He appeared Off-Broadway in such plays as Requiem for a Heavyweight; Two Sisters and a Piano and Dancing on Her Knees, both written by Nilo Cruz; Troilus and Cressida at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, in the role of Achilles; and Divine Horsemen for the LAByrinth Theater Company, a play which he had written, directed and produced. He wrote and directed Master of the Crossroads, based on his own short story; it was premiered at the Bridge Theater in Manhattan, starring Kate Jackson.[3] He has had various short stories published in literary journals.[citation needed] His last published story was "Primitive Grace" for the international e-magazine Noir Nation.
In the 1980s, Calderón appeared in several TV series. He acted in three episodes of Miami Vice, playing a different character in each. He also appeared in the extended music video of "Bad" by Michael Jackson (who played the film's main character, Darryl).
Calderón was almost cast as Jules Winnfield in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, since director Quentin Tarantino had been impressed by his audition, but the role eventually went to Samuel L. Jackson, and Calderón was given a role as a bartender, Paul,[5] who speaks the line, "Hey, my name's Paul and this shit's between y'all," to John Travolta's character, Vincent Vega.[6]
He has made many guest appearances on television series, including recurring roles on Dream Street, Law & Order and Miami Vice. In 2012, he guest-starred in the Blue Bloods episode "Domestic Disturbance", playing Lieutenant Martin Perez.[7] (He reprised the role in the 2016 Blue Bloods episode "Back in the Day".[8]) Calderón worked on two films in 2012: West End, directed by Joe Basille; and Biodegradable, a futuristic film shot in the Dominican Republic with an all Latino cast, directed by Juan Basanta. In 2014, he played Arquimedes, the bodyguard of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson in seven episodes of the fifth (final) season of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. He played Alejandro, a recurring role on Fear the Walking Dead.[9] Since 2017, he has appeared as Detective Santiago "Jimmy" Robertson on the Amazon TV series, Bosch.
^Dominguez, Robert (June 7, 2000). "Making Their Mark". New York Daily News. p. Special S-13. So even if, at 48 years old, Paul Calderon isn't considered an A-list actor, he doesn't mind a bit.
^ abcd"Bio". PaulCalderon.net. Retrieved October 19, 2022.