Jimmy Smits biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Actor. Born July 9, 1955, in Brooklyn, New York. Smits was the eldest of three children born to Emelina and Cornelis Smits. A second generation American of mixed ancestry (his mother was Puerto Rican, and his father was Dutch), Smits was raised primarily in Brooklyn. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he was both an athlete and actor of considerable talent. He continued his education at Brooklyn College, receiving a B.A. degree in theatre, and earning an M.F.A. from Cornell University in 1982. In the early 1980s, Smits traveled the U.S appearing in repertory and off-Broadway productions. After considerable stage success he was cast in several movie and TV projects, most notably the two-hour pilot for Miami Vice (1984), where he was featured as Don Johnson's partner.

LA Law

In 1986, Smits landed his first big screen role as a drug dealer in Running Scared. Later that year, he found his niche in television when he was signed to play attorney Victor Sifuentes on the weekly series L.A. Law. During its six-year run, the courtroom drama was a critical and commercial success. Smits earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1990, while he cultivated his image as an Hispanic heartthrob with his character.

While working on L.A. Law, Smits segued onto the big screen, landing the lead role in Old Gringo (1989), opposite Jane Fonda and Gregory Peck. Although his performance as General Arroyo was recognized, the film inspired little interest in moviegoers.

In 1991, Smits left L.A. Law, shelving his TV career to wholeheartedly pursue a film career.He set his sights on movie stardom, but like so many other hopefuls his efforts met with limited success. In 1992, he returned to the small screen, appearing in the documentary The Broken Cord. The following year, he appeared in Stephen King's The Tommyknockers (1993), which marked his first performance in a TV miniseries.

NYPD Blue

Later that year, the producers of the gritty police drama N.Y.P.D. Blue offered Smits the series' lead role (after David Caruso's departure). Smits accepted the part, which re-teamed him with L.A. Law producer Steven Bochco. In the fall of 1994, he debuted on N.Y.P.D. Blue as detective Bobby Simone, staging a sensational comeback and winning the hearts of a skeptical audience.