The son of Costa Rican parents, Roberto Cantillo and Rita Bolaños, Jose Pablo Cantillo (known as “Joey” in his high school days) was born in Marshfield, Wisconsin. He grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana and attended Terre Haute South Vigo High School, where he was a tennis standout for all four years, leading the Terre Haute South Braves to a State Runner-Up finish in 1996. He graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2003 with a double major in marketing and finance from the Kelley School of Business.

Cantillo decided to pursue an acting career in New York City after taking some drama classes at IU. In late 2003, he moved to California.

In late 2003, Cantillo moved to California, where he, his wife Kristi, and their 7-year-old daughter live in Santa Clarita, a town “that kind of reminds us of Terre Haute”.

After acting in Off-Broadway plays in New York, Cantillo has landed guest roles on popular television series since early 2000. He played a recurring role in The Walking Dead as Caesar Martinez, and roles in two of Neil Blomkamp’s films, the science fiction action thriller Elysium (2013) and Chappie (2015). In 2019, he played the role of Detective Martinez in the “Latino superhero movie” El Chicano.