His father, however, threw him out of the house, and Cruz spent the next few months living in his car and at the homes of friends.

[6] Cruz went to Hollywood to seek work as an actor, intending to be open about his sexuality from the beginning of his career.

In 1994, he was cast as Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez, a troubled, gay teen, in the short-lived, critically acclaimed cult classic TV series My So-Called Life.

[7] Following My So-Called Life's cancellation, Cruz went on to play J. Edgar Hoover's servant Joaquin in Oliver Stone's film Nixon and had a small role in the television movie On Seventh Avenue.

Cruz's other acting credits include the films Joyride (1996), All Over Me (1997), Supernova (2000), Party Monster (2003), Margaret Cho's Bam Bam and Celeste (2005), Coffee Date (2007), and He's Just Not That Into You (2009); the television film The Perfect Pitch (2002); and guest appearances on the series Great Scott!, Sister, Sister, ER, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Noah's Arc, and Grey's Anatomy.

Since 2017, Cruz has portrayed Dr. Hugh Culber on the science fiction series Star Trek: Discovery.