- "The interesting thing about the experience was that, even though I was a fan of the films, I found that there were a lot of people who were true aficionados, who knew everything down to the most minute detail. When I mentioned to some people that I was playing this character, they rattled off who Bail Organa is and who he is related to and the history of each of those people. I had to go to the Star Wars Encyclopedia to figure it all out."
- ―Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor who portrayed Senator Bail Organa in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith as well as in the Legends video game The Force Unleashed.[1] He also reprised his role as Senator Organa in the Anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.[2]
Biography
Edit
Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Cornelius Smits, is a Surinamese immigrant of Dutch descent and his mother, Emilina, a Puerto Rican. He also has two sisters named Yvonne and Diana. Smits earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and a Master of Fine Arts from Cornell University in 1982.[3]
Smits is well-known for his American TV work in the popular shows L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Dexter, and Sons of Anarchy.
Theatrically, Smits acted in several performances at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. His credits at the Hangar include the 1982 productions of Cabaret and Loose Ends. Smits also played the roles of Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night in 2002 and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing in 2004 for the New York Shakespeare Festival, now known as the Public Theater. From November 2009 to February 2010, he played in the Broadway play God of Carnage, and from December 2012 to March 2013, in The Motherfucker with the Hat at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.
In 1996, Smits won a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama for his role in the TV series NYPD Blues. He was nominated again twice, in 1997 and 1999.
In 2009, Smits appeared with Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) in Rodrigo García's drama film Mother and Child.
FilmographyEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2017 | 24: Legacy | John Donovan | TV series |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Bail Organa | |
| 2016 | Gears of War 4 | Oscar Diaz | Video game (voice) |
| 2016 | The Get Down | Francisco 'Papa Fuerte' Cruz | TV series |
| 2012–2014 | Sons of Anarchy | Neron 'Nero' Padilla | TV series |
| 2010 | Outlaw | Cyrus Garza | TV series |
| 2009 | Mother and Child | Paco | |
| 2009 | El traspatio | Mickey Santos | |
| 2008 | Dexter | Miguel Prado | TV series |
| 2008 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | Bail Organa | Video game (voice) |
| 2007 | Cane | Alex Vega | TV series |
| 2007 | The Jane Austen Book Club | Daniel | |
| 2005 | Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith | Bail Organa | |
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Ruben Santiago Sr. | TV movie |
| 2004–2006 | The West Wing | Matthew Santos | TV series |
| 2002 | Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones | Bail Organa | |
| 2000 | Bless the Child | Agent John Travis | |
| 2000 | Price of Glory | Arturo Ortega | |
| 2000 | The Million Dollar Hotel | Geronimo | |
| 1997 | Lesser Prophets | Mike | |
| 1997 | Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special | Old King Cole | TV movie |
| 1997 | Murder in Mind | Peter Walker | |
| 1996 | Marshal Law | Jack Coleman | TV movie |
| 1995–1997 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Old King Cole & Prince Felipe | TV series |
| 1995 | The Last Word | Actor (Martin) | |
| 1995 | My Family | Jimmy Sánchez | |
| 1995 | Solomon & Sheba | King Solomon | TV movie |
| 1994–2004 | NYPD Blue | Det. Bobby Simone | TV series |
| 1994 | The Cisco Kid | Cisco Kid | TV movie |
| 1993 | Gross Misconduct | Justin Thorne | |
| 1993 | The Tommyknockers | Jim 'Gard' Gardner | TV miniseries |
| 1992 | The Broken Cord | David Norwell | TV movie |
| 1991 | Fires Within | Nestor | |
| 1991 | Switch | Walter Stone | |
| 1990 | Cop Rock | Victor Sifuentes | TV series (uncredited) |
| 1990 | Pee-wee's Playhouse | Your authorized conky repairman | TV series |
| 1990 | Vital Signs | Dr. David Redding | |
| 1989 | Old Gringo | Gen. Tomas Arroyo | |
| 1988 | Glitz | Vincent Marra | TV movie |
| 1988 | Mickey's 60th Birthday | Victor Sifuentes | TV movie |
| 1987 | Stamp of a Killer | Richard Braden | TV movie |
| 1987 | The Highwayman | Bo Ziker | TV series |
| 1987 | The Believers | Tom Lopez | |
| 1987 | Hotshot | Stars Team Member | |
| 1986–1992 | L.A. Law | Victor Sifuentes | TV series |
| 1986 | Running Scared | Julio Gonzales | |
| 1986 | Spenser: For Hire | Hector Valdes | TV series |
| 1986 | Rockabye | 2nd Policeman | TV movie |
| 1984 | Miami Vice | Eddie Rivera | TV series |
BibliographyEdit
- Biography: Jimmy Smits on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Casting Update: Jimmy Smits on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- "Voices of the Senate" on Hyperspace (content removed from StarWars.com and unavailable)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - The Official Mission Debrief
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jimmy Smitts In The Force Unleashed!. TheForce.net (2008-05-20). Retrieved on August 6, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Robinson, Will (2016-08-05). Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Jimmy Smits confirms he has a cameo. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on August 6, 2016.
- ↑ Latino Actor Encourages Students to Stay in School. Latino Education Magazine (2015-01-12). Retrieved on August 6, 2016.
External linksEdit
- Jimmy Smits on Wikipedia
- Jimmy Smits at the Internet Movie Database
