David was born and raised in San Juan, Texas and was the seventh of eight children. He attended Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School, where he was involved in Theatre. He received his BFA from Southern Methodist University on a Theatre scholarship. He went on to receive his MFA from The University of California, San Diego, where he garnered a San Diego Fellowship and was awarded The Princess Grace Acting Scholarship in his third year. While at UCSD, he was trained in and worked on several classical works of theatre. He also did an internship at the prestigious La Jolla Playhouse and at Luis Valdez' El Teatro Campesino. Upon graduation, he moved to Los Angeles. In 1999, he married actress Maria Canals-Barrera, with whom he now has two daughters.