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'''Jimmy Smits''' {{born|July|9|1955}} is a Emmy Award-winning American actor who is slated to portray [[John Donovan]] in ''[[24: Legacy]]''. Donovan is a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] with higher political aspirations married to ex-[[CTU Director]] [[Rebecca Ingram]]. Smits' casting was announced on {{d|February|26|2016}}. |
'''Jimmy Smits''' {{born|July|9|1955}} is a Emmy Award-winning American actor who is slated to portray [[John Donovan]] in ''[[24: Legacy]]''. Donovan is a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] with higher political aspirations married to ex-[[CTU Director]] [[Rebecca Ingram]]. Smits' casting was announced on {{d|February|26|2016}}. |
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===Early life=== |
===Early life=== |
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Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. "Jimmy" is the name on his birth certificate, rather than "Jim" or "James". His father, Cornelis Leendert Smits, was from Paramaribo, Suriname and was of Dutch descent. Smits' mother, Emilina (née Pola), was Puerto Rican, born in Peñuelas. He has two sisters, Yvonne and Diana. |
Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. "Jimmy" is the name on his birth certificate, rather than "Jim" or "James". His father, Cornelis Leendert Smits, was from Paramaribo, Suriname and was of Dutch descent. Smits' mother, Emilina (née Pola), was Puerto Rican, born in Peñuelas. He has two sisters, Yvonne and Diana. |
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Revision as of 00:41, 4 March 2016
 | Spoiler Warning! This section or page contains pre-release information regarding 24: Legacy and thus may contain spoilers. |
| Jimmy Smits | |
|---|---|
| Birthdate: | July 9, 1955 |
| Birthplace: | Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA |
| Role: | John Donovan |
Jimmy Smits (born July 9, 1955; age 68) is a Emmy Award-winning American actor who is slated to portray John Donovan in 24: Legacy. Donovan is a U.S. Senator with higher political aspirations married to ex-CTU Director Rebecca Ingram. Smits' casting was announced on February 26, 2016.
Biography
Early life
Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. "Jimmy" is the name on his birth certificate, rather than "Jim" or "James". His father, Cornelis Leendert Smits, was from Paramaribo, Suriname and was of Dutch descent. Smits' mother, Emilina (née Pola), was Puerto Rican, born in Peñuelas. He has two sisters, Yvonne and Diana.
Smits was an athlete at and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University in 1982.
Career
One of Smits' earliest roles in Hollywood was that of Eddie Rivera in the two-hour series premiere of Miami Vice, in 1984. In the episode, he portrayed Sonny Crockett's original partner, who was killed in a sting gone wrong. Beginning in 1986, he played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the long-running legal drama L.A. Law, co-starring Carmen Argenziano, Tim Guinee, Gregg Henry, Jennifer Hetrick, Gregory Itzin, Bernard White, and Ray Wise. 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 (1995), alongside Edward James Olmos and Jennifer Lopez.
Smits is best known for his starring roles in several long-running TV series. One of his most acclaimed roles is that of Detective Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue, which he starred in from 1994 to 1998. He received several Emmy nominations for his performance on that television series and won the ALMA award twice. Actors on the series during Smits' tenure included Andrea Thompson, Michael Reilly Burke, Brad Grunberg, Conor O'Farrell, Peter Onorati, and Tamara Tunie. After Smits's departure of NYPD Blue, he was replaced by Ricky Schroder.
In 1999, he received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). Smits was scheduled to host the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11, 2001, but it was canceled because of the terrorist attacks that day. He instead hosted a non-televised press conference to announce the winners.
Smits appeared as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which the character becomes Princess Leia's adoptive father. He reappeared as Bail Organa in the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008).
Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas, in the final two seasons of the political drama The West Wing (2004-2006), appearing opposite Ryan Cutrona, Tim Kelleher, J. Patrick McCormack, Dean Norris, Michael O'Neill and Stephen Root. Smits' character eventually ran for and won the U.S. Presidency.
In the third season of Dexter (2008), Smits played the murderous District Attorney Miguel Prado, one of the chief antagonists of the season along with Jesse Borrego's character. Smits was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for the role.
In 2012, Smits joined the cast of FX's Sons of Anarchy as Nero Padilla, a high-level pimp who forms a personal and business relationship with the titular motorcycle club. Smits was promoted to a series regular for the final season, which aired in 2014. Other actors with whom Smits worked on the series include series star Tommy Flanagan, Kenneth Choi, Tony Curran, Rey Gallegos, Benito Martinez, Timothy V. Murphy, and Jorge-Luis Pallo.
Smits will star in The Get Down, a musical drama television series that is slated to debut in 2016 on Netflix.
In the mid-1980s, Smits acted in numerous performances at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. His roles at the Hangar included Max in the 1982 production of Cabaret and Paul in Loose Ends, the same year. 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. From November 2009 to February 2010, he appeared opposite Christine Lahti, Annie Potts, and Ken Stott in the critically lauded Broadway play God of Carnage, replacing Jeff Daniels.
Personal life
Smits was married to high school sweetheart, Barbara Smits, from 1981 until 1987. They have two children, Taina (born 1973) and Joaquin (born 1983). Since 1986, Smits has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus; they live together in Los Angeles. De Jesus appeared with Smits in Sons of Anarchy as his screen girlfriend.
Smits was arrested in 1987 for assaulting an officer, after police answered a call for help at his home. He and his girlfriend, De Jesus, were arrested for battery on three police officers who responded to the call. The charges were later dropped because of conflicting witness statements. Smits later pled guilty to the misdemeanor of disturbing the peace, and was sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and a $150 fine.
Though born in New York, Smits has deep Puerto Rican roots and frequently visits the island. In 2001, he was arrested for his participation in protests against U.S. Navy bombing practices on the Puerto Rican offshore island of Vieques.
Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications, and entertainment industries. He is also an advocate for diagnostic colorectal screening and has appeared in a public service commercial. Smits filmed a PSA for Detroit Non-Profit Cass Community Social Services.
Smits has also donated to several other organizations, including the Red Cross, New York Cares, and Stand up to Cancer. In addition, he regularly donates to HIV and AIDS treatment and to help human rights around the world.
24 credits
- Legacy
- "Pilot"
