Jon Seda

Biography

Date of Birth 14 October 1970, New York City, New York, USA Birth Name Jonathan Seda Height 5' 9" (1.75 m) Seda's parents moved from Puerto Rico to Manhattan, New York where he was born. They moved to a neighborhood in Clifton, New Jersey shortly after his birth. Here he received his primary and secondary education; after graduating from high school, Seda started to work out in a gym after two friends convinced him that he should take up boxing. He became obsessed with the idea that someday he could become a champion and participate in the 1992 Olympics. He boxed in several gyms in New Jersey and soon was a runner up in the New Jersey Golden Gloves competition. As an amateur boxer, Seda had a record of 21 wins and one loss. Seda's film debut was in 1992, in the film Gladiator (a boxing film) where he played the role of "Ramon" a Cuban boxer. He has since worked in various films and TV series, amongst them New York Undercover and NYPD Blue . In 1997 he landed the role of "Detective Paul Falsone" on NBC's: Homicide: Life on the Street. In 1995, Seda was nominated "Best Male Lead" at the Spirit Awards for his role the 1994 movie I Like It Like That opposite Rita Moreno and Lauren Velez. In 1996, he was nominated "Best Actor" for his role "Blue" in the film The Sunchaser opposite actor Woody Harrelson at the Cannes Film Festival. Jon became widely known to the Hispanic film audience when he played the role of "Chris" opposite Jennifer Lopez in Selena (film). A film based on the true story of a the Tejano singer, Selena, who was on her way to stardom and was murdered by a close acquaintance. Seda has participated in 24 movies - the most recent being in Bad Boys II (2003) as "Roberto". He also made over 16 T.V. appearances. Among the most notable have been as Dino Ortolani in Oz, as well as Third Watch and Law & Order. In response to the rumours of his "Paul Falsone" character becoming the central focus of the show Homicide: Life on the Street, a multitude of fans started writing in protest to NBC. One fan even started an "I Hate Falsone" webpage. Seda established "The Jon Seda Foundation" to fund the research into the causes and cures of Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS) after his sister, Sofia, was diagnosed with the disorder. Seda currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and their three children. He was recently signed to join the cast of CBS's hit show Close to Home.