As a star high school football player, Kurt Cáceres was used to putting on a show under bright stadium lights and in front of hundreds of people. With a football scholarship already guaranteed to him at Sacramento State, the last thing Cáceres thought he would be doing during his final semester in high school was performing on a different type of stage.

“My counselor told me I still needed to fill my arts requirement,” Cáceres, 37, told EXTRA during a phone interview. “She told me to take an acting class. I was like, ‘What? All the other jocks are going to make fun of me.’”

Despite his reservations, Cáceres enrolled in drama during his last semester. Much to his surprise, he immediately fell in love with it.

“I did ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Cats,’” Cáceres said proudly. “I never thought about acting in my entire life, but when I took that class, I knew right away that was what I wanted to do.”

Best known for his role as Héctor Ávila on “Prison Break,” Cáceres, who is of Mexican descent, has starred on other TV shows including “American Family,” “The Shield” and “CSI.” Most recently, Cáceres starred in the feature film, “Down for Life,” a true story about a Latina gang member living in South Central L.A. In the film, Cáceres plays Rafael, the stepfather of the young girl who is running with the wrong crowd. The film, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in October, also stars Laz Alonso (“Fast and Furious”) and Kate del Castillo (“Under the Same Moon”).

During the interview, Cáceres talked about his work with inner city kids in L.A., why he won’t portray gang member characters anymore and what is more important to him than acting.

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