Edward James Olmos | |
|---|---|
 Olmos at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival | |
| Born | Edward Huizar Olmos[1] (1947-02-24)February 24, 1947 (age 78) East Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6 |
Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947)[2] is a Mexican-American actor and director. He is best known for his roles as DetectiveGaff inBlade Runner (1982) and its sequelBlade Runner 2049 (2017), Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo inMiami Vice (1984–1989), high school math teacherJaime Escalante inStand and Deliver (1988), Montoya Santana inAmerican Me (1992) (which he also directed),William Adama in the reimaginedBattlestar Galactica (2004–2009), and the voice of Mito in the 2005 English dub ofNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
For his work inMiami Vice, Olmos won the 1985Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, as well as theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. For his performance inStand and Deliver, Olmos was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Actor and aGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
He is also known for his roles as folk heroGregorio Cortez inThe Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, patriarchAbraham Quintanilla in the filmSelena, Felipe Reyes inMayans M.C., the voice of Chief Tannabok inThe Road to El Dorado, narrator El Pachuco in both the stage andfilm versions ofZoot Suit, and the voice of Chicharrón inCoco.
Over the course of his career, Olmos has been a pioneer for more diversified roles and images of Latinos in American media.[3][4][5] His other notable direction, production, and starring roles for films,made-for-TV movies, and TV shows includeBattlestar Galactica,Wolfen,Triumph of the Spirit,Talent for the Game,American Me,The Burning Season,My Family,Caught,12 Angry Men,The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca,Walkout,The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit,American Family, andDexter.
Olmos was born and raised inEast Los Angeles,California, the son of [Mary] Eleanor (née Huizar Flores Magán) and Pedro Olmos Escamilla, who was a welder and mail carrier.[6] His mother was born in Los Angeles ofTejano ancestry,[7] who gave birth to Olmos' older brother inMexico City out ofwedlock at the age of 17 in 1944.[8] There she married Olmos' father, Pedro, 2 months later.[9] In 1945, Eleanor returned with Olmos' brother to Los Angeles.[10] Pedro, who wasMexican-born,[11] followed her by train to America,the day WWII ended.[1][12][10] Pedro wasnaturalized as a US citizen in 1953.[13]
Olmos was raised by hisAmerican Baptist maternal great-grandparents as his parents worked.[1][10] He describes his mother as "feisty," and throughout her life performed as a taxi-driver, sheriff, electrical engineer, and nurse (the first woman to walk into theLA GeneralAIDS ward). His great-grandfather was a church custodian. Around the age of seven, his parents divorced. Following the divorce, he primarily lived with his mother and great-grandparents, seeing his father every other Sunday for 8 hours and during the summer for 2 weeks. His father attempted to raise him and his siblings under theCatholic faith and introduced him to cinema atthe Egyptian,Chinese Theatre,El Capitan, andParamount after church services. During the summer, his father would introduce him to dance and television around the age of 9 or 10.[10]
Olmos describes his community growing up as a "salad" of many separate ethnicities, rather than amelting pot. In the midst of early LA gangs, he focused on learning to playbaseball as an exercise in discipline. Having won the California state batting championship 2 years in a row, he was collected by theLos Angeles Dodgers'farm system, as acatcher, at age 13.[10] He left baseball at age 15 to join arock and roll band, which caused a rift with his father, who was hurt by the decision.[1][14]
He graduated fromMontebello High School in 1964. While there, he lost a race for Student Body President to future CaliforniaDemocratic Party ChairArt Torres. In his teen years, he was the lead singer for apsychedelic/hard rock band he named Pacific Ocean, so called because it was to be "the biggest thing on the West Coast".[15] At the same time, he attended classes atEast Los Angeles College, including courses in acting,[16] though says he had difficulty due to undiagnoseddyslexia.[10]
For several years, Pacific Ocean (later renamed Eddie James and The Pacific Ocean) performed at various clubs in and around Los Angeles,[17][18] and released the albumPurgatory via VMC Records in late 1968.[19][20] The album was promoted with two singles, "I Can't Stand It" / "I Wanna Testify", and "My Shrink"/"16 Tons," and was followed by a nation-wide tour in early 1969.[21][22] While setting up for a Pacific Ocean show one night, Olmos slipped on stage and landed on a nail that went through his knee.[23] Another time during a concert, Olmos jumped from the top of an organ across the stage into the drum set, getting knocked unconscious and dislocating the drummer's shoulder.[22]
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 playZoot Suit, which dramatized theWorld War II-era rioting inCalifornia brought about by the tensions between Mexican-Americans and local police, called theZoot Suit riots. The play moved to Broadway, and Olmos earned aTony Award nomination. He subsequently took the role to thefilmed version in 1981, and appeared in many other films includingWolfen,Blade Runner andThe Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. Olmos has been a frequent guest narrator atDisney's Candlelight Processional atWalt Disney World, narrating thenativity story.[24]
In 1980, Olmos was cast in the post-apocalyptic science fiction filmVirus (復活の日Fukkatsu no Hi), directed byKinji 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 made at the time.[25]
From 1984 to 1989, he starred in his biggest role up to that date as the taciturn police LieutenantMartin Castillo in the television seriesMiami Vice, oppositeDon Johnson andPhilip Michael Thomas, for which he was awarded aGolden Globe and anEmmy in 1985. At this time, Olmos also starred in a short training video for theUnited States Postal Service entitledWas it Worth It?, a video about theft in the workplace. He was contacted about playing the captain of theUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) onStar Trek: The Next Generation when it was in pre-production in 1986, but declined.[26]
Returning to film, Olmos became the first American-born Hispanic to receive anAcademy Award nomination for Best Actor[27] for his portrayal of real-life math teacherJaime Escalante inStand and Deliver. He directed and starred in the controversial crime filmAmerican Me in 1992, and also starred inMy Family, a multi-generational story of aChicano family. He had a slight appearance in the video of the American rock bandToto, "I Will Remember" (1995), where he can be seen with actorMiguel Ferrer. In 1997, he starred alongsideJennifer Lopez in the filmSelena. Olmos playedDominican Republic dictatorRafael Trujillo in the 2001 filmIn the Time of the Butterflies. He had a recurring role as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roberto Mendoza in theNBC dramaThe West Wing.[28] From 2002 to 2004, he starred as a recently widowed father of a Hispanic family in thePBS dramaAmerican Family: Journey of Dreams.[29]
From 2003 to 2009, he starred as CommanderWilliam Adama in theSci-Fi Channel'sreimaginedBattlestar Galacticaminiseries, and in thetelevision 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 directed a television film based upon the show,The Plan. Regarding his work on the show, he toldCraveOnline, "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."[30]
In 2006, he co-produced, directed, and played the bit part ofJulian Nava in theHBO film about the 1968Chicano Blowouts,Walkout.[31] He appeared inSnoop Dogg's music video "Vato". In the series finale of theABC sitcomGeorge Lopez, titled "George Decides to Sta-Local Where It's Familia"; he guest-starred as the plant's new multi-millionaire owner. He has been a spokesperson forFarmers Insurance Group, starring in their Spanish language commercials.[32]
Olmos joined the cast of the television seriesDexter for its sixth season, as a "brilliant, charismatic professor of religious studies".[33]
Olmos starred in the second season ofAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. asRobert Gonzales, the leader of a rival faction of S.H.I.E.L.D., for five episodes.[34]
.jpg)
In 1967, Olmos – as Eddie James (vocals, keyboards) – formed the bluesy psyche rock band that would becomePacific Ocean,[35] who the following year released their self-titled, only LP.
In 1972, he contributed backing vocals to the final song onTodd Rundgren'sSomething/Anything? album.[36]
Olmos has often been involved in social activism, especially that affecting the U.S. Hispanic community. During the1992 Los Angeles riots, Olmos went out with a broom[37] and worked to get communities cleaned up and rebuilt.[38][39][40] He also attended an episode ofThe Oprah Winfrey Show relating to the L.A. riots as an audience member. In 1997, he co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival[41] 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[42] around the US, attended by over 700,000 people.
In 1998, he foundedLatino Public Broadcasting and serves as its chairman. Latino Public Broadcasting funds public television programming that focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. That same year, he starred inThe Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. In 1999, Olmos was one of the driving forces that createdAmericanos: Latino Life in the U.S.,[43][44] a book project featuring over 30 award-winning photographers, later turned into aSmithsonian traveling exhibition, music CD andHBO special.[45]
He also makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers. He has also been an international ambassador forUNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in jail for taking part in theNavy-Vieques protests againstUnited States Navy target practice bombings of the island ofVieques, Puerto Rico. On January 5, 2007, he blamed the United States government for not cleaning Vieques after the U.S. Navy stopped using the island for bombing practice.[46]
Olmos narrated the 1999 documentary filmZapatista, in support of theZapatista Army of National Liberation, a revolutionary group that has abstained from using weapons since 1994. He gave $2,300 toNew Mexico governorBill Richardson for his presidential campaign (the maximum amount for the primaries).[47] In 2020, he supportedJoe Biden for President.[48]
Olmos has also vocally supported various animal rights causes over the years. In 2015 Olmos contributed his voice to theUnity (film), which calls for a transformation in humanity's treatment of animals and the natural world. Since 2015, Olmos has been a vegan.[49] He has worked withPETA on a number of campaigns (such as in radio and TV ads calling for humans to keep their pets indoors during fireworks, and voicing the Coyote in their "Council of Animals" sculpture)[50] and in September 2023 was awarded a Humanitarian Award by the organization.[51]
He is a supporter ofSENS Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to treating and curing diseases of aging by repairing the underlying damage caused by aging. He narrated a series of animations explaining the concept of SENS.[52]
From 1979 to 1987, Olmos lived inWest New York, New Jersey.[53] In 1971, he married Kaija Keel, the daughter of actorHoward Keel. They had two children, Bodie and Mico, before divorcing in 1992. Olmos has four adopted children: Daniela, Michael, Brandon, and Tamiko. He married actressLorraine Bracco in 1994. She filed for divorce in January 2002 after five years of separation.[15] Olmos had a long-term relationship with actressLymari Nadal. They married in 2002,[54] and separated in 2013.[55]
In 1993, Olmos was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree fromWhittier College.[56]
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.[57]Asteroid5608 Olmos is named in his honor.
In 2022, Olmos was diagnosed with throat cancer and immediately went into chemotherapy for treatment. By the end of the year, the cancer went into remission. This was not made public until May 2023.[58]
In 1992, a teenage girl accused Olmos of twice touching her in a sexual manner while they watched TV and flirted together.[59] Olmos paid the family a cash settlement of $150,000 in response to the allegations, but denied that they were true. He claimed that the settlement was in fact meant to protect his son, Bodie Olmos, not him due to his son having a relationship with the girl at the time.[60]
In 1997, a woman accused Olmos of sexually assaulting her in a South Carolina hotel room.[61][62]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Cannon | Unnamed character | Episode: "The Exchange"; credited as Edward Olmos |
| 1975 | Kojak | Bartender | Episode: "How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars"; uncredited |
| 1977 | Hawaii Five-O | Dancer | Episode: "Ready, Aim..." |
| 1977 | Starsky & Hutch | Julio Guiterez | Episode: "The Psychic" |
| 1978 | CHiPs | Henry | Episode: "Flashback" |
| Evening in Byzantium | Angelo | Television film | |
| 1981 | Three Hundred Miles for Stephanie | Art Vela | |
| 1982 | Hill Street Blues | Joe Bustamonte | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Judge Cruz | Episode: "Parting Is Such a Sweet Sorrow" | |
| 1984–1990 | Miami Vice | Lt. Martin Castillo | 106 episodes; also director |
| 1988 | The Fortunate Pilgrim | Frank Corbo | 3 episodes |
| 1990 | The Earth Day Special | Hospital Director | Television special |
| 1994 | Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills | Jose Menendez | Television film |
| The Burning Season | Wilson Pinheiro | ||
| 1995 | The Magic School Bus | Mr. Ramon | Voice, episode: "Going Batty"[63] |
| 1996 | The Limbic Region | Jon Lucca | Television film |
| Dead Man's Walk | Captain Salazar | Television miniseries | |
| 1997 | 12 Angry Men | Juror #11 | Television film |
| 1998 | Touched by an Angel | Col. Victor Walls | Episode: "God and Country" |
| The Wall | Col. Holst | Television film; segment: "The Pencil Holder" | |
| The Taking of Pelham One Two Three | Det. Anthony Piscotti | Television film | |
| 1999 | Bonanno: A Godfather's Story | Salvatore Maranzano | |
| Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War | Narrator | Documentary film | |
| 1999–2000 | The West Wing | Associate Justice Roberto Mendoza | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Super Bowl XXXIV: Halftime Show | Narrator | Sports event |
| The Princess & the Barrio Boy | Nestor Garcia | Television film | |
| 2001 | The Judge | Judge Armando | |
| In the Time of the Butterflies | Rafael Trujillo | ||
| 2002–2004 | American Family | Jess Gonzalez | 17 episodes |
| 2003 | Battlestar Galactica | William Adama | Miniseries |
| 2004–2009 | Battlestar Galactica | William Adama | 73 episodes; also director |
| 2004 | The Batman | Angel Rojas | Voice, episode: "The Bat in the Belfry"[63] |
| 2006 | Walkout | Julian Nava | Television film; also director |
| 2007 | George Lopez | Mr. Hector Vega | Episode: "George decides to sta-local where it's Familia" |
| 2010 | CSI: NY | Luther Devarro | Episode: "Sangre Por Sangre" |
| 2011 | Dexter | Professor Gellar | 10 episodes |
| Eureka | Rudy | Episode: "Do you see what I see?" | |
| 2012 | Portlandia | Himself | Episode: "One Moore Episode" |
| 2015 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Robert Gonzales | 5 episodes |
| The Simpsons | Pit Master | Voice, episode: "Cue Detective" | |
| 2016 | Urban Cowboy | Al Robles | Pilot |
| 2017 | Narcos | Chucho Peña | 2 episodes |
| 2018–2023 | Mayans M.C. | Felipe Reyes | Main role |
| 2018–2019 | Elena of Avalor | King Pescoro | Voice, 3 episodes[63] |
| 2019 | Bless This Mess | Randy | Episode: "The Grisham Gals" |
| 2024 | Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Molecule Man | Voice, 2 episodes[66] |
| Blue Bloods | Lorenzo Batista | Episode: "End of Tour" |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "I Will Remember" | Toto |
Before Edward James Olmos was an award-winning actor, producer and social activist, he was a West New York resident. From 1979 to 1987, Olmos rented an apartment on Boulevard East after departing East L.A., he said.
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Accessories | |
| Music | |
| Seasons | |
| Video games | |
| See also | |
