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Edward James Olmos

Edward James Olmos (born 24 February 1947) is an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated American actor and director. Some of his most memorable roles were Gaff in Blade Runner, Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver and Admiral William Adama in the Battlestar Galactica re-imagined series.

Early life

Olmos was born Edward Olmos in Los Angeles, California, where he was raised, the son of Eleanor (née Huizar) and Pedro Olmos, who was a welder. His father was a Mexican immigrant and his mother Mexican American. He grew up wanting to be a professional baseball player and became the Golden State batting champion. In his teen years, he turned to rock and roll, and became the lead singer for a band he named Pacific Ocean, so-called because it was "the biggest thing on the West Coast". He graduated from Montebello High School in 1964. While at Montebello High School, he lost a race for Student Body President to future California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres. For several years Pacific Ocean played various clubs in and around Los Angeles and released a record in 1968. At the same time, he attended classes at East Los Angeles College and California State University, Los Angeles, including courses in acting.

Career

Early career

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 play Zoot Suit, which dramatized the World War II-era rioting in California brought about by the tensions between Mexican-Americans and local police. (See Zoot Suit Riots.) The play moved to Broadway, and Olmos received a Tony award nomination for his portrayal as El Pachuco. He subsequently took the role to the filmed version in 1981, and appeared in many other films including Wolfen, Blade Runner and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

Mainstream success

From 1984 to 1989, Olmos starred in his biggest role up to that date as the authoritative police Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the television series Miami Vice opposite Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, for which he was awarded a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 1985. He was contacted about playing the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation when it was in pre-production in 1986, but he declined.

Returning to film, he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver, portraying a real-life math teacher, Jaime Escalante, who turned his students into math whizzes, despite their disadvantaged backgrounds. He directed American Me in 1992, and starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in My Family/Mi Familia. In 1997 he played alongside Jennifer Lopez in the film Selena.

Social issues

He has often become involved in social issues, especially those affecting the Hispanic-American community in the United States. In 1998, he founded Latino Public Broadcasting and currently serves as its Chairman. The Latino Public Broadcasting funds programming for public television which focuses on issues affecting Hispanic-Americans and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. That same year, he starred in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, a comedy that sought to break Latino stereotypes and transcend the normal stigmas of most Latino oriented movies. In 1999 Olmos was one of the driving forces that created Americanos: Latino Life in the U.S.¹, a book project featuring over 30 award winning photographers, later turned into a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, music CD and HBO special. He also makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to teenagers at risk. He has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in prison for taking part in the Navy-Vieques protests against United States Navy target practice bombings of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Recent years

He played Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the 2001 movie In the Time of the Butterflies. He also appeared as a recurring character, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roberto Mendoza, in the NBC drama The West Wing. He later starred as the recently widowed father in a Latin L.A.-family, in the PBS drama American Family: Journey of Dreams.

Since 2003, he starred as Admiral William Adama in the Sci Fi Channel's reimagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and in the TV series that followed. He has also directed three episodes of the show, Season 1, Episode 9 Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down, Season 3, Episode 13 Taking a Break from All Your Worries and Season 4, Episode 4, Escape Velocity. In regards to his work on the show, he told CraveOnline, "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.

In 2006, he co-produced, directed, and played the bit part of Julian Nava in the HBO movie Walkout about the 1968 Chicano Blowouts. He also appeared in Snoop Dogg's music video "Vato", featuring B-Real from Cypress Hill.

On January 5, 2007, he appeared on Puerto Rican Television to blame the Puerto Rican and United States Governments for not cleaning the Island of Vieques after the United States Navy stopped using the island for bombing practice. He has also given $2300 to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson for his Presidential campaign (the maximum amount for the primaries).

He guest-starred in the series finale of the ABC sitcom George Lopez, titled George Decides to Sta-Local Where It's Familia as the new multi-millionare owner.

Personal life

In 1971, Olmos married Kaija Keel, the daughter of actor Howard Keel. They had two children, Bodie and Mico, before divorcing in 1992. He married actress Lorraine Bracco in 1994, but she filed for divorce in January 2002 after five years of separation. He is currently married to Puerto Rican actress Lymari Nadal, 31 years his junior, and has three adopted children: Michael D., Brandon, and Tamiko.

In 2007, after a seven-year process, he obtained Mexican citizenship.

Asteroid 5608 Olmos is named in his honor.