Sergio Calderón, a character actor best known to fans for appearances in the original Men in Black and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, has passed away. Deadline brings word of Calderón’s death, revealing his died earlier in the morning on May 31, “surrounded by family.” Calderón was 77 at the time of his death. Born July 21, 1945, Calderón worked for five decades in feature films, starting his career by starring in movies shot in Mexico.
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Despite consistent work on location, in 1997 Calderón took the role that would make him a recognizable face. In the opening scene of Men in Black, the titular government group come across a caravan of Mexican immigrants, stopping it because the metaphor has a double meaning and one of the persons inside isn’t who they say they are. Calderón’s role was as the “head on a stick” that the alien “Mikey” was holding up to use as a human disguise. Though only appearing for one scene in the film, it would end up becoming his calling card for many.
“I love to play those types of characters, because people really hate me,” told The LA Times in a profile published a week before his death. “They tell me in the streets how much they hate me. But to me, that is my success. Because that means I was able to convince people with what I performed.”
In addition to his quick appearance in Men in Black, Calderón would go on to play a memorable role in the PIrates of the Caribbean franchise as well, taking on the role of pirate lord Capt. Vallenueva for 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, the third film. Some of his other notable feature films include roles in westerns Duck, You Sucker! (1971) and The Revengers (1972); plus, episodes of The A-Team classic TV series. His final appearance was as Detective Silverio Narro in the Peacock original series The Resort.
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