Jimmy Smits
{{Short description|American actor (born 1955)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jimmy Smits
| image = Jimmy Smits by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| caption = Smits at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con
| birth_name = Jimmy L. Smits
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1955|07|09}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1984–present
| known_for = {{Plain list|
}}
| education = {{Plain list|
}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Barbara Smits|1981|1987|end=divorce}}
| partner = Wanda De Jesus (1986–present)
| children = 2
}}
Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the legal drama L.A. Law, NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the police drama NYPD Blue, and Matt Santos on the political drama The West Wing. He appeared in Switch (1991), My Family (1995), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), and In the Heights (2021). He also appeared as Bail Organa in the Star Wars franchise and as ADA Miguel Prado in Dexter. From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the main cast of Sons of Anarchy, in the role of Nero Padilla. Smits also portrayed Elijah Strait in the NBC drama series Bluff City Law.
Early life and education
Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. Smits's father, Cornelis Leendert Smits (1929–2015), was from Paramaribo, Suriname, and was of Dutch descent.{{cite news|title=In Step With: Jimmy Smits |newspaper=Parade Magazine |date=January 2, 2005 |url=http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_01-02-2005/in_step_with_1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117063710/http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_01-02-2005/in_step_with_1 |archive-date=January 17, 2006 }}{{cite web|url=http://marineparkfh.com/tribute/details/1291/Cornelis_Smits/obituary.html|title=Obituary of Cornelis Smits|publisher=Marine Park Funeral Home|year=2015|access-date=2016-06-08}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xqbQAgAAQBAJ&q=%22Cornelis,+of+Dutch+lineage+and+from+Surinam%22&pg=PA491 |title=In the Heart of Showbiz: A Biographical Triography of Variety Recording ... - Warren Allen Smith - Google Books |access-date=2016-12-21|isbn=9781257042524 |last1=Smith |first1=Warren Allen |year=2011 |publisher=Lulu.com }} Smits's mother, Emilina (née Pola; 1930–2015), was Puerto Rican, born in Peñuelas.[http://www.collegeoutreachusa.org/articles/smits.html Taking Charge Through Education, by Jimmy Smits] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012736/http://www.collegeoutreachusa.org/articles/smits.html |date=November 29, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://marineparkfh.com/tribute/details/1387/Emelina_Pola_Smits/obituary.html|title=Obituary of Emelina Pola Smits |publisher=Marine Park Funeral Home |year=2015|access-date=2016-06-08}} He and his two sisters, Yvonne and Diana, grew up in a working-class neighborhood.[http://www.redbookmag.com/your/celebrity/manifesto/jimmy-smits-cm Jimmy Smits – Redbook] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927132400/http://www.redbookmag.com/your/celebrity/manifesto/jimmy-smits-cm |date=September 27, 2007 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.gale.com/free_resources/chh/bio/smits_j.htm|title=Education, Learning and Research Resources Online - Gale|website=www.gale.com|access-date=October 6, 2018}} When he was ten years old, he moved to Puerto Rico for a couple of years. Until then he did not speak Spanish. He described attending a Spanish-only school as "jarring" and "traumatic."{{cite news |last1=Parsi |first1=Novid |title=Jimmy Smits Interview |url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/theater/jimmy-smits-interview |access-date=9 January 2021 |work=Time Out Chicago |publisher=Time Out Group |date=December 26, 2012 |language=en}}
Smits was raised in a strict, devout Roman Catholic family. He identifies as Puerto Rican{{cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Lee |date=July 9, 2010 |title=EXCLUSIVE: Jimmy Smits on Playing Outlaws: "There Might Be An Ethnicity Thing to It" |publisher=Latina |url=http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/exclusive-jimmy-smits-playing-outlaws-there-might-be-ethnicity-thing-it |access-date=July 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026061535/http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/exclusive-jimmy-smits-playing-outlaws-there-might-be-ethnicity-thing-it |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-10-26 }} and frequently visits Puerto Rico.
Smits was an athlete in his youth. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University in 1982.{{cite web| website= Biography.com| url= http://www.biography.com/people/jimmy-smits-9542327 | title=Jimmy Smits| access-date=February 2, 2016}}
Career
=Film and television=
Image:Jimmy Smits at the 39th Emmy Awards2.jpg
One of Smits's early roles was playing Sonny Crockett's original partner on the first episode of Miami Vice in 1984. In the first five minutes of the episode he falls victim to a car bomb.
Beginning in 1986, Smits played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the NBC television Steven Bochco legal drama L.A. Law,{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-07-ca-1054-story.html|title=Jimmy Smits: A Latino Look And Class Act On 'L.a. Law'|last=McKENNA|first=KRISTINE|date=1987-08-07|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-10-19|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} for which he was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, winning in 1990.{{Cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/jimmy-smits|title = Jimmy Smits}}
Also in 1986, Smits made his feature film debut as drug dealer Julio Gonzalez in the comedy/action cop film Running Scared starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines. In 1989, Smits had a leading role in the romantic adventure Old Gringo as Jane Fonda's love interest.
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.
Image:Jimmy Smits 2 (48591893606).jpg
Smits was scheduled to host the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11, 2001. It was canceled due to continuous news coverage and out of respect for 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 George Lucas's 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 Disney era 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,{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2008/11/the-jimmy-smits-interview-015156|title=The Jimmy Smits interview|work=POLITICO|access-date=2017-10-19}} 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.{{cite news
|title=Jimmy Smits Joins Dexter. Couldn't You Just Die?
|url=http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Jimmy-Smits-Dexter/800041016
|publisher=TV Guide
|date=June 5, 2008
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830004604/http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Jimmy-Smits-Dexter/800041016
|archive-date=August 30, 2008
}} 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).{{cite news|journal=USA Today|date=1 October 2012|access-date=23 October 2012|title=On 'Sons of Anarchy,' new faces and new fears|author=Bill Keveney|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2012/10/01/sons-of-anarchy-smits-perrineau/1606569/}}
Smits starred in The Get Down, a musical drama television series which debuted in 2016 on Netflix.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/08/baz-luhrmann-the-get-down-production-hiatus-netflix-1201497749/|title=Baz Luhrmann's Netflix Series 'The Get Down' To Take Production Hiatus|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|publisher=Deadline|date=2015-08-11|access-date=2016-06-08}}
On February 25, 2019, news outlets reported that Smits was cast as Elijah Strait in NBC drama series Bluff City Law{{cite web|last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title=Jimmy Smits To Star In NBC Legal Drama Pilot 'Bluff City Law'|url=https://deadline.com/2019/02/jimmy-smits-star-bluff-city-law-nbc-legal-drama-pilot-1202564968/|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 8, 2019|date=February 25, 2019}} and it was picked up to series on May 6, 2019.{{cite web|last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title=Drama 'Bluff City Law' Starring Jimmy Smits & Kal Penn Comedy 'Sunnyside' Picked Up To Series By NBC|url=https://deadline.com/2019/05/bluff-city-law-jimmy-smits-kal-penn-comedy-sunnyside-picked-up-series-nbc-1202608537/|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 8, 2019|date=May 6, 2019}} Bluff City Law brings Smits back to TV courtrooms on a steady basis for the first time in over a quarter century since his role in L.A. Law.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/20/entertainment/jimmy-smitts-bluff-city-law/index.html|title=Jimmy Smits returns to the TV courtroom|first=Scott |last=Huver|website=CNN|date=September 20, 2019|access-date=2020-02-06}}
In 2021, Smits played Kevin Rosario in the musical film In the Heights.{{cite web|last1=Sanders|first1=Hosea|last2=Jordan|first2=Marsha|title=Lin Manuel Miranda's 'In The Heights' movie stars veteran actors Jimmy Smits, Olga Merediz|url=https://abc7chicago.com/in-the-heights-movie-cast-lin-manuel-miranda/10762405/|website=abc7chicago|date=June 8, 2021|access-date=June 11, 2021}}
=Theater=
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.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1986
| Julio Gonzales | |
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| Hotshot | Stars Team Member | |
| The Believers
| Tom Lopez | |
| 1989
| Gen. Tomas Arroyo | |
| 1990
| Dr. David Redding | |
| rowspan="2" | 1991
| Switch | Walter Stone | |
| Fires Within
| Nestor | |
| 1993
| Justin Thorne | |
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Jimmy Sanchez | |
| The Last Word
| Actor (Martin) | |
| 1996
| Marshal Law | U.S. Marshal Jack Coleman | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Peter Walker | |
| Lesser Prophets
| Mike | |
| rowspan="4" | 2000
| Adventures in Wild California | Narrator | |
| The Million Dollar Hotel
| Geronimo | |
| Price of Glory
| Arturo Ortega | |
| Bless the Child
| Agent John Travis | |
| 2002
| Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | rowspan=2|Senator Bail Organa | |
| 2005
| Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | |
| 2007
| Daniel Avila | |
| 2009
| Backyard | Mickey Santos | Also known as El Traspatio |
| 2010
| Paco | |
| 2016
| Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Senator Bail Organa | |
| 2017
| Carl | |
| 2020
| Wizard | |
| 2021
| Kevin Rosario | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1984
| Eddie Rivera | Episode: "Brother's Keeper" |
| 1986
| Rockabye | 2nd Policeman | Television film |
| 1986–92
| L.A. Law | Victor Sifuentes | Main role; 105 episodes |
| 1986
| Hector Valdes | Episode: "In a Safe Place" |
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| Bo Ziker | rowspan="2" | Television film |
| Stamp of a Killer
| Richard Braden |
| rowspan="2" | 1988
| Victor Sifuentes | Television special |
| Glitz
| Vincent Marra | Television film |
| 1989
| Johnny Wilson | Episode: "Conky's Breakdown" |
| 1990
| Cop Rock | Victor Sifuentes (uncredited) | Episode: "Potts Don't Fail Me Now" |
| 1992
| David Norwell | Television film |
| 1993
| Jim 'Gard' Gardner | 2 episodes |
| 1994
| Cisco Kid | Television film |
| 1994–98, 2004
| Main role; 90 episodes |
| 1995
| King Solomon | Television film |
| 1995–97
| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Prince Felipe, Old King Cole | Voice; 2 episodes |
| 2004–06
| Main role; 35 episodes |
| 2005
| Ruben Santiago, Sr. | Television film |
| 2007
| Cane | Alex Vega | 13 episodes |
| 2008
| Dexter | Miguel Prado | 12 episodes |
| 2010
| Outlaw | Cyrus Garza | Main role; 8 episodes |
| 2012–14
| Neron 'Nero' Padilla | 38 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2016–17
| Francisco "Papa Fuerte" Cruz | 11 episodes |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine
| Victor Santiago | 2 episodes |
| 2017
| John Donovan | 12 episodes |
| 2017–18
| Dr. Isaac Roa | 13 episodes |
| 2018
| America's Untold Story | Narrator | Television film |
| 2019
| Elijah Strait | Main role; 10 episodes; Also producer |
| 2022
| Senator Bail Organa | 3 episodes |
| 2022–23
| Assistant Chief John Suarez | Main role; 21 episodes |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Voice role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2008
| Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | Senator Bail Organa | |
| 2016
| Oscar Diaz | |
Awards and nominations
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by Jimmy Smits}}
Smits has received multiple nominations and awards for his work in film and television. He is the recipient of one Golden Globe Award for his role on NYPD Blue as well as one Primetime Emmy Award for L.A. Law.{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1990|title=42nd Primetime Emmy Award Nominees and Winners|publisher=Emmys.com|accessdate=July 12, 2014}} Throughout his career on television, he has garnered eleven Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, winning once in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 1995 for NYPD Blue. He starred on The West Wing from 2004 to 2006 and won an ALMA Award for his role. And in 2008, guest starred on Dexter, for which he was nominated for his twelfth Primetime Emmy Award and winning a Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television.{{cite news |title=JIMMY SMITS RECEIVES STAR ON HOLLYWOOD'S WALK OF FAME |url=https://www.hispaniclifestyle.com/articles/jimmy-smits-receives-star-on-hollywoods-walk-of-fame/ |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=Hispanic Lifestyle}}
In 1999, Smits received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). He also received the Ackerman Leadership Award for his work "championing bilingual and bicultural mental health and social services for Latino families."{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/jimmy-smits-accomplished-actor-tireless-latino-advocate-n499761|title=Jimmy Smits: Accomplished Actor, And Tireless Latino Advocate|work=NBC News|access-date=2018-05-01|language=en-US}} On June 4, 2021, he was awarded the 2,696th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.{{cite news |last1=Sesin |first1=Carmen |title=Actor Jimmy Smits gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/actor-jimmy-smits-gets-star-hollywood-walk-fame-rcna1096 |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=NBC |date=2 June 2021}}
Personal life
Smits was previously married to Barbara Smits. They have two children.{{cn|date=September 2023}}
He has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus since 1986. They live together in Los Angeles. In 1987, Smits pled guilty to disturbing the peace following an altercation with police at his residence where he was charged with battery and resisting arrest.Frederick M. Muir, Los Angeles Times, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-12-me-411-story.html 'L.A. Law' Star Smits Arrested in Alleged Attack on 3 Officers], August 12, 1987Associated Press, [https://web.archive.org/web/20221124105238/https://apnews.com/article/4c48887789c482758dfcc2a41cbfd931 'L.A. Law' Star Jimmy Smits Pleads No Contest], November 25, 1987
Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts{{cite web|url=http://www.hispanicarts.org |work=HispanicArts.org|title=Mission Statement}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/hispanic-arts-gala-awards-talent-pushes-greater-numbers-n439961|title=Hispanic Arts Gala Awards Latino Talent, Pushes for Greater Numbers|publisher=NBC News|date=October 7, 2015 |access-date=April 13, 2016|first=Patricia |last=Guadalupe}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Colorectal Cancer {{!}} Cancer Screening and Prevention {{!}} Health & Senior Services|url=https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/chronic/cancer/colorectal-cancer.php|access-date=2021-03-02|website=health.mo.gov}} In 2010, he filmed a PSA for Detroit Non-Profit Cass Community Social Services{{Citation|title=Catch the Fireworks With Cass 10'- Jimmy Smits PSA|url=https://www.facebook.com/CassDetroit/videos/catch-the-fireworks-with-cass-10-jimmy-smits-psa/1316212706533/|language=en|access-date=2021-03-02}} and also served as the Honorary Chair of their 6th Annual "Catch the Fireworks With Cass" event.{{cite web|url=http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/Events/index.php/name/6th-Annual-Catch-The-Fireworks-With-Cass/event/7392/|title=6TH Annual Catch the Fireworks with Cass|publisher=Hour Detroit|access-date=April 13, 2016}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Jimmy Smits}}
- {{IMDb name|0001751}}
- {{Tcmdb name}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{iobdb name|10087}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060305025617/http://www.hispanic-today.com/smits_article.html hispanic-today.com]
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Jimmy Smits
|list =
{{EmmyAward DramaSupportingActor 1976-2000}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestActorTVDrama 1990-2009}}
{{Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television}}
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Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:American actors of Puerto Rican descent
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American people of Dutch descent
Category:American people of Puerto Rican descent
Category:American people of Surinamese descent
Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
Category:Brooklyn College alumni
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:Hispanic and Latino American male actors
Category:Male actors from Brooklyn
Category:Puerto Rican people of Dutch descent