Emilio Rivera

Emilio Rivera (born February 24, 1961) is an American film and television actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of Marcus Álvarez in Sons of Anarchy and its spin-off, Mayans M.C. He is also known for his depiction of criminals and law enforcement officers.

Early life
Rivera is of Mexican descent. He is the oldest sibling in his family, with four younger brothers and three younger sisters. He was raised in Elysian Valley also known as Frogtown, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Rivera suffered from stuttering as a youth. In the third grade, he was cast as the titular character in a school theatre production of Rumpelstiltskin. Rivera noticed he did not stutter once during his performance on stage. Shortly after, he confessed to his father he wanted to be an actor, to which his father replied that acting was only for "rich white people."

At 18 years old in 1979, Rivera enlisted in the U.S. Army.

Career
Rivera's first feature role was in the TV series Renegade with Lorenzo Lamas. He also had a role in the feature film Con Air, co-starring Nicolas Cage. Emilio has appeared in several commercials, television programs and feature films including Training Day, Fun with Dick and Jane, Traffic, The Cable Guy, NYPD Blue, Beverly Hills 90210, Walker Texas Ranger, Titus, Hitman: Agent 47, JAG, ER, A Man Apart with Vin Diesel, John Cusack's film Never Get Outta the Boat, Ali G Indahouse, Rush, Howard Stern's Son of the Beach, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Z Nation, and Michael Mann's new series Metro. He also played Marcus Álvarez in Sons of Anarchy for seven seasons and played Álvarez in Mayans M.C. for 5 seasons.

Personal life
Emilio has three children from a previous marriage and his oldest child from another woman.