Known for Acting
He was born in Puerto Rico 1959. Calderon moved to New York with his family at the age of six, where he grew up on the streets of the Lower East Side and Spanish Harlem. Following some time in college, he enlisted in the United States Army and served overseas as an infantryman. Returning to the States, Calderon set his sights on an acting career. Starting out on the New York stage, he won an Obie Award for his performance in Blade to the Heat at the Public Theatre. His most notable Broadway role was opposite Robert De Niro in Cuba and His Teddy Bear. Calderon also appeared off-Broadway in such plays as Requiem For A Heavyweight and Divine Horsemen, and played Achilles in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of Troilus and Cressida in Central Park. He is a founding member of the Touchstone Theatre, the American Folk Theatre and the Labyrinth Theatre Company. Calderon was originally slated to portray the role of Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction; Samuel L. Jackson was subsequently given the role. Correction Samuel Jackson told Tarantino he had messed up by not casting him in Reservoir Dogs. Tarantino agreed and told him he was writing a script and had a character that he had written specifically with Jackson in mind. Calderon had a better initial reading than Jackson and Tarantino gave serious consideration to casting him as Jules Winnfield. Calderon portrays Paul the bartender in dialogue scene between Butch Coolidge and Marsellus Wallace. Calderon also co-wrote Abel Ferrara's 1992 crime drama Bad Lieutenant, starring Harvey Keitel. Calderon acted in The Last Castle and the critically acclaimed independent feature Girlfight. His more than three dozen film credits also include Out of Sight, Cop Land, Four Rooms, Pulp Fiction, Bad Lieutenant, The Firm, The Addiction, Q & A, Sea of Love, Clockers and King of New York. In addition, he has made numerous guest appearances on television series, including recurring roles on Dream Street, Law & Order and Miami Vice. In 2010, Calderon is set to star as The Businessman in Sanzhar Sultanov's crime drama - The Story.
Born
January 25, 1952 (age 74)
Birthplace
Puerto Rico
Filmography
55 films, 29 shows


Prick
2025 · 11m
country: United States
A Podcaster lands the interview of a lifetime.


Staging Anna
2024 · 20m
country: United States
A Theatre Company prepares for season previews under a manipulative Director, whose fanatical tactics blur the line between illusion and reality.
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
2021 · 2h 53m
country: Unknown
Who has ever compared Reservoir Dogs? What are “Open Road” and “New World Disorder”? Why is Harvey Keitel a fairy and how did we all almost become diehard fans of Paul Calderon? Here’s a story about Quentin Tarantino. The director who needs no introduction.


The Strike
2016 · 1h 30m
country: United States
When a trio of struggling and increasingly desperate thirty-something actors - Alberto, Molly and Richard - discover that A-list talent agent Carlo Lombardi is taking classes at the yoga studio where Molly teaches, they concoct the perfect scheme to convince him of their talent: Lay siege to the yoga studio, tie Carlo up, and with a gun to his head give the performance of their lives. A perfect plan! Now what could go wrong?


West End
2014 · 1h 34m
country: Unknown
Vic Trevi is an undercover FBI agent positioned to betray the people he calls family. Vic needs to find out the truth about his family before his family finds out the truth about him.


Welcome to New York
2014 · 2h 5m
country: United States
Mr. Devereaux is a powerful man. A man who handles billions of dollars every day. A man who controls the economic fate of nations. A man driven by a frenzied and unbridled sexual hunger. A man who dreamed of saving the world and who cannot save himself. A terrified man. A lost man.


Biodegradable
2013 · 1h 44m
country: Dominican Republic
In the future, nations have been replaced by Projects that are managed like corporations. Neighborhoods are Quadrants that closely monitored by the supervisors of the Projects and these are led by a man named BLAS. Productivity at all costs is at the core of the new society. Against this backdrop, ROSA Santos, a university student, falls in love with DANIEL, another student from a lesser Quadrant, much to the dismay of her mother. Rosa's mother will stop at nothing to better hers and her daughter's life including forcing her to marry an influential member of the Supervisors, Stefano GRAVELLI, a move that unleashes a series of events that will drag Rosa and Daniel into a conflict of political intrigue and danger.


Bolaetrapo
2013
country: Colombia


Why Stop Now?
2012 · 1h 28m
country: United States
When a college piano prodigy tries to check his mother into rehab, he is taken hostage by her drug dealer and swept along on a wild adventure.


Burning Daylight
2010 · 1h 42m
country: Canada
Based on three short stories by American writer Jack London, Burning Daylight follows the lives of three thieves, three Wall Street bankers and a Klondike millionaire, tied together by one ruthless woman


Gun
2010 · 1h 21m
country: United States
The Detroit Police launches a full-scale war against gun runners with the cooperation of the Feds and target a criminal named Rich. When a gun exchange goes bad and Rich’s old friend Angel, steps up big time and saves his life, they form a bond that makes his supplier and lover, Gabriella paranoid. But there is a snitch in the group and Gabriella’s biggest deal goes bad only to have an even bigger secret revealed, one that rocks Rich to his core.


Down This Road
2010 · 14m
country: Unknown
12-year-old Rodney embarks on a journey across New York to reclaim the love of his struggling, wayward father.


La Soga
2009 · 1h 42m
country: Dominican Republic
A cop works against his country's corrupt government in order to find justice on a case.


A Kiss of Chaos
2009 · 1h 43m
country: United States
A Latino thriller wherein an emotionally conflicted artist's life is dragged into a vortex of Chaos when both her bullet wounded thieving ex-boyfriend and HIV positive sister end up on her door steps and back in her life the same day, and the events that unfold putting her life in grave danger


The Hungry Ghosts
2009 · 1h 45m
country: United States
A New York City-set drama of interlocking stories which occur over a 36-hour period.


Pistol Whipped
2008 · 1h 39m
country: United States
Steven Seagal stars in this gritty, no-holds barred action film as an elite ex-cop with a gambling problem and a mountain of debt. When a mysterious man offers to clear his debts in exchange for the assassination of the city's most notorious gangsters, he make s decision that will change his life - forever.


The Sentinel
2006 · 1h 48m
country: United States
Veteran Secret Service agent Pete Garrison investigates a colleague's murder and is subsequently framed as a mole in an assassination attempt on the President due to the machinations of a blackmailer who knows the secret he is hiding. Disgraced, dismissed, and now a fugitive with two relentless federal investigators hot on his heels, Garrison must both clear his name and save the president from assassination.


21 Grams
2003 · 2h 4m
country: United States
Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together by a terrible accident that changes their lives.


Kill the Poor
2003 · 1h 25m
country: United States
When a marriage of convenience becomes the real thing, Joe moves his pregnant French wife to a tenement building on New York's Lower East Side. The street is like a war zone with none of the nostalgic appeal that Joe remembers from tales of his immigrant grandparents arriving in the same neighborhood with a new life. This is the urban frontier filled with comic mixture of gentrifies, homeboys, dealers and local residents simply bent on staying a float


The Last Castle
2001 · 2h 11m
country: United States
A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.


3 A.M.
2001 · 1h 28m
country: United States
The feature film directing debut of Spike Lee protege Lee Davis takes the viewer into the world of taxi drivers. Developed in the Sundance Laboratory, this film offers dove-tailing stories centering on the lives of individual taxi drivers as they reflect on and experience romance, politics, sociology, and spirituality.


The Atlantis Conspiracy
2001 · 1h 30m
country: United States
Lauren Marcus (Amanda Donohoe) reluctantly moves back to New York City and is forced to decide whether she wants to reconnect with the life she abruptly left behind. When a mystery stemming from a suicide draws her in, she and two friends, a young bookie and a cynical federal agent, seek to uncover the truth.


Once in the Life
2000 · 1h 47m
country: United States
Two estranged half-brothers, Billy and Torch, reconnect during a brief jail stay. 20/20 Mike concocts a scheme in which the two of them will steal dope from some young couriers. The heist goes wrong when Billy shoots the couriers dead. They hole up in an abandoned building, and 20/20 Mike seeks help from an old cell mate, Tony.


Girlfight
2000 · 1h 50m
country: United States
Diana Guzman, a troubled Brooklyn teenager, decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer, all while keeping it a secret from her father.


Bait
2000 · 1h 59m
country: United States
Landing in jail for a petty theft crime, Alvin finds himself sharing a cell with John Jaster, the incarcerated half of the pair of high-tech thieves responsible for the missing gold. His partner, Bristol, is still at large. Alvin wants only to get out of prison and start fresh with his girlfriend, Lisa, and when the Feds, led by U.S. Treasury investigator Clenteen, set him loose on a sketchy deal, he thinks his luck has changed. Alvin has his freedom and the Feds have found their bait.


Oxygen
1999 · 1h 32m
country: United States
When housewife Frances Hannon is abducted and buried alive, detective Madeline Foster is brought in. With only 24 hours before Frances' oxygen runs out, Madeline pursues the trail laid by a killer calling himself Harry Houdini. After capturing him, Madeline brings Harry back to the police station, but is unable to get him to confess where Frances is buried. As time runs down, Harry gets inside the head of unstable, alcoholic Madeline.


One Tough Cop
1998 · 1h 30m
country: United States
A detective tries to remain loyal to his partner, and his best friend - a mobster.


Out of Sight
1998 · 2h 3m
country: United States
Meet Jack Foley, a smooth criminal who bends the law and is determined to make one last heist. Karen Sisco is a federal marshal who chooses all the right moves … and all the wrong guys. Now they're willing to risk it all to find out if there's more between them than just the law.


All Revved Up
1998 · 1h 30m
country: Unknown
A lovely school teacher finds herself the victim of a scam artist - a garage owner who delights in ripping off his customers. Soon, she has two eager young men, her lizard-loving neighbour and his friend, on her side to help her exact revenge on the sleazy mechanic, who is the leader of a stolen car ring.


Montana
1998 · 1h 36m
country: United States
A seasoned enforcer is given the seemingly routine task of finding the Boss's runaway mistress, Kitty. However Kitty is involved in plans to overthrow the Boss and this routine task gets very complicated.


Cop Land
1997 · 1h 44m
country: United States
Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.


Dark Angel
1996 · 1h 23m
country: United States
Homicide detective Walter D'Arcangelo is the only link to a serial killer who preys on adulterous women. Walter must confront his past in order to prove himself innocent before more women are killed.


Four Rooms
1995 · 1h 38m
country: United States
It's Ted the Bellhop's first night on the job...and the hotel's very unusual guests are about to place him in some outrageous predicaments. It seems that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening after another.


Condition Red
1995 · 1h 23m
country: Finland
Prison guard falls in love with inmate. She wants him to let her escape.


The Addiction
1995 · 1h 22m
country: United States
A vampiric doctoral student tries to follow the philosophy of a nocturnal comrade and control her thirst for blood.


Clockers
1995 · 2h 8m
country: United States
Strike is a young city drug pusher under the tutelage of drug lord Rodney Little. When a night manager at a fast-food restaurant is found with four bullets in his body, Strike’s older brother turns himself in as the killer. Detective Rocco Klein doesn’t buy the story, however, setting out to find the truth, and it seems that all the fingers point toward Strike & Rodney.


Sweet Nothing
1995 · 1h 29m
country: United States
Angel celebrates the birth of his daughter by taking his first hit of crack cocaine. With the hesitant support of his wife, Monika, he joins a friend of his to deal drugs for a short time--enough time to get out of debt and buy some nice things for the family. Three years later, Angel is still dealing, and has not saved any money, instead spending it on crack. His addiction grows, straining his friendship and his family life, and he gradually loses control.


Lotto Land
1995 · 1h 27m
country: United States
This film tells two interwoven stories of two single-parent families in a poor, racially-mixed neighborhood in Brooklyn. The first story is about a young black man (with aspirations of getting away from his friends who are involved in drugs) who falls in love with a latino girl (who is heading off to college on a full scholarship). The second is about their parents, (she works in the neighborhood liquor store; he works for the phone company). The story takes place against the backdrop of a winning lottery ticket worth $27 million being sold to someone in the neighborhood from the liquor store.


Hand Gun
1994 · 1h 30m
country: United States
Jack is in the midst of a major robbery, which leaves him injured and his accomplices dead. Jack manages to hide the $500,000 from the robbery before he makes his way to his death bed.


Pulp Fiction
1994 · 2h 34m
country: United States
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.


The Firm
1993 · 2h 34m
country: United States
Mitch McDeere is a young man with a promising future in Law. About to sit his Bar exam, he is approached by 'The Firm' and made an offer he doesn't refuse. Seduced by the money and gifts showered on him, he is totally oblivious to the more sinister side of his company. Then, two Associates are murdered. The FBI contact him, asking him for information and suddenly his life is ruined. He has a choice - work with the FBI, or stay with the Firm. Either way he will lose his life as he knows it. Mitch figures the only way out is to follow his own plan...


Bad Lieutenant
1992 · 1h 36m
country: United States
While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.


CrissCross
1992 · 1h 36m
country: United States
A 12-year-old boy comes of age in 1969 Key West against the backdrop of the Apollo moon landing, when he begins to sell cocaine so his mother can stop stripping.


The Keys
1992 · 1h 34m
country: United States
Brothers, shipped off by their divorced New York mom to live with their businessman dad in the Florida Keys, find him caught up in a land war against a drug lord and developer who wants to build a massive casino complex.


King of New York
1990 · 1h 43m
country: Italy
A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.


Q & A
1990 · 2h 12m
country: United States
A young district attorney seeking to prove a case against a corrupt police detective encounters a former lover and her new protector, a crime boss who refuses to help him.


The Old Man and the Sea
1990 · 1h 33m
country: United Kingdom
Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. Santiago goes out on his usual fishing trip and makes a huge catch, the biggest of his life. Then a shark attacks and tries to steal his catch.


Penn & Teller Get Killed
1989 · 1h 29m
country: United States
The "bad boys of magic" go over the edge in this mind-blowing, role-switching comedy murder mystery set in the dizzying world of Atlantic City casinos. In a TV interview, Penn mentions his idea of a fun practical joke: "I wish someone were trying to kill me. It would give focus to my life, excitement. I'd be like James Bond." Twenty million people hear him. One decides to deliver a punchline he'll never forget. Made by people who thought Psycho was a comedy, Penn & Teller Get Killed (they also wrote the piece) features Caitlin Clarke as the femme fatale and David Patrick Kelly as the Edgar Allan Poe-esque nutcase with a new mission. Arthur Penn, known for hip masterpieces like Bonnie and Clyde, Alice's Restaurant and Little Big Man, directs with roller-coaster pacing and subversive intelligence.


Sea of Love
1989 · 1h 53m
country: United States
Seen-it-all New York detective Frank Keller is unsettled - he has done twenty years on the force and could retire, and he hasn't come to terms with his wife leaving him for a colleague. Joining up with an officer from another part of town to investigate a series of murders linked by the lonely hearts columns he finds he is getting seriously and possibly dangerously involved with Helen, one of the main suspects.


The Chair
1988 · 1h 40m
country: United States
A psychologist, a psychiatrist and a prison warden open up a long-closed prison, unaware that the ghost of an electrocuted convict haunts it.


Sticky Fingers
1988 · 1h 37m
country: United States
Two dippy roommates, struggling musicians Lolly and Hattie, are asked by a drug-dealing friend-of-a-friend, Diane, to baby-sit a bag containing nearly a million dollars while she scoots out of town in order to avoid trouble. Once the money is in their possession, however, temptation proves too much for them.


Band of the Hand
1986 · 1h 49m
country: United States
An Indian Vietnam veteran trains five street punks in the Everglades to fight vice in Miami.


Doubletake
1985
country: United States
Two corpses are found in different locations with their heads severed and exchanged. Frank Janek is called on to head the team of detectives investigating. Meanwhile, Janek is trying to find out why an old friend and colleague committed suicide, which eventually leads to a romantic situation with photographer Caroline Wallace and the discovery of some major corruption among his superiors, all of which has little or nothing to do with the murder story.


Tenement
1985 · 1h 34m
country: United States
A drug-dealing band of violent street thugs terrorize the tenants of a South Bronx apartment building.


Community Plot
1984 · 20m
country: Unknown
This satiric comedy takes place in a building on New York's multi-ethnic Lower East Side. Four neighbors form an uneasy alliance after a case worker from family court is accidentally killed in their building.