He has starred in many films, including Crash (2004), World Trade Center (2006), Shooter (2007), Observe and Report (2009), Tower Heist (2011), Battle: Los Angeles (2011), End of Watch (2012), and Gangster Squad (2013).

[2][3] Peña's parents were originally farmers, and emigrated from Mexico; his father was from Villa Purificación, Jalisco, and his mother was from Charcas, San Luis Potosí.

[7] Though Peña has been a regular in independent productions since 1996, his breakthrough performances came in two Best Picture Oscar-winning Paul Haggis-penned films, Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Crash (2004).

[9] He appeared alongside Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, and Jon Bernthal in the World War II-set action film Fury (2014),[10] and portrayed Luis in Ant-Man (2015).

[11] In 2015, Peña was a principal player of the ensemble cast for his role on board the Ares-III space-craft to Mars, in the award-winning Ridley Scott sci-film The Martian.

[14] It was later revealed that the fourth season would be a new series, Narcos: Mexico, with Peña starring as DEA agent Kiki Camarena.

He also provided vocals for the character Marguerite (in the episode "Hot Water") for the popular animated series American Dad!.

In 2005, Peña formed the Los Angeles rock band Nico Vega, named after his mother, Nicolasa.