El Gran Wyoming

José Miguel Monzón completed his medical degree in Madrid and saw patients during his military service in Buitrago del Lozoya. He had the diploma in hand, but chose to take the stage at nightclubs with a broken guitar and a blind pianist. That musician was Ángel Muñoz Alonso, the Reverend.

Together they formed the band Paracelso in the late 1970s. They played bold urban rock and won the first two editions of the Villa de Madrid award. The music paid for cigarettes, not rent.

He never practiced medicine again.

From the White Coat to the Studio Floor

Fernando Trueba gave him his first film role in Ópera prima in 1980. Monzón moved with ease among young directors who were looking for supporting actors with street-smart flair and fast delivery.

Over the following decade, he landed roles in ensemble comedies. He appeared in Sé infiel y no mires con quién in 1985 and worked with Fernando Colomo on La vida alegre two years later. He never set out to be a method actor. He was paid to be himself in front of the camera, a quick-witted guy whom directors let ad-lib entire lines to rescue sagging scenes.

Televisión Española signed him in 1984 to host Silencio, se juega, a film education program. There he discovered that television paid considerably better than concert halls.

Live Censorship and the Move to the Front Lines

In 1993, the management of Televisión Española pulled El peor programa de la semana hours before it was set to air live. The network canceled the show because Monzón refused to drop an interview with writer Quim Monzó, who had previously been banned over his comments about the monarchy. That ban cost him three years of exile from state television, but it boosted his value on private networks.

So he signed with Telecinco in 1996 to front Caiga Quien Caiga. The format of sunglasses and a black suit sent incisive reporters to rattle politicians in ties in front of the cameras. The show stayed on air for six years and reached audience ratings above 30% on Sunday nights.

The network pulled the format in 2002 due to direct government pressure.

And while television was consuming his weeks, Álex de la Iglesia called him to shoot El día de la bestia in 1995 and Muertos de risa in 1999. They were supporting roles, almost noir comic-book vignettes, where Monzón brought a cynicism that was instantly recognizable to Spanish box-office audiences.

Twenty Years Reading From the Same Teleprompter

In March 2006, the newly launched channel laSexta started El Intermedio. The initial concept was modest: review other media's blunders with a tiny editorial team.

The show shifted toward direct political satire starting with the economic recession of 2008. Wyoming took on the role of a host who unloads on his targets while reading other people's material without blinking, backed by a writing team that churns out eight pages a day under deadline pressure.

In 2022, he shot the documentary series Usted está aquí with David Trueba for the Atresplayer platform, visiting bars and streets across Madrid while dissecting the country's political history.

In 2024, laSexta's daily format reached 18 consecutive seasons and more than 2,800 episodes. Monzón holds an annual contract structured in ten-month seasons and still plays weekends with his band Los Insolventes at venues holding fewer than 400 people.