Chicago Fire: What is Joe Minoso’s nationality?

Joe Cruz recently made a huge addition to his Chicago Fire family. The character helped rescue a boy named Javier from a building fire, and upon learning that the boy would be going to a foster home, he decided to adopt him.

Javier is said to be from Honduras in the new episode “Hot and Fast“, and the specificity of the character’s ethnic background has led some fans to question what Cruz’s ethnicity is, as well as the ethnicity of the actor who plays him, Joe Minoso.

Here’s what you need to know about Minoso’s background.

What is Joe Minoso’s ethnic background?

Minoso is Latino. During a 2021 interview with the Chicago Tribune, the actor revealed that his mother is Colombian and his father is from the Dominican Republic. He’s proud of both lineages and has spoken at length about his desire to promote (and communicate with) a more racially diverse world on television.

“I think there’s a balance that still needs to be explored in how we’re dealing with our racial equity and how we’re expressing our understanding of our own culture”, he told the outlet. Minoso said he was very close with Chicago Fire alum Monica Raymund, who is also Dominican, and together they would often discuss the importance of negating harmful stereotypes onscreen.

Minoso’s ethnicity actually changed the way the Cruz character was written. Originally, Cruz was going to be an African American firefighter named Timothy Leary, but the casting people felt that Minoso was so good that they renamed the character and altered his background.

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Minoso said he was unaware of the name change when it came time to do the first table read, and when he was unable to find the name “Leary” he feared that he had been written out of the show. Fortunately, the confusion was sorted out, and Minoso has been Cruz ever since.

Minoso’s success has led to him founding the production company Mass Epiphany Studios. He explained that the goal of the company was to push “inclusivity and acceptance” in all forms of media, including film and television.

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