Jimmy Smits Biography | Actor Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. He played attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and Matt Santos on the 1999-2006 serial political drama The West Wing.
He also appeared as Bail Organa in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and Rogue One, and as ADA Miguel Prado in Dexter. From 2012 to 2014, he joined the main cast of Sons of Anarchy as Nero Padilla.
Jimmy Smits Age
Jimmy Smits is an American actor best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue and Matt Santos on the 1999–2006 serial political drama The West Wing.
He was born on 9 July 1955 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. Jimmy is 63 years old as of 2018.
Jimmy Smits Early life
Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. “Jimmy” is the name which appears on his birth certificate. It is not a stage name or derived from “James”.
Smits’s father, Cornelis Leendert Smits, (1929–2015) was from Paramaribo, Suriname, and was of Dutch descent. Smits’s mother, Emilina (née Pola), (1930–2015) was Puerto Rican, born in Peñuelas. He and his two sisters, Yvonne and Diana, grew up in a working-class neighborhood. He spent time in Puerto Rico during his childhood.
Smits was raised in a strict, devout Roman Catholic family. He identifies as Puerto Rican and frequently visits Puerto Rico. In 2001, he was arrested for his participation in protests against U.S. Navy bombing practices on the Puerto Rican offshore island of Vieques.
Jimmy Smits Education
Smits was an athlete in his youth. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University in 1982.
Jimmy Smits Career
An early role played by Smits was that of Eddie Rivera in the two-hour series premiere of Miami Vice, in 1984. In the episode, he portrayed Sonny Crockett’s original partner, who was killed in a sting gone wrong.
Beginning in 1986, Smits played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the NBC television Steven Bochco legal drama L.A. Law.
Additionally, Smits played a repairman on Pee-wee’s Playhouse, and he starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in the film My Family (1995), alongside Edward James Olmos and Jennifer Lopez.
One of Smits’s most acclaimed roles was that of Detective Bobby Simone on the ABC television program NYPD Blue, in which he starred from 1994 to 1998. He received several Emmy nominations for his performance on the series and was reunited with his former co-star Dennis Franz at the 2016 Emmy Awards presentation. He won the ALMA award twice.
In 1999, Smits received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).
Smits was scheduled to host the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11, 2001. It was canceled due to continuous news coverage and in respect to the victims, of the terrorist attacks earlier that day. He did host a non-televised press conference to announce the winners.
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).
Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas, in the final two seasons of the NBC television drama The West Wing, joining fellow L.A. Law alumnus John Spencer. His character eventually ran for and won the U.S. presidency.
In Dexter season 3, Smits played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who befriends the title character. Smits was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role.
Additionally, Smits 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.
Smits joined the Sons of Anarchy cast in season 5 as Nero Padilla, a high-level pimp who refers to himself as a “companionator”. He builds a relationship with Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) and forms an alliance and mentorship with Gemma’s son, the central character Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam).
Smits starred in The Get Down, a musical drama television series which debuted in 2016 on Netflix.
In 2016, Smits returned to his role as Senator Bail Organa in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
On February 25, 2019, news outlets reported that Smits was cast as Elijah Strait in NBC drama series Bluff City Law and it was ordered straight to series on May 6, 2019.
Jimmy Smits Stage performances
In the mid-1980s, Smits acted in numerous performances at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York, Cornell’s summer repertory program. In 1982 at the Hangar his roles included Max in Cabaret, Paul in Loose Ends, and the lead in Pudd’nhead Wilson.
Smits has participated in the Public Theater’s New York Shakespeare Festival, playing the role of Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night in 2002 and Benedick in ‘Much Ado about Nothing in 2004. In 2003, Smits starred in the Broadway production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Anna in the Tropics, by Nilo Cruz, performed at the Royale Theatre.
From November 2009 to February 2010, he appeared opposite Christine Lahti, Annie Potts, and Ken Stott in the critically lauded Broadway play God of Carnage, replacing Jeff Daniels. In December 2012 through March 2013, he appeared in Chicago in The Motherfucker with the Hat, at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Jimmy Smits Wife | Jimmy Smits Children
Smits was married to high school sweetheart, Barbara Smits, from 1981 until 1987. They have two children, Taina (born in 1973) and Joaquin (born in 1983). Taina Smits-Beasley (Jimmy Smits daughter) currently lives in Virginia and is a theatre arts teacher at Glasgow Middle School in Fairfax County, VA. Since 1986, he has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus; they live together in Los Angeles.
Wanda De Jesus (born August 26, 1958) is an American actress. She is most notably recognized for her role as the fourth actress to portray Santana Andrade in NBC’s soap opera Santa Barbara.
Aside from her work on soap operas, De Jesus appeared in several TV shows in a guest starring role, and she had a recurring role on the CBS crime series CSI: Miami as MDPD Detective Adelle Sevilla. On the week of June 14, 2010, she made her debut on All My Children as Iris Blanco, the mayor of Pine Valley.
In 2010, De Jesus was cast as the head of the police squad on Law & Order: Los Angeles, but the role – which had already been changed significantly before De Jesus joined – was changed again and reshot with a different actress after two episodes had been filmed.
Smits was arrested in 1987 for assaulting an officer after police answered a call for help at his home. He and De Jesus were arrested for battery on three police officers who responded to the call. The charges were later dropped because of conflicting witness statements.
He later pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of disturbing the peace and was sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and a $150 fine. De Jesus pleaded guilty to misidentifying herself to a police officer and disturbing the peace. She was fined $250 and sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and 75 hours of community service.
Jimmy Smits Image
jimmy-Smits photoJimmy Smits Charity work and public service
Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications, and entertainment industries. He is also an advocate for diagnostic colorectal screening and has appeared in a public service commercial.
More recently,(when?) he filmed a PSA for Detroit Non-Profit Cass Community Social Services. In 2010, he served as the Honorary Chair of their 6th Annual “Catch the Fireworks With Cass” event.
Smits has also donated to several other organizations, including the Red Cross, New York Cares, and Stand up to Cancer.
Jimmy Smits Net Worth
Jimmy Smits was born July 9, 1955, in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the ’80s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the ’90s police drama NYPD Blue and as Matt Santos on The West Wing. He is also notable for his portrayal of Bail Organa in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and his role as Miguel Prado in Dexter.
Jimmy Smits is an award-winning actor and a graduate of Brooklyn College (with an MFA from Cornell University). His career was launched on television 1984 when he landed a guest spot on the series Miami Vice. Smits also spearheaded the short-lived drama Cane as the lead character Alex Vega.
In 2008, he joined the cast of Dexter’s third season as Miguel Prado, which earned him a Saturn Award. Two years later, he was cast to headline yet another TV series called Outlaw, another short-lived series.
His movie credits include The Jane Austen Book Club, Lackawanna Blues, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Vital Signs, Running Scared and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and more.
In 2012, Smits joined the cast of Sons of Anarchy season 5. He has been nominated for many awards and, aside from winning a Saturn Award (2009) for Dexter; he won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (L.A. Law – 1990), a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (NYPD Blue – 1995), a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (NYPD Blue – 1996) and a Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (NYPD Blue – 1998).
Jimmy Smits is an American actor who has a net worth of $25 million dollars.
Jimmy Smits Salary
What is Jimmy Smits’ salary per episode? $150,000
Jimmy Smits Rogue One
Jimmy Smits Dexter
The third season of Dexter premiered on September 28, 2008, and ended on December 14, 2008. “Our Father”, the season premiere, attracted 1.22 million viewers in the United States, making it Showtime’s highest-rated drama season premiere since Nielsen Media Research began compiling ratings in 2004.
The season’s finale, “Do You Take Dexter Morgan?” attracted 1.5 million viewers. Season three was watched by an average of 1.1 million viewers a week.
It received largely positive reviews from critics, which ranged from being praised as “truly an incredibly exciting television” in the San Francisco Chronicle, to “lack[ing] the crackling tension the drama had supplied in previous years” by the Chicago Tribune;[6] the aggregate site Metacritic scored the season at 78 out of 100 based on 13 reviews.
Smits and Hall received Emmy nominations for their roles as Miguel Prado and Dexter Morgan respectively, while the show as a whole also received a Best Drama Emmy nomination.
In this season, Dexter kills a man in self-defense and initiates a friendship with the man’s brother, Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits).In the meantime, Rita discovers that she is pregnant, and Debra investigates the murders of a new serial killer, called “The Skinner”, hoping to gain promotion to detective.
In addition to Smits, Dexter’s third season introduces two recurring characters: Desmond Harrington as Det. Joey Quinn, who becomes Debra’s partner when he is transferred from the narcotics department to homicide, and Anne Ramsay as Ellen Wolf, a defense attorney whom Miguel detests.
Jimmy Smits Movies
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 2005, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 2002, Price of Glory 2000, Bless the Child 2000, The Jane Austen Book Club 2007, Mother and Child 2009, The Million Dollar Hotel 2000, Running Scared 1986, Old Gringo 1989,
Fires Within 1991, Switch 1991, Gross Misconduct 1993, The Believers 1987, My Family 1995, The Cisco Kid 1994, Who We Are Now 2017, Murder in Mind 1997, Backyard 2009, Lesser Prophets 1997, The Broken Cord 1992, Marshal Law 1996, Solomon & Sheba 1995, Rockabye 1986,
The Last Word 1995, Lackawanna Blues 2005, Vital Signs 1990, Adventures in Wild California 2000, Glitz 1988, Hispanic Hollywood 2000, Dangerous Affection Happily Ever After Fairy Tales for Every Child 2004, In the Heights 2020, The Highwayman
News
Marc Anthony Joins the Cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘In the Heights’ Movie
It’s finally happening! Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s big-screen adaptation of In the Heights is officially entering production and we couldn’t be happier. Alongside director Jon M. Chu, Miranda has been dropping casting news on his Twitter account for the last several months and is committed to making sure the play’s Washington Heights locations are accurately reflected on-screen. And with filming in progress, the final bits of casting is coming out.
Miranda took to Twitter this morning to announce fellow Nuyorican singer and actor Marc Anthony is joining the cast. Anthony is playing the “brief but pivotal role” of Sonny’s father.
Sonny (set to be played by Gregory Diaz IV) is the cousin of the film’s lead Usnavi (set to be played by Anthony Ramos). There’s no mention of Sonny’s dad in the original play, so it’s safe to say there’s some additional back story being added.
This marks Anthony’s return to the big screen after a 13-year absence. He was last seen as the star of the 2006 Hector Lavoe biopic El Cantante, a passion project of his, in which he co-starred with his then-wife, Jennifer Lopez. He’d previously starred in a supporting role in the Denzel Washington film Man on Fire, and since then has only appeared in the television show, Hawthorne.
It’ll be interesting to see what they’ve added to Sonny’s past to entice Anthony to come out of film retirement (though who would turn down a chance to work in a Lin-Manuel Miranda feature?) The cast here is nothing short of stacked — other supporting actors include Jimmy Smits, Stephanie Beatriz, and Dascha Polanco — and it’ll only be a matter of time before we’re hearing those Tony-winning songs sung for a new generation. In the Heights hits theaters June 26, 2020.