Biography
Despite trying to stake his claim in features films without much success, actor Jimmy Smits earned his greatest acclaim on the small screen in roles that were connected by their proximity to the law. Smits emerged into the public consciousness as a sharp, but uptight attorney on Stephen Bochco's award-winning legal drama, "L.A. Law" (NBC, 1986-1994). After leaving the show before its run ended, he languished in a series of easily dismissed …
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Career Milestones
| Raised primarily in Brooklyn, New York, but lived briefly in Puerto Rico | ||
| Worked for a time as a community organizer in the New York area before moving into acting | ||
1982 | Off-Broadway debut in "Hamlet" at the New York Shakespeare Festival | |
1984 | Played a supporting role in Michael Weller's "The Ballad of Soapy Smith" at the New York Shakespeare Festival | |
1984 | TV debut in the "Miami Vice" (NBC) pilot, playing Don Johnson's ill-fated first partner Eddie Rivera | |
1986 | Breakthrough role as Victor Sifuentes, the firm's uptight law partner and pro-bono lawyer on NBC's legal drama, "L.A. Law"; earned a total of six Emmy nominations as a supporting actor | |
1986 | Feature film debut as an exuberant drug dealer in "Running Scared" | |
1986 | First TV-movie, "Rockabye" (CBS) playing a cop | |
1987 | First leading role in a TV-movie, "The Highwayman" (NBC) | |
1987 | Narrated the PBS documentary on the illegal immigration of Mexicans into the US, "The Other Side of the Border" | |
1989 | Initial leading role in a feature film, "Old Gringo"; starred alongside Jane Fonda and Gregory Peck | |
1992 | Acted in acclaimed ABC docudrama "The Broken Cord" | |
1993 | Appeared in the L.A. stage production of "Death and the Maiden" opposite off-screen companion Wanda De Jesus | |
1993 | Starred in first TV miniseries, "Stephen King's 'The Tommyknockers'" (ABC) | |
1994 | Joined the cast of ABC's police drama, "NYPD Blue" in the leading role of Bobby Simone after series star David Caruso left; character killed off in November 1998 after Smits decided to leave the show; earned five Emmy nominations | |
1995 | Headlined a stellar Latino cast (including Edward James Olmos and Esai Morales) in Gregory Nava's "My Family, Mi Familia" | |
2000 | Joined an ensemble cast in Wim Wenders' "The Million Dollar Hotel" | |
2000 | Portrayed washed-up boxer Arturo Ortega in "Price of Glory" | |
2002 | Cast as Bail Organa in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" | |
2003 | Appeared in the Broadway production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Nilo Cruz play "Anna in the Tropics" | |
2004 | Joined the cast of the NBC political drama "The West Wing," as Representative Matthew Santos | |
2005 | Reprised role of Senator Bail Organa in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," the final film in the Star Wars saga | |
2005 | Starred in the HBO original movie "Lackawanna Blues" based on Ruben Santiago-Hudson autobiographical one man show | |
2007 | Cast as Alex Vega, a heir to his family's sugar and rum business in the short-lived CBS drama, "Cane" | |
2007 | Joined an ensemble cast for the feature adaptation of "The Jane Austen Book Club" | |
2008 | Joined the third season of Showtime's "Dexter" as Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney; earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | |
2010 | Played a Supreme Court Justice starting up his own law firm in the short-lived NBC show, "Outlaw" | |
Awards
1987 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in L.A. Law |
1988 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in L.A. Law |
1989 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in L.A. Law |
1990 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in L.A. Law |
1990 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in L.A. Law |
1991 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in L.A. Law |
1992 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in L.A. Law |
1995 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in NYPD Blue |
1995 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1995 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1996 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in NYPD Blue |
1996 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead in My Family, Mi Familia |
1996 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor For a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1996 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1996 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1997 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1997 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1997 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1998 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in NYPD Blue |
1998 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1998 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1998 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1999 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1999 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
1999 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in NYPD Blue |
2006 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2009 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor In a Drama Series in Dexter |
2009 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in Dexter |