El Paso is known for its sunsets, food, and border-town culture, but did you know some of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, award-winning talents, and cult favorites all got their start in the Sun City? From Oscar winners to Supreme Court justices to wrestling legends, here are the famous El Pasoans that might surprise you. And yes, we updated this list with your suggestions because you all clearly know your stuff.
1. F. Murray Abraham
Yes, that F. Murray Abraham, the Academy Award-winning actor who played Salieri in Amadeus, was born right here in El Paso. He even grew up performing in school plays at UTEP before heading to Hollywood. Beyond the Oscar, you have seen him everywhere: Tony Montana’s shady pal Omar in Scarface, the dignified Mr. Moustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and the sharp-tongued Bert in HBO’s White Lotus. Fun fact? Abraham also voiced Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god, in Marvel’s Moon Knight. From Shakespeare to superheroes, this El Pasoan has done it all.
2. Alan Tudyk
Beloved in the nerd universe, Alan Tudyk is basically Hollywood’s secret weapon. Born in El Paso, he became known as the wise-cracking pilot Wash in Firefly before going full droid sass as K-2SO in Rogue One. But Tudyk’s voice work is where things get wild. He has voiced Hei Hei the chicken in Moana, King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph, the Duke of Weselton in Frozen, Iago the parrot in Disney’s live-action Aladdin, Joker in HBO’s Harley Quinn, and dozens of background characters across nearly every modern Disney animated film. If you have watched a Disney movie in the last decade, odds are you have heard Tudyk without even knowing it. Most recently he voiced a robot servant in James Gunn’s Superman who ad-libbed the name “Gary” and Gunn loved it so much he kept it in the final cut…