Jimmy Smits

The Office and the Badge

Jimmy Smits was born in Brooklyn in 1955 and never felt in a hurry to leave. His father was from Suriname and his mother was Puerto Rican. That mix gave him a look the Los Angeles industry didn't know how to categorize during his early years of training.

In 1986, he accepted the role of Victor Sifuentes in the series L.A. Law. That lawyer in an immaculate suit broke the mold of the marginal Latino character that dominated television fiction of the era. He won the Emmy Award in 1990 for this work.

He didn't want to be the criminal of the week.

But success in legal television was only the beginning of a period of intense activity. In 1994 he joined the cast of NYPD Blue to replace David Caruso. His character, Bobby Simone, became the emotional center of the precinct until his exit in 1998. He earned about 150,000 dollars per episode in his final season on ABC.

And the public believed him.

Critics praised his ability to convey authority without ever raising his voice. After leaving the police badge behind, he sought projects that would let him explore his cultural heritage. In 1995 he starred in My Family alongside Edward James Olmos, directed by Gregory Nava.

The Galaxy and the West Wing

George Lucas called him in 2002 to join the prequel to Star Wars. He played Senator Bail Organa in Attack of the Clones and reprised the role in Revenge of the Sith in 2005. It wasn't a physical action role, but his presence brought the political gravity the story needed.

In 2004 he entered television's most famous office. He took on the role of Matt Santos in The West Wing. His character arc followed a Texas congressman's run for the presidency of the United States. The production hired real political consultants to make his fictional campaign believable.

Many analysts see in that character a visual rehearsal of what would later happen in real Washington politics. Smits shot twenty-seven episodes of the series before it ended in 2006.

But Smits always returned to characters with dark edges.

In 2008 he took part in the third season of Dexter, playing Miguel Prado. The role earned him another Emmy nomination. At this stage of his career, he began choosing projects that wouldn't tie him down to long commitments so he could manage his production company, El Dorado Pictures.

Back on the Brooklyn Streets

During 2012 he joined the cast of Sons of Anarchy as Nero Padilla. His portrayal of a veteran pimp seeking a peaceful way out of the criminal world lasted until 2014. It was a necessary change of pace to move away from the law firm roles that had defined his early career.

In 2021, he took part in the film adaptation of the musical In the Heights. He played Kevin Rosario, a taxi company owner struggling to pay for his daughter's college education. Filming took place on the streets of Washington Heights under a suffocating heat.

And the gamble paid off.

He returned to the Star Wars universe in 2022 with the series Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney+. His appearance as an older Bail Organa served as a narrative bridge to the original trilogy of the 1970s. Smits filmed his scenes at the Manhattan Beach studios using giant LED screen technology.

In 2022 he starred in the police drama East New York for CBS. He played police chief John Suarez in a district very close to the neighborhood where he grew up. The series averaged five million viewers per episode during its weekly run in the United States.

In May 2023, CBS announced the cancellation of East New York after airing twenty-one episodes.