Name
Jimmy Smits
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1955-07-09 (71 years old)
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as U.S. Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing. He is also notable for his portrayal of Bail Organa in the Star Wars franchise, and Miguel Prado in Dexter.
Beginning in 1986, Smits played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the NBC television Steven Bochco legal drama L.A. Law, for which he was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, winning in 1990. In 1999, Smits received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).
He appeared in films including Switch (1991), My Family (1995), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007).
Smits appeared as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which the character becomes Princess Leia's adoptive father. He reappeared as Bail Organa in the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008) and the spinoff movie Rogue One (2016). He later reprised the role for Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas, in the final two seasons of the NBC television drama The West Wing.
In Dexter season 3, he played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who befriends the title character. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role.
He portrayed the character Alex Vega in the CBS TV series Cane, which aired from September 25, 2007, to December 18, 2007, and was subsequently canceled by the network due to the 2007 Screen Writer's Guild strike.
In the fall of 2010, he starred in NBC's short-lived series Outlaw, about a U.S. Supreme Court justice who leaves the bench to return to practicing law. From 2012 to 2014, he joined the main cast of Sons of Anarchy as Nero Padilla. He also portrayed Elijah Strait in the short-lived NBC drama series Bluff City Law.
He starred in The Get Down, a musical drama television series which debuted in 2016 on Netflix. In 2021, He played Kevin Rosario in the musical film In the Heights.
He stars as Chief John Suarez on the CBS police drama East New York.
Known For
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When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic cr...
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A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a mission to steal the Death Star plans and ...
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Following an assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalke...
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The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and ret...
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The lives of three women have a commonality: adoption. Karen is a physical therapist who r...
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David Cuevas is an Indigenous Latino American family man who works as a gangland tax colle...
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Six Californians start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen. As they delve into Aust...
- 2000 The Million Dollar Hotel as Geronimo
- 1991 Switch as Walter Stone
- 2002 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones as Senator Bail Organa
- 2005 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith as Senator Bail Organa
- 2000 Bless the Child as Agent John Travis
- 2007 The Jane Austen Book Club as Daniel
- 1987 The Believers as Tom Lopez
- 2009 Backyard as Mickey Santos
- 2009 Mother and Child as Paco
- 1989 Old Gringo as Gen. Tomas Arroyo
- 1986 Running Scared as Julio Gonzales
- 1997 Lesser Prophets as Mike
- 2000 Adventures in Wild California as Narrator
- 1995 My Family as Jimmy
- 1990 Vital Signs as Dr. David Redding
- 1997 Murder in Mind as Peter Walker
- 1997 Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western as Self
- 2000 Price of Glory as Arturo Ortega
- 1996 Marshal Law as Jack Coleman
- 1993 Gross Misconduct as Justin Thorne
- 2005 Lackawanna Blues as Ruben Santiago Sr.
- 1994 The Cisco Kid as Cisco Kid
- 1988 Glitz as Vincent Marra
- 2008 Roberto Clemente as Narrator
- 1996 Animal Charm: Golden Digest as Himself (Archival Footage)
- 1991 Fires Within as Nestor
- 1992 The Broken Cord as David Norwell
- 1987 Stamp of a Killer as Richard Braden
- 2005 Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast as Self
- 2022 Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look as Bail Organa (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2006 ¡Yo soy Boricua, pa' que tú lo sepas! as Himself
- 2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Bail Organa
- 1984 Miami Vice: Brother's Keeper as Eddie Rivera
- 1988 Mickey's 60th Birthday as Victor Sifuentes
- 2018 Who We Are Now as Carl
- 1997 Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special as Old King Cole (voice)
- 2021 In the Heights as Kevin Rosario
- 1995 Solomon & Sheba as King Solomon
- 1987 Hotshot as Stars Team Member
- 2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes as Self
- 2020 The Tax Collector as The Wizard
- 1986 Rockabye as 2nd Policeman
- 1986 L.A. Law: Pilot as Victor Sifuentes
- 2019 Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage as Self
- 2002 The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema
- 2026 Beyond the Border: Latino Representation in Hollywood as self
- 1986 L.A. Law ( 105 episodes ) as Victor Sifuentes
- 2003 The Ellen DeGeneres Show ( 4 episodes ) as Self
- 2004 The Tony Danza Show ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2008 Sons of Anarchy ( 38 episodes ) as Nero Padilla
- 1985 Spenser: For Hire ( 1 episode )
- 1996 The Rosie O'Donnell Show ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1984 Miami Vice ( 1 episode ) as Eddie Rivera
- 1952 Today ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1997 The View ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1999 The Early Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1992 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ( 1 episode )
- 2016 Full Frontal with Samantha Bee ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Fauci
- 2007 Cane ( 13 episodes ) as Alex Vega
- 1988 LIVE with Kelly and Mark ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2004 TV Revolution ( 4 episodes )
- 1953 The Oscars ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1998 ALMA Awards ( 1 episode )
- 1996 The West ( 9 episodes ) as Self
- 2010 Outlaw ( 8 episodes ) as Cyrus Garza
- 2006 Dexter ( 12 episodes ) as Miguel Prado
- 1975 Saturday Night Live ( 1 episode ) as Self - Host
- 1999 The West Wing ( 35 episodes ) as Matthew Santos
- 2017 24: Legacy ( 12 episodes ) as Senator John Donovan
- 2015 The Late Late Show with James Corden ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2016 The Get Down ( 11 episodes ) as Francisco 'Papa Fuerte' Cruz
- 2013 Brooklyn Nine-Nine ( 2 episodes ) as Victor Santiago
- 2000 Latin Grammy Awards ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1993 The Tommyknockers ( 2 episodes ) as Jim 'Gard' Gardner
- 2022 East New York ( 21 episodes ) as Chief John Suarez
- 1995 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child ( 1 episode ) as Prince Felipe (voice)
- 1995 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child ( 1 episode ) as Old King Cole (voice)
- 2022 Obi-Wan Kenobi ( 3 episodes ) as Senator Bail Organa
- 2009 Latin Music USA ( 4 episodes ) as Narrator
- 2019 Bluff City Law ( 10 episodes ) as Elijah Strait
- 2014 How to Get Away with Murder ( 13 episodes ) as Isaac Roa
- 2017 America's Untold Story ( 4 episodes ) as Self - Narrator
- 1980 A Capitol Fourth ( 46 episodes ) as Self
- 1987 The Highwayman ( 1 episode ) as Bo Ziker
- 1993 NYPD Blue ( 110 episodes ) as Bobby Simone
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Nominee
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Audience Member
- 1990 Cop Rock ( 1 episode ) as Victor Sifuentes (uncredited)
- 2025 Dexter: Resurrection ( 1 episode ) as Miguel Prado
- 1956 Tony Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Presenter
- 1986 L.A. Law ( 1 episode ) as Víctor Sifuentes
- 2023 The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon ( 0 episode ) as Captain Alejandro Perkins
