (2010) - Father Juan

- *The Lost One* (2015) - Gypsy

- *Airstream* (2016) - Lex

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["1st Mob History Juan Maldonado"](https://web.archive.org/web/20041027210814/http://1stmob.com/a10.htm). *1stmob.com*. Archived from [the original](http://1stmob.com/a10.htm) on 2004-10-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [""At Ease" actor is veteran of war movies"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RyBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=chMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4930,5027375&dq=actor+john-vargas&hl=en). Star News. 15 April 1983. Retrieved 2011-02-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Gowdas, John N. (21 October 1990). ["Latino plots are putting actors to work"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1mEfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oNQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1128,2571110&dq=actor+john-vargas&hl=en). Gadsden Times. Retrieved 2011-02-01.

## External links

- [John Vargas](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0889855/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Vargas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vargas) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vargas?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.