It's been over 30 years since Crockett and Tubbs last donned their pastels and saved
the day on Miami Vice. But just where have the cast of this 1980s megahit gone in the
years following the show's finale? Here's what the cast of Miami Vice are up to today.
Once he donned Sonny Crockett's legendary Ray-Bans, Don Johnson became one of the biggest
stars on television. Crockett nails every great cop story trope. A rogue whose code
clashes with department bureaucracy? Check. A tough-as-nails exterior hiding a wounded
heart? Double check. The coolest guy in the room, right up until it's time to deal some
justice to the criminal underworld? Triple check. Crockett's intense charisma and undeniable
badassery makes him the focus of Miami Vice's universe, and a straight-up icon to boot.
After his time as Crockett ended, Johnson tried to jump to leading man status on the
big screen. Unfortunately, films such as The Hot Spot and Harley Davidson & the Marlboro
Man failed to impress critics or blow up the box office. His next big success was back
on television, as the lead on CBS police drama Nash Bridges, which matched Miami Vice's five-year
run in length, if not in impact. The 2000s saw Johnson bouncing between supporting roles,
but 2019 offered up something of a renaissance for the actor, as he played major parts in
two critically-hailed projects: Rian Johnson's twisty murder mystery Knives Out, and HBO's
prestige series, Watchmen. He'll next appear in Rebel Ridge, an upcoming Netflix thriller
by director Jeremy Saulnier.
Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, played by Philip Michael Thomas, is the yin to Crockett's
yang. A transplant from the NYPD, he quickly finds himself seduced by the "vice" side of
his work, often engaging in off-duty relationships with persons of interest, and even fathering
a child with the daughter of drug lord Esteban Calderone. Still, when the chips are down,
he always has Crockett's back. Phillip Michael Thomas brought a huge sense of style to the
part, forever searing Tubbs into the public consciousness.
Sadly, Thomas never quite followed up on the momentum from his time as Tubbs. He released
a pair of albums, starred in a short-lived Italian TV series called Detective Extralarge,
and fronted the Philip Michael Thomas International Psychic Network. Which is exactly what it
sounds like.
"It really is great."
"Oh, your psychics are definitely the best. By the way, thanks for the free psychic reading."
Thomas also briefly reunited with Johnson on a couple of Nash Bridges episodes. At this
point, though, he is likely best known to younger audiences as the voice of Lance Vance
in the colossally successful Grand Theft Auto: Vice City games. Despite claiming he was retired
from acting after the release of 2006's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Thomas returned
to the digital realm one more time for 2011's Gangstar Rio: City of Saints.
Every deeply wounded detective needs a good love interest, and Crockett's came in the
form of Detective Gina Calabrese. The pair's on-again-off-again affair is a central plot
point of the series, only ending when Calabrese eventually calls it quits. They do, however,
remain close, and their paths continue to cross on a number of investigations. And while
the '80s weren't always kind to female characters on TV, Gina Calabrese stands out as one of
the most dependable detectives in the Metro-Dade Police Department.
Saundra Santiago has continued to work on television long after the end of Miami Vice.
Her next big gig was a three-year stint on the soap opera Guiding Light, followed by
appearances on a number of well-known shows, including Damages, True Detective, and Gotham.
Her most well-known post-Vice role, however, was as Tony Soprano's next-door neighbor,
Jeannie Cusamano, on HBO's mega-hit mafia show, The Sopranos. Broadway fans might also
have seen her in the well-regarded and Tony-winning Nine, which starred Antonio Banderas. Her
most recent TV appearance was on the CBS political drama Madam Secretary in 2017.
Detective Lieutenant Marty Castillo is not your typical cop show boss. While most authority
figures in this kind of show make the protagonists' lives harder, Castillo is totally loyal to
his team, willing to go out on a limb to aid their investigations or help them navigate
bureaucratic roadblocks. He is also a formidable police officer, often drawing on his experience
as a DEA operative. And Edward James Olmos's icy, intense performance makes Castillo an
ever-compelling presence on the show.
"I know you all hurt inside, but do your grieving in private, the street has no sympathy."
Not many Miami Vice viewers would have predicted that Olmos would go on to have the most prestigious
career among the show's cast, but that's exactly how it's played out. After turning down the
lead on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Olmos was nominated for an Oscar for his turn as
Jaime Escalante in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver. From there, he's worked almost constantly,
appearing in films such as Selena and American Me, and on highly-regarded TV shows such as
The West Wing. His best-known effort, though, was his starring role as Admiral William Adama
in Battlestar Galactica. Olmos most recently appeared on Mayans M.C., and has several in-production
projects going, so you can be sure you'll be seeing much more of him in the near future.
Played by Gregory Sierra, Lou Rodriguez is the Vice team's original superior officer.
He and Crockett are implied to have a long history, having worked together for several
years before the series takes place. While Rodriguez can be quick to anger, he steps
up when it matters, giving his life by taking a bullet from hitman Ludovici Armstrong. His
death is a major early plot point for the show, serving as the catalyst for Crockett
and Tubbs to head to the Bahamas to confront drug lord Esteban Calderone.
Sierra had a lengthy list of credits before Miami Vice, with episodic appearances in everything
from the action-packed Mission: Impossible and Hawaii Five-O to sitcoms like Sanford
and Son and All in the Family. His longest run on a series was as Chano Amenguale on
Barney Miller, but he worked steadily through the '90s, popping up on The X-Files, Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also had parts on the big screen
in Hot Shots: Part Deux and A Low Down Dirty Shame. This millennium, he appeared in 2018's
The Other Side of the Wind, the Orson Welles-directed film that was finished and released 30 years
after its creator's death.
Detective Trudy Joplin is Gina Calabrese's partner, and one of two female members of
the vice team. Like Detective Calabrese, she starts out as a lure in prostitution sting
operations, attracting would-be johns with her provocative outfits. Over time, her role
shifts into that of the team's intelligence gatherer, using her street-level contacts
and computer skills to provide the in-depth info needed to bring down Miami's worst criminals.
Although she rarely goes out on undercover work, she does get her hands dirty from time
to time, posing as Tubbs' wife to help flush out a DEA leak in the episode "Smuggler's
Blues," and posing again as a prostitute to nab a serial killer in "Asian Cut."
Brown had a bit of a character resume before Miami Vice, which she parlayed into frequent
work throughout the '90s. She had recurring roles on Designing Women and Lois & Clark,
and showed up on individual episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Family Matters,
among others. She was most recently seen in the holiday-themed film 2017's Our Dream Christmas.
Detectives Larry Zito and Stan Switek serve as Miami Vice's surveillance outfit, staking
out potential suspects and engaging in electronic and audio intelligence-gathering. Zito is
originally played as comic relief, but as the show's tone grows more serious, so too
does John Diehl's performance. Unfortunately, Diehl tired of the role, leading to Zito's
cocaine overdose death during an undercover investigation of a drug runner.
After leaving Miami Vice, Diehl temporarily forewent television work to focus on theater.
He found time, however, to advance his film career in a rash of movies throughout the
'90s. In fact, Diehl has one of the deepest resumes of any Miami Vice alum, with literally
dozens of credits per year up through 2020. Post-Vice, he appeared in The Hanoi Hilton,
Mo' Money, and Stargate SG-1, among many, many other productions. The turn of the millennium
saw him return actively to TV, with a recurring role on The Shield and episodic appearances
on the likes of NYPD Blue and The West Wing. His list of movie credits is also dotted with
well-known titles, from Oliver Stone's Nixon, in which he played G. Gordon Liddy, to Jurassic
Park III.
Despite his occasional goofiness, Michael Talbott's Stan Switek is an effective part
of the team, using his surveillance expertise alongside Larry Zito to great effect. His
close bond with his partner means that Zito's death hits him particularly hard. Things eventually
get so bad that Switek finds himself on the hook to some pretty nefarious characters who
attempt to leverage the formerly fun-loving detective into compromising his squad.
Miami Vice wasn't Michael Talbott's first rodeo. The actor had already appeared in a
variety of TV shows including M*A*S*H, as well as in movies such as Carrie and First
Blood. Unfortunately, things never really took off for Talbott once his time in South
Beach came to an end. He has since kept active, however, as an outspoken supporter of the
National Rifle Association.
During their time battling crime in Miami, the Vice squad runs up against plenty of hardened
criminals. Isidore "Izzy" Moreno is not one of them.
"I'm no criminal. I mean, I've never been convicted. I have a few indictments, but I
am a man of no convictions."
After being arrested by Crockett and Tubbs on a botched bank robbery, Moreno sings like
a bird, receiving immunity in exchange for information. From there, he embarks on a long
relationship with the show's leads, getting off the hook from his ridiculous crimes in
exchange for giving up the goods on some of Miami's more dangerous shirkers of the law.
With his penchant for dropping literary misquotes and his thick accent, Moreno is often used
as comic relief, but his staying power is undeniable. In fact, he's the only character
outside of the main cast to appear in every one of the show's seasons.
Martin Ferrero had a solid career in TV that continued after Miami Vice, landing him on
shows like The X-Files, as well as reuniting him with Don Johnson on Nash Bridges. He also
enjoyed some success at the movies in the '90s, appearing in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,
Get Shorty, and Gods and Monsters. The role from which you probably most recognize him,
however, is a little more ignominious: Ferrero played Gennaro, the lawyer who gets bitten
in half by a T-Rex while sitting on a toilet in 1993's Jurassic Park.
In a case of life imitating art, musician Sheena Easton plays pop star Caitlin Davies
on Miami Vice, who later becomes Caitlin Davies-Crockett, the detective's second wife. Originally paired
when Crockett is appointed to bodyguard Davies while she awaits testimony against her former
manager, the two start off with a degree of animosity that masks a deep attraction. Eventually,
they fall in love and marry, but their relationship, while passionate, is dotted with tension due
to each of their careers. Fortunately, it always seems to work out...until it doesn't,
and Caitlin dies in Crockett's arms after being gunned down by an old enemy.
Easton has held down a number of acting gigs over the years, including as a voice on the
much loved animated series Gargoyles and on syndicated sci-fi shows such as Highlander:
The Series. Her acting career, however, is only a blip when compared to what she's accomplished
in the world of music. Easton is a six-time Grammy nominee and two-time winner, the singer
of '80s hits like "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" and Prince's "U Got the Look," and
seller of over 20 million records and singles worldwide. While she hasn't released any new
music since 2000, Easton remains very active as a performer, even taking to the stage in
London's West End in a 2016 revival of 42nd Street.
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