30 Facts About Jimmy Smits

1.

Jimmy L Smits was born on July 9,1955 and is an American actor.

2.

Jimmy Smits appeared as Bail Organa in the Star Wars franchise and as ADA Miguel Prado in Dexter.

3.

Jimmy Smits's mother, Emilina, was Puerto Rican, born in Penuelas.

4.

Jimmy Smits was raised in a strict, devout Roman Catholic family.

5.

Jimmy Smits identifies as Puerto Rican and frequently visits Puerto Rico.

6.

Jimmy Smits earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University in 1982.

7.

Additionally, Jimmy Smits played a repairman on Pee-wee's Playhouse, and he starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in the film My Family, alongside Edward James Olmos and Jennifer Lopez.

8.

One of Jimmy Smits's most acclaimed roles was that of Detective Bobby Simone on the ABC television program NYPD Blue, in which he starred from 1994 to 1998.

9.

Jimmy Smits received several Emmy nominations for his performance on the series and was reunited with his former co-star Dennis Franz at the 2016 Emmy Awards presentation.

10.

In 1999, Jimmy Smits received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.

11.

Jimmy Smits was scheduled to host the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11,2001.

12.

Jimmy Smits did host a non-televised press conference to announce the winners.

13.

Jimmy Smits reappeared as Bail Organa in the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and the spinoff movie Rogue One.

14.

Jimmy Smits later reprised the role for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

15.

In Dexter season 3, Jimmy Smits played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who befriends the title character.

16.

Jimmy Smits was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role.

17.

Additionally, Jimmy Smits portrayed the character Alex Vega in the CBS TV series Cane, which aired from September 25,2007, to December 18,2007, and was canceled by the network due to the 2007 Screen Writer's Guild strike.

18.

Jimmy Smits joined the Sons of Anarchy cast in season 5 as Nero Padilla, a high-level pimp who refers to himself as a "companionator".

19.

Jimmy Smits starred in The Get Down, a musical drama television series which debuted in 2016 on Netflix.

20.

On February 25,2019, news outlets reported that Jimmy Smits was cast as Elijah Strait in NBC drama series Bluff City Law and it was picked up to series on May 6,2019.

21.

In 2021, Jimmy Smits played Kevin Rosario in the musical film In the Heights.

22.

Jimmy 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.

23.

In 2003, Jimmy Smits starred in the Broadway production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Anna in the Tropics, by Nilo Cruz, performed at the Royale Theatre.

24.

Jimmy Smits was married to high school sweetheart, Barbara Jimmy Smits, from 1981 until 1987.

25.

Jimmy Smits was arrested in 1987 for assaulting an officer after police answered a call for help at his home.

26.

Jimmy Smits later pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of disturbing the peace and was sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation, 50 hours of community service and a $150 fine.

27.

Jimmy Smits was fined $250 and sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and 75 hours of community service.

28.

Jimmy Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications, and entertainment industries.

29.

Jimmy Smits is an advocate for diagnostic colorectal screening and has appeared in a public service commercial.

30.

Jimmy Smits has donated to several other organizations, including the Red Cross, New York Cares, and Stand up to Cancer.