If you lost track of Lou Diamond Phillips after Longmire ended,
we've tallied up some of the best ways to catch up with him. Here's what Phillips has
been up to since the acclaimed Wyoming-set crime drama aired its final episode in 2017.
Even when Lou Diamond Phillips didn't have a regular TV series, he was still
a familiar face on TV, turning up regularly in prominent guest star spots in just about every
genre. This hasn't changed since Longmire wrapped. Phillips has turned up on crime procedurals like
Criminal Minds, and NCIS: New Orleans, as well as landed a juicy recurring role on Blue Bloods.
And, notably, it's only a recurring role because of Phillips — he was too good for the show to let
him go after only one episode. As Blue Bloods star Donnie Wahlberg explained in an interview with Pop
Culture, Phillips' character Louis Delgado was originally slated to die in his first episode.
But Wahlberg loved working with Phillips too much for that to happen. He told Pop Culture,
"It's just rare you get to work with somebody you click with so well and they're amazing at
what they do. I feel like he makes me a better actor and he makes our show a better show."
Phillips' part on Blue Bloods was accordingly expanded,
and his character wound up having a rich, complex connection with Wahlberg's Danny Reagan.
Lou Diamond Phillips has a distinctive voice, and lately he's been putting it to good use. Since the
Longmire finale in 2017, Phillips has more than doubled the amount of voice acting on his resume.
On Disney's The Lion Guard, a Lion King spinoff series, he provided the voice for Surak; he also
had a recurring role on the children's show Elena of Avalor and did a guest spot on Family Guy.
This is an intriguing new direction for Phillips,
and it's one that makes a lot of sense. He's always worked hard to
make sure his career was as multifaceted as possible. In an interview with UPI, he said,
"I literally trace [this versatility] back to my theater days, which started in high school
and then with my degree from the University of Texas in Arlington. I did everything."
Notably, voice acting is also an easy way for him to make appearances on
children's shows like Elena of Avalor. He told Yahoo Finance that, as a father,
he really appreciates the effort to provide more diverse children's programming.
After Longmire, if you wanted your regular Lou Diamond Phillips fix, your best bet was the 2019
crime show Prodigal Son, where he played NYPD Lieutenant Gil Arroyo. Warm and level-headed,
Arroyo is a kind of natural successor to Henry Standing Bear. Phillips told UPI,
"The integrity and the moral compass of Gil Arroyo is very much like that
of Henry [...] but one is a very rural guy, a Native American,
and the other one is an urban Filipino, so it's nice to have that latitude."
The role is similar enough that Longmire fans should check the show out, but still
different enough to be a change of pace for Phillips. He likes to keep things fresh.
Prodigal Son is a dark crime drama about an investigator father was a serial killer.
The cases of the week can delve into some extreme territory, but cast chemistry and sympathetic
characters keep it grounded. While the show was unfortunately canceled after its second season,
two seasons of Gil Arroyo are definitely better than none.
While Lou Diamond Phillips actually did a little directing before Longmire,
the series opened the door for him to do even more. When he directed Season 6's "Fever," he
clearly caught the directing bug. It's not that unusual for actors to get the chance to direct
an episode on their own shows, but Phillips really took the ball and ran with it. He didn't
just take the reins on Longmire and Prodigal Son, where he was a series regular — he also
directed an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as an episode of Fear the Walking Dead.
"I feel very honored that they've given me and trusted me an opportunity to,
you know, tell this story."
It's probably easier, he admitted in an interview with Nerds and Beyond,
to keep his directing and acting separate. Phillips told the outlet:
"I've often gotten so caught up in watching my other actors during a scene that I forget
my own lines. That's why we have multiple takes!"
We can also look forward to seeing more of this
side of Phillips' career. The actor went on to add:
"I absolutely love directing and consider it to be simply yet another branch of my creative
tree. [...] I truly enjoy working with the other artists (cinematographers, production designers,
stunt coordinators, every crew member really) to take great ideas and actualize them."
Longmire fans who miss Lou Diamond Phillips can also look for him
in a surprising place: the bookstore. In October 2020,
he published the young adult science fiction novel The Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira.
Phillips told Nerds and Beyond that the story stemmed from the manga-style concept art his wife
had done for a prospective graphic novel. Phillips started the project off as a screenplay and
"reverse-engineered" the story into a novel, a project that took 10 years. He
told UPI that 2020 lockdowns gave him the time he needed to buckle down and finish.
And the results are impressive. The Nerd Daily reviewed the book, saying,
"Phillips has skillfully woven together a fantastical story
with realistic touchstones. [....] The plot is driving, the characters are memorable,
and the writing is satisfying. Enhanced by the striking drawings,
Phillips has built a world here which readers will undoubtedly wish to visit again."
They might be in luck. Phillips confirmed with UPI that a second book is already in the works.
With some novel-writing experience now under his belt,
we're betting readers won't have to wait 10 years for this next one.
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