Edward James Olmos Biography

Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is a Mexican American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver, patriarch Abraham Quintanilla in the film Selena, Detective Gaff in Blade Runner, and narrator El Pachuco in both the stage and film versions of Zoot Suit.

In 1988, Olmos was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film Stand and Deliver.

He has also been a longtime pioneer for more diversified roles and images of Latinos in the U.S. media. His notable direction, production and starring roles for films, made-for-TV movies and TV shows include American Me, The Burning Season, My Family/Mi Familia, 12 Angry Men, The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca, Walkout, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and American Family: Journey of Dreams.

Early life

Olmos was born Edward Olmos in Los Angeles, California, where he was raised, the son of Eleanor (née Huizar) and Pedro Olmos, who was a welder and mail carrier. His father was a Mexican immigrant and his mother was Mexican American. He grew up wanting to be a professional baseball player, and became the Golden State batting champion. In his teen years, he turned to rock and roll, and became the lead singer for a band he named Pacific Ocean, so-called because it was to be "the biggest thing on the West Coast." He graduated from Montebello High School in 1964. While at Montebello High School, he lost a race for Student Body President to future California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres. For several years, Olmos performed at various clubs in and around Los Angeles, and released a record in 1968. At the same time, he attended classes at East Los Angeles College, including courses in acting.

Career

In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Olmos branched out from music into acting, appearing in many small productions, until his big break portraying the narrator, called "El Pachuco," in the play Zoot Suit, which dramatized the World War II-era rioting in California brought about by the tensions between Mexican-Americans and local police. (See Zoot Suit Riots.) The play moved to Broadway, and Olmos earned a Tony Award nomination. He subsequently took the role to the filmed version in 1981, and appeared in many other films including Wolfen, Blade Runner and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

In 1980, Olmos was cast in the post-apocalyptic science fiction film (now a Japanese cult classic) Virus (???"? Fukkatsu no hi), directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on a novel written by Sakyo Komatsu. His role required him to play a piano while singing a Spanish ballad during the later part of the film. Although not a box office success, Virus was notable for being the most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time.

From 1979 to 1987, Olmos lived in West New York, New Jersey.

From 1984 to 1989, Olmos starred in his biggest role up to that date as the taciturn police Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the television series Miami Vice, opposite Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. He was awarded a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 1985 for his work in the series. At this time, Olmos also starred in a short training video for the United States Postal Service entitled Was it Worth It?, a video about theft in the workplace. He was contacted about playing the captain of the on Star Trek: The Next Generation when it was in pre-production in 1986, but he declined.

Returning to film, Olmos became the first American-born Latino to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, in Stand and Deliver, for his portrayal of real-life math teacher, Jaime Escalante. He directed and starred in American Me in 1992, and also starred in My Family/Mi Familia, a multigenerational story of a Chicano family. In 1997, he starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the film Selena. Olmos played Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the 2001 movie In the Time of the Butterflies. He also had a recurring role as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roberto Mendoza in the NBC drama The West Wing. From 2002 to 2004, he starred as a recently widowed father of a Latino L.A.-family in the PBS drama American Family: Journey of Dreams.

From 2003 to 2009, he starred as Commander (later Admiral) William Adama in the Sci-Fi Channel's reimagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries, and in the television series that followed. He directed four episodes of the show, Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down (1.9), Taking a Break from All Your Worries (3.13), Escape Velocity (4.4) and Islanded in a Stream of Stars (4.18). He also directed a television movie based upon the show, The Plan. Regarding his work on the show, he told CraveOnline, "I'm very grateful for the work that I've been able to do in my life, but I can honestly tell you, this is the best usage of television I've ever been a part of to date."

In 2006, he co-produced, directed, and played the bit part of Julian Nava in the HBO movie about the 1968 Chicano Blowouts, Walkout. He also appeared in Snoop Dogg's music video "Vato", featuring B-Real from Cypress Hill. In the series finale of the ABC sitcom George Lopez, titled "George Decides to Sta-Local Where It's Familia"; he guest-starred as the plant's new multi-millionaire owner. More recently, he has been a spokesperson for Farmers Insurance Group, starring in their Spanish language commercials.

Edward Olmos has often been involved in social activism, especially that affecting the Latino community. During the 1992 Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, when many people left the city, Olmos went out with a broom and worked to get communities cleaned up and rebuilt. He also attended an Oprah episode relating to the L.A. riots as an audience member. In 1997, Olmos co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival with Marlene Dermer, George Hernandez and Kirk Whisler. That same year, he co-founded with Kirk Whisler the non-profit organization, Latino Literacy Now, that has produced Latino Book & Festivals around the USA, attended by over 700,000 people.

In 1998, he founded Latino Public Broadcasting and currently serves as its chairman. Latino Public Broadcasting funds public television programming that focuses on issues affecting Latinos and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. That same year, he starred in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, a comedy that sought to break Latino stereotypes and transcend the normal stigmas of most Latino-oriented movies. In 1999, Olmos was one of the driving forces that created Americanos: Latino Life in the U.S.¹, a book project featuring over 30 award winning photographers, later turned into a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, music CD and HBO special.

He also makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers. He has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in jail for taking part in the Navy-Vieques protests against United States Navy target practice bombings of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. On January 5, 2007, he appeared on Puerto Rican television to blame the Puerto Rican and United States governments for not cleaning Vieques after the U.S. Navy stopped using the island for bombing practice.

Edward James Olmos narrated the 1999 film Zapatista, a documentary in support of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, a revolutionary group that has abstained from using their weapons since 1994. He also gave $2,300 to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson for his presidential campaign (the maximum amount for the primaries).

Olmos joined the cast of the television series Dexter for its 6th season, as a "brilliant, charismatic professor of religious studies."

Personal life

In 1971, Olmos married Katija Keel, the daughter of actor Howard Keel. They had two children, Bodie and Mico, before divorcing in 1992. Olmos also has four adopted children: Daniela, Michael D., Brandon and Tamiko. He married actress Lorraine Bracco in 1994, but she filed for divorce in January 2002 after five years of separation. In the same year, he married Puerto Rican actress Lymari Nadal. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from California State University, Fresno. In 2007, after a seven-year process, he obtained Mexican nationality.

Asteroid 5608 Olmos is named in his honor.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Aloha Bobby and Rose	Chicano #1
1977	Alambrista!	Drunk
1978	Evening in Byzantium	Angelo
1979	Fukkatsu no hi	Capt. Lopez
1981	Three Hundred Miles for Stephanie	Art Vela
1981	Wolfen	Eddie Holt
1981	Zoot Suit	El Pachuco
1982	Blade Runner	Gaff
1983	The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez	Gregorio Cortez
1985	Saving Grace	Ciolino
1988	Stand and Deliver	Jaime Escalante	Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Nominated-Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1989	The Fortunate Pilgrim	Frank Corbo
1989	Triumph of the Spirit	Gypsy
1991	Talent for the Game	Virgil Sweet
1992	American Me	Montoya Santana
1993	Roosters	Gallo Morales
1994	Menedez: A Killing in Beverly Hills	Jose Menendez
1994	A Million to Juan	Angel
1994	The Burning Season	Wilson Pinheiro	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1995	Mirage	Matteo Juarez
1995	My Family	Paco
1996	Dead Man's Walk	Capt. Salazar
1996	The Limbic Region	Jon Lucca
1996	Caught	Joe
1997	12 Angry Men	Juror #11
1997	Selena	Abraham Quintanilla, Jr.	ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film
1997	The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca	Roberto Lozano
1997	Hollywood Confidential	Stan Navarro, Sr.	Nominated-ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film
1998	The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit	Vamanos
1998	The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Det. Anthony Piscotti
1999	Bonanno: A Godfather's Story	Salvatore Maranzano
2000	The Princess & the Barrio Boy	Nestor Garcia	Television movie
2000	The Road to El Dorado	Chief Tannabok	Voice only
2000	Gossip	Detective Curtis
2001	The Judge	Judge Armando	Nominated-ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film
2001	In the Time of the Butterflies	Rafael Trujillo
2002	Jack and Marilyn	Pasquel
2005	Cerca, La	Nino
2005	Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind	Mito
2006	Splinter	Capt. Garcia
2006	Walkout	Julian Nava
2008	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	Diablo	Voice only
2010	I'm Still Here	Himself
2011	The Green Hornet	Michael Axford
2011	America	Mr. Irving
2013	2 Guns	Papa Greco
2013	Filly Brown	Leandro
2013	Machete Kills	TBA

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Starsky & Hutch	Julio Guiterez	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Physic")
1978	CHiPs	Henry	(TV series, 1 episode: "Flashback")
1982	Hill Street Blues	Joe Bustamonte	(TV series, 2 episodes)
1984	Hill Street Blues	Judge Cruz	(TV series, 1 episode: "Parting Is Such a Sweet Sorrow")
1984"1990	Miami Vice	Lt. Martin Castillo	(TV series, 106 episodes) Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
1995	The Magic School Bus	Mr. Ramon (Carlos' father)	(TV series, 1 episode: "Going Batty")
1999"2000	The West Wing	Associate Justice Roberto Mendoza	(TV series, 2 episodes)
2002"2004	American Family: Journey of Dreams	Jess Gonzalez	(TV series, 17 episodes)
2003"2009	Battlestar Galactica	William Adama	(TV series, 73 episodes) Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Nominated-ALMA Award for Best Actor on Television Nominated-Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television (2007, 2008)
2007	George Lopez	Mr. Vega	(TV series, 1 episode: "George Decides to Sta-Local Where It's Familia")
2010	CSI: NY	Luther Devarro	(TV series, 1 episode: "Sangre Por Sangre)
2011	Dexter	Professor Gellar	(TV series, 10 episodes) Nominated-Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated-Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television
2011	Eureka	Rudy	(TV series, 1 episode: "DO You See What I See")"
2012	Portlandia	Himself	(TV series, 1 episode: "One Moore Episode")