With the surprise reveal of Lil Ricky at the end of On My Block season 4, many viewers may have recognized actor Benito Martinez from some of his previous roles. On My Block is a teen dramedy from streaming giant Netflix that followed four high school-aged friends from Freeridge and their struggles growing up in the rough inner-city LA neighborhood. The show premiered its fourth and final season at the beginning of October, and while many weren't sure what to expect from On My Block season 4, the show spent a lot of time wrapping up a few final loose ends for the viewers.
The reveal of the group's hero Lil' Ricky was a long-awaited moment in the show. As the founder of the Santos gang, Lil' Ricky orchestrated a heist in the early 80s, stealing a massive amount of money from RollerWorld, a local business that the Prophets allegedly had been using to launder money, and hiding it away for years. It was originally believed that Lil Ricky died in the heist like his co-conspirators. At the end of season 1, Jamal finds the hidden money, and the Santos reclaims it. It's later hinted that Lil' Ricky is in fact still alive and in hiding. He finally reveals himself to Cesar, the new leader of the Santos, while helping him repair Oscar's car, and he meets the rest of the group later.
With over 90 acting credits spanning the last 30 years, it would be surprising to not have seen something Benito Martinez had been in previous to his role in Netflix's On My Block. He frequently finds himself either on the side of law enforcement or directly opposing it, just like with Lil' Ricky in On My Block. His best-known roles are as LAPD captain David Aceveda in The Shield, DA Todd Denver in How To Get Away With Murder, and Luis Torres in Sons of Anarchy. Many might also recognize him as Sheriff Diaz from 13 Reasons Why.
In addition to his prominent characters, Martinez also has many lesser known roles, as he's been in so many shows and movies. One of his smaller roles from recent years includes joining the cast of 9-1-1 spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star as Gabriel Reyes. Benito Martinez also has many small and supporting movie credits under his belt. Recently, he played Sheriff Edgar in Queen & Slim and James Rangel in American Made.
Benito Martinez has been a favorite typecast actor for many crime dramas since he plays his crime-related roles so well. It's currently unknown if he'll continue his role as Lil Ricky in the On My Block spinoff, Freeridge, that was announced. However, regardless of whether Lil Ricky will be featured in Freeridge or not, this will likely not be the last time Benito Martinez is featured in a TV show, given his ever-growing list of movie and TV credits.