Huertas was born in New York City, New York, to a Puerto Rican father and a Caucasian mother. He was raised by his grandparents. Huertas studied at the ‘John Handley High School’ in Winchester, Va. By 10 yearsof age, he began taking part in the school plays. Once he had to sing a solo and his performance seemed to have moved a nun in that strict Catholic Convent school. This helped him make up his mind to pursue acting.
Career
Huertas's acting career started in 1993 when he played an uncredited part in The Webbers. In 1998, Huertas portrayed Joe Negroni in the romantic drama Why Do Fools Fall in Love alongside such stars as Halle Berry, Paul Mazursky, and Ben Vereen. In 1999, he appeared in two films: the horror movie Cold Hearts and the action movieStealth Fighter. In the 2000s, he appeared in many films, but his biggest role was in television in 2008 as Sergeant Espera in HBO's miniseriesGeneration Kill about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. From 1998 to 1999, Huertas played the role of Antonio in the television seriesMoesha. From 1999 to 2000, he played Brad, a witch hunter, in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. From 2009 to 2016, Huertas has starred in the role of Detective Esposito in ABC's police procedural Castle. In 2012, Huertas and his Castle co-star Stana Katic received the award for Performance in a Drama Episode at the 16th Annual PRISM Awards. Huertas was elected to serve a one-year term, beginning September 25, 2010, as an alternate member of the NationalBoard of Directors and as a member of the Hollywood Division Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild. In June 2011, Huertas made his debut music video single called "Sex Is the Word". In October 2019, Huertas appeared on The Rookie. He played as Alejandro Mejia/Cesar Ojeda in the episode "The Bet" and he reunites with former co-stars from Castle are Nathan Fillion and Seamus Dever as part of ABC's Cast from the Past Week.
Personal life
Huertas, is of Puerto Rican descent. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1987 and served for 8 years as an aircraft nuclear/conventional weapons specialist. He participated in Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Storm. Huertas married his long-term girlfriend, Nicole Bordges, in Tulum, Mexico on May 4, 2014.
