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 Matt Santos on The West Wing.
He is also notable for his portrayal of Bail Organa in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and
Miguel Prado in Dexter.
In 2012, he joined the main cast of Sons of Anarchy as high-level pimp Nero Padilla.
Early life Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York.
His father, Cornelius Smits, is Surinamese while his mother, Emilina, is Puerto Rican.
Smits identifies himself as Puerto Rican, and was raised in a strict devout Roman Catholic
family.
"Jimmy" is actually the name on his birth certificate, rather than "Jim" or "James".
He has two sisters, Yvonne and Diana.
He grew up in a working-class neighborhood and spent time in Puerto Rico during his childhood.
Smits earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University
in 1982.
Though born in New York, Smits has deep Puerto Rican roots and frequently visits the island.
In 2001, he was arrested for his participation in protests against U.S. Navy bombing practices
on the Puerto Rican offshore island of Vieques.
Career
A notable early role played by Smits was that of Eddie Rivera in the series premiere of
Miami Vice.
In the episode, he was Sonny Crockett's original partner, only to be shortly killed off in
a sting gone wrong.
He played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the long-running legal drama L.A.
Law.
Smits played a Conky Repairman on Pee-wee's Playhouse as one of the series' memorable
characters.
He also starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in My Family/Mi Familia
in 1995.
One of Smits' most acclaimed roles was that of Detective Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue, which
he starred in from 1994 to 1998.
He was nominated several times for Emmys for his performance on that television series
and won the ALMA award twice.
A new audience became aware of Smits for his appearance as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan,
who appears in the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and becomes Princess
Leia's adoptive father in the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
He reappears as Bail Organa in the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
In 1999, he received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.
Smits was to have hosted the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11, 2001, but
it was called off because of the terrorist attacks that day.
He instead hosted a non-televised press conference to announce the winners.
Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas in the final two
seasons of the American television drama The West Wing, joining fellow L.A. Law alumnus
John Spencer.
Smits's character eventually ran for and won the US Presidency in the series.
For the third season of Dexter, Smits played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district
attorney who befriends Dexter.
Smits was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
for the role.
Additionally, 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 cancelled 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 and creates an alliance and mentorship
with the central character Jax Teller.
Stage performances In the mid-1980s, Smits acted in numerous
performances at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York.
His roles at the Hangar included Max in the 1982 production of Cabaret and Paul in Loose
Ends the same year.
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.
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.
Personal life Smits was married to Barbara Smits from 1981
until their divorce in 1987.
They have two children, Taina and Joaquin.
Since 1986, Smits has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus; they live in
Los Angeles.
Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts to advance the presence of Latinos
in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries.
Smits is also an advocate for diagnostic colorectal screening and has appeared in a public service
commercial.
Most recently, Smits filmed a PSA for Detroit Non-Profit Cass Community Social Services.
Smits will act as the Honorary Chair of their 6th Annual "Catch the Fireworks With Cass"
event that takes place during the notable fireworks display in Brooklyn.
Smits was arrested in 1987 for assaulting an officer after police answered a call for
help at his home.
He and his girlfriend were arrested for battery on three police officers who responded to
the call.
The charges were later dropped because of conflicting witness statements.
Smits later pled guilty to the misdemeanor of disturbing the peace, receiving a sentence
of 18 months of unsupervised probation and a $150 fine.
Wanda DeJesus pled guilty to misidentifying herself to a police officer and disturbing
the peace.
She received a fine of $250, 18 months of unsupervised probation and 75 hours of community
service.
Charity Work Smits's main accomplishment in the private
sector was his work with the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts in order to make Spanish
artists and actors better known.
The website for this organization is www.hispanicarts.org.
However, Smits has also donated to several other organizations including the Red Cross,
New York Cares, and Stand up to Cancer.
In addition, he regularly donates to HIV and AIDS treatment and to help human rights around
the world.
He also donates for disaster relief whenever a big natural disaster occurs and he donates
for the creative arts.
His main work with Latinos is summarized by these two quotes, "I've been very lucky to
work on a wide variety of projects, including two long-run and top-10 dramatic television
shows.
That is why it is so important to offer a helping hand to the next generation of young
Latinos coming up behind me." and "I am a firm believer in education and have worked
very hard to tell young Latinos that they must go to college and that, if possible,
they should pursue an advanced degree.
I am convinced that education is the great equalizer."
Filmography Film
Television Awards and nominations
See also
List of notable Puerto Ricans References
External links Jimmy Smits at the Internet Movie Database
Jimmy Smits at the TCM Movie Database Jimmy Smits at AllMovie
http:www.hispanic-today.com/smits_article.html