Jimmy Smits

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

The Late Late Show with James Corden

Self - Guest

Tony Awards

Self - Presenter

Saturday Night Live

Self - Host

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Dr. Fauci

L.A. Law

Victor Sifuentes

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

Self - Guest

The View

Self

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Victor Santiago

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role
2022	Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look	Bail Organa (archive footage) (uncredited)
2021	In the Heights	Kevin Rosario
2020	The Tax Collector	The Wizard
2019	Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage	Self
2018	Who We Are Now	Carl
2016	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	Bail Organa
2009	Backyard	Mickey Santos
2009	Mother and Child	Paco
2008	Roberto Clemente	Narrator
2007	The Jane Austen Book Club	Daniel
2006	¡Yo soy Boricua, pa' que tú lo sepas!	Himself
2005	Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith	Senator Bail Organa
2005	Lackawanna Blues	Ruben Santiago Sr.
2005	A Concert for Hurricane Relief	Self
2002	Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones	Senator Bail Organa
2002	The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema
2001	America \| A Tribute to Heroes	Self
2000	The Million Dollar Hotel	Geronimo
2000	Bless the Child	Agent John Travis
2000	Adventures in Wild California	Narrator
2000	Price of Glory	Arturo Ortega
1997	Lesser Prophets	Mike
1997	Murder in Mind	Peter Walker
1997	Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western	Self
1997	Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special	Old King Cole (voice)
1996	Marshal Law	Jack Coleman
1996	Animal Charm: Golden Digest	Himself (Archival Footage)
1995	My Family	Jimmy
1995	Solomon & Sheba	King Solomon
1994	The Cisco Kid	Cisco Kid
1993	Gross Misconduct	Justin Thorne
1992	The Broken Cord	David Norwell
1991	Switch	Walter Stone
1991	Fires Within	Nestor
1990	Vital Signs	Dr. David Redding
1989	Old Gringo	Gen. Tomas Arroyo
1988	Glitz	Vincent Marra
1988	Mickey's 60th Birthday	Victor Sifuentes
1987	The Believers	Tom Lopez
1987	Stamp of a Killer	Richard Braden
1987	Hotshot	Stars Team Member
1986	Running Scared	Julio Gonzales
1986	Rockabye	2nd Policeman
1986	L.A. Law: Pilot	Victor Sifuentes
1984	Miami Vice: Brother's Keeper	Eddie Rivera

Year	TV Show	Role
2022	East New York	Chief John Suarez
2022	Obi-Wan Kenobi	Senator Bail Organa
2019	Bluff City Law	Elijah Strait
2017	24: Legacy	Senator John Donovan
2017	America's Untold Story	Self - Narrator
2016	Full Frontal with Samantha Bee	Dr. Fauci
2016	The Get Down	Francisco 'Papa Fuerte' Cruz
2015	The Late Late Show with James Corden	Self - Guest
2014	How to Get Away with Murder	Isaac Roa
2013	Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Victor Santiago
2010	Outlaw	Cyrus Garza
2009	Latin Music USA	Narrator
2008	Sons of Anarchy	Nero Padilla
2007	Cane	Alex Vega
2006	Dexter	Miguel Prado
2004	The Tony Danza Show	Self - Guest
2004	TV Revolution
2003	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Self
2000	Latin Grammy Awards	Self
1999	The Early Show	Self
1999	The West Wing	Matthew Santos
1998	ALMA Awards
1997	The View	Self
1996	The Rosie O'Donnell Show	Self - Guest
1996	The West	Self
1995	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Prince Felipe (voice)
1995	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Old King Cole (voice)
1993	The Tommyknockers	Jim 'Gard' Gardner
1993	NYPD Blue	Bobby Simone
1992	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1990	Cop Rock	Victor Sifuentes (uncredited)
1988	LIVE with Kelly and Mark	Self - Guest
1987	The Highwayman	Bo Ziker
1986	L.A. Law	Victor Sifuentes
1985	Spenser: For Hire
1984	Miami Vice	Eddie Rivera
1980	A Capitol Fourth	Self
1975	Saturday Night Live	Self - Host
1956	Tony Awards	Self - Presenter
1953	The Oscars	Self
1952	Today	Self
1944	Golden Globe Awards	Self - Nominee
1944	Golden Globe Awards	Self - Audience Member
1944	Golden Globe Awards	Self - Winner