Born and raised in Brooklyn, Wilson J Heredia was always surrounded by music. His mother was a seamstress and his father was a super. But they were both very musical. He studied medicine, and thought about advertising, but he realized he had to express himself, so he got into acting. He worked at a railway station in NY before he auditioned for the musical, RENT. He said he needed the $300 a week. Unbeknownst to him, his stint with the hit-musical would bring him popularity as a singer, dancer and actor, fans from all over the world and a 1996 Tony Drama and Desk award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
Plays the guitar and the drums He was nominated for a 1999 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for his 1998 best supporting performance for Rent. Won Broadway's 1996 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) for "Rent." Has one sister eleven years younger than him. His character from Rent, Angel, is modeled after the character Schaunard, from La Boheme. The original character's name re-appears as Angel's last name, Schunard.