Biografie

A profile of Peña revealed that for every film he's cast in, he asks the writers to include a reference to his character being Mexican-American at some point. Peña related that since he gets to mainly play characters who are not stereotypes & clichés, but are smart, funny, and have good/interesting jobs, he loves the fact that mentioning his own heritage in that context will be a source of pride to Mexican-American fans who go to his films.

He has appeared in five films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: L.A. Crash (2004), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Babel (2006), American Hustle (2013) and Der Marsianer: Rettet Mark Watney (2015). Crash and Million Dollar Baby won in the category.

Michael welcomed his first child, a boy named Roman, with his wife, Brie Shaffer, in September 2008.

He has worked with 4 directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: Clint Eastwood, Oliver Stone, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and Robert Redford.

One of his first jobs was working in a bank.

I'm just an actor. If it's drama, I add as much humor as the part will stand. And if it's a comedy, add as much drama as you can, so it balances out; you don't wanna be too serious.

I guess people recognize me, but I'm not a household name. Two out of every five people who come up to me know my name. The one thing I don't want is to be followed by paparazzi.

My first ten years in Hollywood were really tough. I'd be coaching friends who came to me for acting advice, and then they'd make it before I did. I'd still be helping them while they were on movie sets and I had four lines on a TV show.

The joy of 'Crash' was that it was all about the work. It was my first real part. Before that, it was a line here and there, maybe a scene. 'Crash' was five scenes, a beautiful arc, a little vignette of my own. It really meant something.

I think writing is the most underrated thing in Hollywood.