E. J. Bonilla

Edward Joshua Bonilla (born September 8, 1988)^[1] is an American television and film actor. He is best known for his role as Rafe Rivera on Guiding Light.

E. J. Bonilla
Born	Edward Joshua Bonilla (1988-09-08) September 8, 1988 (age 34) Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2006–present

Early life

Bonilla was born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican parents. He attended John Ericsson Junior High School 126 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where he became involved in poetry, dance, and band, playing the trumpet. He also participated in musical theater while in junior high school and high school. Bonilla attended high school for Environmental Studies. He first became interested in acting in the ninth-grade, when he was cast as Danny Zuko in a performance of Grease.^[2] He graduated from high school in 2006 and then attended Bard College.

Career

His first role was a non-union commercial for a Hilary Duff film called Raise Your Voice. After graduating from high school, he went on to originate the role of Rafe, Natalia Rivera Aitoro son, on Guiding Light in May 2007.^[3]

Bonilla starred in the independent film Musical Chairs. It is a story of a couple (played by Bonilla and actress Leah Pipes) who enter a wheelchair ballroom dancing competition after the girl is disabled in a traffic accident. The film was released on March 23, 2012.

Bonilla received an Imagen Award nomination for his performance as "Dexter," a former high school basketball player whose best days are behind him, in Joshua Sanchez's directorial debut, Four.^[4] The film was released on September 13, 2013.^[5]

Awards

Award	Date	Film/show	Category	Result
28th Annual Imagen Awards^[6]	August 16, 2013	Four	Best Actor/Supporting Actor - Feature Film	Nominated
Los Angeles Film Festival^[7]	June 24, 2012	Four	Best Performance in the Narrative Competition (Ensemble Cast)	Won
36th Daytime Emmy Awards^[8]	August 30, 2009	Guiding Light	Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Don't Let Me Drown	Lalo
2011	Yelling To The Sky	Rob Rodriguez
2011	The Mortician	Noah
2011	Mamitas	Jordin Juarez
2011	Musical Chairs	Armando
2013	The House that Jack Built	Jack
2013	Four	Dexter	Nominated – Imagen Award
2019	Gemini Man	Marino
2019	The Kitchen	Gonzalo Martinez

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	The Ron Clark Story	Hispanic Kid	Television film
2006	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Fraco	Episode: "Watch"
2007–2009	Guiding Light	Raphael "Rafe" Rivera	158 episodes Nominated – Daytime Emmy Award
2009	Law & Order	Carlos	Episode: "Bailout"
2009	Bored to Death	Francisco	Episode: "The Case of the Stolen Skateboard"
2010	Cold Case	Ronnie Tavares '93	Episode: "Shattered"
2011	Blue Bloods	Julio	Episode: "Dedication"
2012	The Big C	Scott	Episode: "What's Your Story?"
2012–2013	Revenge	Marco Romero	4 episodes
2013	Shameless	Jesus	Episode: "Civil Wrongs"
2015–2016	Unforgettable	Denny Padilla	Main cast
2017	The Long Road Home	Shane Aguero	8 episodes
2018	Insecure	Beat Crew Guy	2 episodes
2018	Bull	Gabriel	6 episodes
2022	The Old Man	Agent Raymond Waters

References

1. About the Actors: E.J. Bonilla SoapCentral.com. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
2. "'Buzzworthy: E.J. Bonilla". Retrieved 2013-07-27.
3. E.J. Bonilla biography 2009-03-28 at the Wayback Machine CBS.com. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
4. The Imagen Foundation 2014-11-26 at the Wayback Machine.
5. "Controversial Award-Winning Film - FOUR - Embraced by AMC". The Wall Street Journal. July 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
6. . Imagen Award. June 2013. Archived from the original on 26 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
7. . Film Independent. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
8. . Daytime Emmy Awards. 14 May 2009. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.

External links

• E. J. Bonilla at IMDb
• interview