Mario Lopez Movies
Known to legions of Gen-Xers as A.C. Slater, Mario Lopez became famous when he was cast as the macho heartthrob on the Saturday-morning sitcom Saved by the Bell in 1989. Lopez's career started years before, however, as he began auditioning for roles while he was still a teenager, commuting between Hollywood and his hometown of San Diego. At just 13, Lopez appeared in 1986's The Last Fling, and in 1988 he appeared in the Civil War drama Colors.The fame that Saved by the Bell brought the young actor proved to be tremendous, and he stayed with the show until its run ended in 1993, going on to star in Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and even appear in a few episodes of Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Buoyed by his supportive fan base, Lopez then went on to pursue a wide variety of projects, playing Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis in the TV movie Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story, and a criminal-turned-hero in the independent film Eastside. In 2003, he began co-hosting a talk show with Danny Bonaduce and Dick Clark called The Other Half, which was very much like a men's answer to The View. Lopez enjoyed hosting duties, saying that he loved talking about women, sports, and cars.
In 2006, Lopez had an opportunity to pursue a longtime interest in dancing, when he joined the cast of the ABC competitive reality show Dancing with the Stars. He and partner Karina Smirnoff were very successful, coming in second place, and audiences were shocked that the lithe actor had never received any formal ballroom dance training. 2006 was also the year that Lopez made a memorable run as doctors both on the hit TV series Nip/Tuck and on the daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful. He also parlayed his reborn popularity from Dancing with the Stars to serve as a celebrity guest host for the news magazine show Extra and to host multiple beauty pageants, such as Miss America. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Unlucky in life and love, quirky waitress Trudie (Melissa Joan Hart) takes the holidays -- and the law -- into her own hands. Unable to brave Christmas with her family as a single woman, Trudie kidnaps restaurant customer David Martin (Mario Lopez) and introduces him to her family as her boyfriend. Unable to escape the family vacation house, David agrees to play along until the police arrive. In the meantime, however, David ponders his own romantic life, and questions if he is falling in love with Trudie despite the unlikely circumstances. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Joan Hart, Mario Lopez, (more)
Sex. Seduction. Liposuction. Find them all in the fearless Nip/Tuck, the award-winning series that's the scalpel's edge of entertainment...and the spark for debate about what cosmetic surgery can or cannot bring to a patient's life. Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon play plastic surgeons/best friends whose glamorous South Beach practice is a revolving door for Season 4's hot-button issues (including a terrifying story arc about an organ-harvest ring) and human foibles (a ventriloquist wants to look like his dummy). Guest stars include Jacqueline Bissett, Larry Hagman, Alanis Morissette, Mo'Nique, Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields and more. Thrills, surprises, shocks, stars abound in this 5-Disc Set. And all it takes is a little Nip/Tuck.
- Starring:
- Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, (more)
- 2003
More from the reality TV genre, this weekly talent contest broke up its contestants into three age groups: 3 to 7, 8 to 12, and 13 to 15. Twelve aspiring stars were trotted out on each of the series' four hour-long installments, their contributions judge by Lance Bass of *NSYNC and two weekly celebrity guest judges. Out of respect for the ages and tender psyches of the contestants, the series did not indulge in the "truth really hurts" assessments characterized by the infamous Simon Cowell on American Idol. In fact, much time was spent consoling those kids who did not make the final cut (to say nothing of the kids' parents). The Search for the Most Talented Kid in America was launched on March 21, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Lopez, Lance Bass, (more)
Jon Seda and Mario Lopez star in this gritty crime drama set against the backdrop of gangland Los Angeles. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
College soccer star David Morales (Mario Lopez) loses his scholarship and is compelled to take a job as a courier for an experimental medical laboratory operated by shady Dr. Darabont (John Saxon). The money is terrific and the border crossings from California into Mexico are easy for the charming Latino. But events turn desperate when David is forced to make a hasty delivery of a small cooler that contains something needed by the evil Franco (Richard Lynch), who is being kept alive in a Mexican hospice by the renegade physician Dr. Drake (Nancy O'Dell). If David fails, his mother (Dyana Ortelli) dies. But then the FBI gets wind of the delivery. Now on the run from the Feds, with his mother held hostage by a sex maniac, David teams up with runaway rich girl, Bella (Ali Landry), to get the cooler and its contents to Dr. Drake to keep a villain alive. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Lopez, Tava Smiley, (more)
Released from prison on his 21st birthday, Antonio (Saved by the Bell's Mario Lopez) pays a visit to his older brother, Horatio (Mark Espinoza), an uptight attorney embarrassed by his Latino heritage. The brothers are connected by their work for crime boss Armando De La Rosa (Efrain Figueroa), for whom Horatio provides "consulting" services and Antonio collects debts. When De la Rosa enlists Antonio to bully the proprietor of a youth shelter off his property to make way for a casino, the young man changes his priorities, thanks in no small part to his friendship with the proprietor (Richard Lynch) and his burgeoning relationship with the old man's granddaughter (Elizabeth Bogush). Together, Antonio and Horatio try to bring an end to De La Rosa's megalomaniacal reign over the neighborhood. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Lopez
Sibling rivalry reaches new heights when two brothers fall for the same girl in this family comedy. Mitch Dobson (Michal Suchanek) is an 11-year-old soccer fan who doesn't get along very well with his 16-year-old brother, Sean (Shad Hart). When Police Captain Stacy (Dick Van Patten) and his family moves in next door, Mitch immediately falls for his 16-year-old daughter, Gwen (Lindsey Brooke). Gwen, however, is a lot more interested in Sean, and when Sean and Gwen start dating, Mitch and his friends begin scheming to find a way to put an end to their budding romance. Big Brother Trouble also features Bo Hopkins and Mario Lopez. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bo Hopkins, Dick Van Patten, (more)
Some young people lost in the woods pick the wrong cabin while looking for help in this story of horror and suspense. Jeremiah (Rodger Hewlett) was raised by his mother (Tracy Scoggins), a woman with a paranoid fear of strangers and outsiders, in a small cabin in a remote woodland community. Mother's fears became all too real one day when an intruder broke into her home, raping and murdering her as Jeremiah looked on. Since then, Jeremiah, deeply disturbed, has never left the house and has had almost no contact with the outside world. A group of college students led by Lehman (Mario Lopez) set out on a weekend of hiking and camping when they encounter a few rather eccentric locals, and before long they find themselves lost. They discover a small cabin in the woods, and decide to take a look inside, where they discover Jeremiah -- and find he doesn't take kindly to strangers. Crack in the Floor also features Gary Busey, Rance Howard, Bo Hopkins, and David Naughton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Lopez, Gary Busey, (more)
- 1997
Richard Grieco, Jamie Pressly, and Mario Lopez star in this science-fiction adventure in which the tyrannical leader of a military installation in outer space is challenged singe-handedly by a brave espionage agent. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Grieco, Mario Lopez, (more)
Popular high school student Mark Kinney (Scott Bairstow) wants to get even with tyrannical English teacher John Griffin (Jay Thomas) for humiliating him in class. Together with a group of like-minded friends, Mark hatches a plot to kidnap Mr. Griffin, using his girlfriend Susan (Amy Jo Johnson) as bait. All Mark wants to do is put a scare in Griffin and take a bunch of photographs that will show up the teacher for the fatuous phony that he seems to be. But the student prank goes horribly awry when Griffin turns up dead, the victim of heart failure! Now it falls upon Mark and his co-conspirators to furtively cover their tracks, lest they be accused of felony murder. Based on the bestselling novel by Lois Duncan, the made-for-TV Killing Mr. Griffin debuted April 7, 1997, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Bairstow, Amy Jo Johnson, (more)
- 1997
- Add Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story to QueueAdd Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story to top of Queue
The real-life story of Olympic diver Greg Louganis is chronicled in this made-for-television drama. Mario Lopez stars as Louganis, an adopted child who went through a difficult adolescence, only to emerge as a world-class diver in the 1988 Olympics. After a notorious diving injury during those games, Louganis went on to win two gold medals. After the games ended though, Louganis was forced to face an even more challenging period and go public with his homosexuality and deal with his HIV-positive status. The film is based on the book of the same name. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Lopez, Michael Murphy, (more)
In this horror outing, a bunch of teens decide to spend the night in a supposedly haunted cabin on the shores of the title lake. Ignoring the warning of wiser locals, the kids settle in for what will prove to be a long and terrifying night. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Haim, Bo Hopkins, (more)
- 1994
The gang from the popular pre-teen comedy gets together again to celebrate the wedding of long-time couple Kelly and Zack. They decide to tie the knot in Las Vegas, so with the girls in one vehicle and the guys in another they take off. Trouble comes when the boys take a desert short-cut and end up in a backwater jail for speeding. In order to get out, Zack must spend his wedding money. When they get to Vegas, they are flat broke and faced with a dilemma: how can Zack tell Kelly that he can't afford their wedding? In typical Saved by the Bell fashion, conniving Zack simply lies to her until he figures out a way to drum up some more cash. As usual his plan is a disaster and the gang ends up fleeing angry mobsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, (more)
- 1992
That madcap gang from the popular TV teen show, Saved by the Bell, head for Hawaii to save the tiny resort of Kelly's grandfather from an avaricious developer. Mayhem, and romance ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, (more)
