For those of you who love movies and TV shows, or for those who at least grew up with the classics, this blog post is for you!
*DUE TO POSSIBLE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, I HAVE REMOVED ALL PHOTOS FROM THIS POSTING*
I will say that this was a fun article to research and write about because I consider myself a cinephile at heart, even though I rarely have time to watch shows or movies these days. This blog isn’t about movies or shows specifically, but is more about the story of one individual in particular.
And why focus this blog post on Luis Guzmán (click his name for his Wikipedia entry, or here for his IMDb page to look up his filmography), you may ask? Mostly because I was recently catching up on season two of Netflix’s Wednesday (Burton, 2022-2025), and it reminded me that Luis Guzmán lives right here in Vermont. The show Wednesday also takes place in Jericho, Vermont (where Snowflake Bentley was from, although it was primarily filmed in Romania), and Luis Guzmán and Jenna Ortega are in that show. And then Jenna Ortega was also in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Burton, 2024), which was partly filmed in Vermont, literally ten minutes away from our house. Going down that whole rabbit hole led me to write this…
On a tangential note, there are a bunch of other famous actors and notable filmmakers who were either born in Vermont or who resided in Vermont at some point in their lives. I asked ChatGPT to compile the list below (and that’s the only thing I used ChatGPT for in this blog post), and the result was way more extensive than I thought it would be! I decided to proudly include that list here, even though it’s not necessarily part of the overarching theme of this blog.
More on Luis Guzmán after the Vermont-associated actor list below…
A-LIST & WIDELY FAMOUS ACTORS
(major studio films, long-running TV fame, or strong name recognition)
Daphne Zuniga
Born: Reading, VT
Known for: Spaceballs (Princess Vespa), Melrose Place
Luis Guzmán
Resides: Cabot, VT (since the mid-1990s)
Known for: Boogie Nights, Traffic, Wednesday
Peter Dinklage
Educated: Bennington College, Bennington, VT
Known for: Game of Thrones (Tyrion Lannister), The Station Agent
Zosia Mamet
Born: Randolph, VT
Known for: Girls, The Flight Attendant
Damon Wayans Jr.
Born: Huntington, VT
Known for: New Girl, Happy Endings
Ezra Miller
Resided: Stamford area, VT
Known for: The Flash, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Miranda July
Born: Barre, VT
Known for: Me and You and Everyone We Know, Kajillionaire
Matt Salinger
Born: Windsor, VT
Known for: Revenge of the Nerds, Captain America (1990)
CHARACTER ACTORS & STRONG SUPPORTING CAREERS
(well-known faces, prolific film/TV work)
Sam Lloyd
Born: Springfield, VT
Known for: Scrubs (Ted Buckland), Cougar Town
Orson Bean
Born: Burlington, VT
Known for: Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Being John Malkovich
Jude Ciccolella
Born: Burlington, VT
Known for: 24, Dexter
Will Lyman
Born: Burlington, VT
Known for: Narrator of Frontline, stage and screen roles
Gabriel Mann
Born: Middlebury, VT
Known for: Revenge, The Bourne Supremacy
Jay Hayden
Born: Northfield, VT
Known for: Station 19, SEAL Team
Bing Russell
Born: Brattleboro, VT
Known for: Bonanza, The Magnificent Seven
(Father of Kurt Russell)
REGIONAL, INDIE, & CULT-FAVORITE ACTORS
(smaller national footprint, strong Vermont or indie presence)
Rusty DeWees
Resides: Westfield, VT
Known for: The Logger films, Stuck in Vermont
Rod Loomis
Born: St. Albans, VT
Known for: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Robocop
Richard Romanus
Born: Barre, VT
Known for: Mean Streets, Miami Vice
Rene Kirby
Born: Burlington, VT
Known for: Shallow Hal, Stuck on You
M. Emmet Walsh
Raised: Swanton, VT
Known for: Blade Runner, Blood Simple
(one of the great American character actors)
VERMONT FILMMAKERS & ACTING ECOSYSTEM FIGURES
(non-actors whose work materially shaped Vermont’s screen culture)
Jay Craven
Resides / Works: Craftsbury, VT
Known for: Disappearance, Suspended Animation, Where the Rivers Flow North
Notable contribution: Founder of Kingdom County Productions; frequent collaborator with Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal, Michael J. Fox, Kris Kristofferson, and local Vermont
Ken Burns (documentarian, but impossible to exclude)
Lived / Worked in: Charlotte, VT; long association with Bread Loaf, Ripton, VT
Known for: The Civil War, Baseball, Country Music
Why he matters: Burns lived in Vermont early in his career and helped establish Bread Loaf as a serious documentary incubator. His influence on nonfiction film culture in New England runs straight through Vermont. He has been living in Walpole, NH, since 1979.
Bess O’Brien
Based in: Vermont (statewide work)
Known for: The Hungry Heart, Ask Us Who We Are
Why she matters: One of the most respected social-issue documentarians working in Vermont today. Her films regularly screen nationally and are deeply rooted in Vermont communities.
Alfred Guzzetti
Resides: Vermont
Known for: Family Portrait Sittings, Scenes from Childhood
Why he matters: A major figure in personal documentary and film pedagogy, long affiliated with the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Influenced generations of filmmakers more than casual viewers realize.
Jay Cheel
Based in: Vermont
Known for: How to Build a Time Machine, Beauty Day
Why he matters: A cult-favorite experimental documentarian whose work circulates internationally while being made from Vermont. Proof that you can do strange, smart film work far from media capitals.
John O’Hagan
Based in: Vermont
Known for: The Year That Trembled, Dead Season
Why he matters: A narrative filmmaker who consistently shoots in Vermont and New England, often blending regional realism with genre storytelling.
Are you impressed?! I am! Now, back to Luis Guzmán.
Guzmán was born in Puerto Rico in 1956 and moved to New York at a young age. He graduated from the City College of New York with a degree in social work, and in 1974 made his first trip to Goddard College in Plainfield, VT, with other Puerto Rican teenagers, to do some…social work! Goddard College unfortunately closed its doors in 2024 after 86 years of operation, however.
According to Guzmán, he immediately felt a connection to Vermont and never forgot about it. He moved to Cabot, VT, in the 1990s, and that’s where he currently resides today with his wife and children.
He is known in the Cabot area for his humble nature and humanitarian work and is considered a regular neighbor who you may see at the local grocery store or dump. When he’s not away shooting his next movie or TV show, he’s actively involved with local Vermont charity groups such as Sleep in Heavenly Peace (building and donating beds for children in need), Hunger Free Vermont, and Neighbors in Action, helping with food security and community support. He donated his $30,000 in Wheel of Fortune winnings in 2023 to Neighbors in Action. He’s also personally participated in projects like bed-building days with volunteers and also served as a visiting faculty member at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
He has his own line of Vermont-based canned all-natural lemonades as well, named Guz-Jūs, where 10% of the profits are donated to rotating Vermont charities.
In total, he has a whopping 174 acting credits between movies and TV shows, with an accumulated 50+ years in the acting business.
What else can I say about the guy, except that I respect him and I would love to meet him one day! I’ve never been one for autographs, but at the very least I would love to give him a handshake and to tell him that he’s doing great work in the world. Okay…and maybe get a photo with him!
And there you have it: Vermont makes more of an impression on the world than you might see at first glance. I am proud of the state I live in, and that’s for a multitude of reasons. Now it’s time to get outside and breathe in that crisp, fresh Vermont air!
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Thanks for reading!
