Veteran TV, film and voice actor Kamar de los Reyes has passed away at 56. In addition to playing the villain Raul Menendez in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II, de los Reyeo played Antonio Vega on ABC’s soap opera One Life to Live. According to a family rep that verified to Deadline, de los Reyes passed away Sunday after a brief battle with cancer.
Puerto Rican born and raised in Las Vegas, he then made his way to Los Angeles during the 1980s to begin an acting career that extended over 30 years. In 1994, de los Reyes claimed the role of Pedro Quinn in Blade to the Heat, a critically acclaimed off-Broadway play. This role led him to play Ferdinand in George C. Wolfe’s (Rustin, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) rendition of the Shakespeare in the Park play The Tempest.
He then worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, such as Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, Maleficent) in Salt, Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers, Maid in Manhattan) in The Cell and Oliver Stone (Platoon, Natural Born Killers) in Nixon. Also, in 1994, De los Reyes starred in the drama series Valley of the Dolls.
In 1995, he did three episodes on NBC’s ER and became part of the One Life To Live cast, where he portrayed the former gang member to attorney and police officer Antonio Vega for 14 years. He saw a short departure from the show in the 1990s.
His acting in the series led him to obtain five ALMA Award nominations, with a win in 2008. He also obtained an Image Award nomination. De los Reyes was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Special Fan Award and an America’s Favorite Couple in 2002 with his future wife, actress Sherri Saum.
De los Reyes’s other prominent character was Raul Menendez, who is a Nicaraguan drug lord and the ringleader of a terrorist organization. Menendez is the main antagonist of the coveted 2012 Call of Duty: Black Ops II as well as the 2013 Call Of Duty: Strike Team. He then returned to offer his voice and motion-captured body acting in 2018 for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and in 2022 with Call Of Duty: Vanguard and Call Of Duty: Warzone.
Along with de los Reyes’s long list of works, according to Deadline, he has also held various other roles in his career. Such as having a role in some primetime drama shows like playing a gang leader during the two-part season three finale of Blue Bloods, and roles in SEAL Team, The Gifted, Shooter, MacGyver, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Mentalist, Touched by an Angel, Early Edition, and CSI: Miami. On the movie front, de los Reyes starred alongside his soap opera co-star Daniel Cosgrove (Valentine, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder) and actress Annabeth Gish (Nixon, Before I Wake) in the TV movie The Way She Moves in 2001.
His movie work also includes Love and Suicide, which debuted in 2005. Cayo, L.A. Apocalypse, which debuted in 2015 and his latest movie was Amelia 2.0, which debuted in 2017.
Recently, he held a more prominent recurring role in Sleepy Hollow during its fourth season, portraying demon Jobe. He also held roles as a recurring character on CW’s All American as Coach Montes from Coastal California University and in ABC’s The Rookie from seasons three to four as Detective Caradine.
As per Deadline, right before his passing, de los Reyes was filming for All American. He was also shooting scenes for his role as Sterling K. Brown in Washington Black, a forthcoming limited series by Hulu. In addition to the Hulu series, de los Reyes also held a prominent role in Marvel’s forthcoming series, Daredevil, for Disney+.
Living in Los Angeles, de los Reyes’s Puerto Rican roots always stayed in his heart. Following the disastrous Hurricane Maria, he was quick to help out in any way he could and was an active member in the recovery efforts of his home.
De los Reyes is survived by his wife, Sherri Saum, and twin sons, Michael and John (9) and his other son, Caylen (26); his brothers, Walfredo Jr, and Daniel; his sisters, Ilde and Lily; his mother Matilde and his father, Walfredo.
Fans have shared their grief over the actor’s death across social media and expressed their support for his family.