Edward James Olmos
Acting • Born 1947-02-24
Biography
Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in Miami Vice (1984–1989), actor in and director of American Me (1992), William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver (1988), and Detective Gaff in Blade Runner (1982), and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017). In 2018, he played the father of two members of an outlaw motorcycle club in the FX series Mayans MC. For his work in Miami Vice, Olmos won the 1985 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. For his performance in Stand and Deliver, Olmos was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He is also known for his roles as patriarch Abraham Quintanilla in the film Selena, narrator El Pachuco in both the stage and film versions of Zoot Suit, and the voice of Chicharrón in Coco. Over the course of his career, Olmos has been a pioneer for more diversified roles and images of Hispanics in the U.S. media. His notable direction, production, and starring roles for films, made-for-TV movies, and TV shows include Wolfen, Triumph of the Spirit, Talent for the Game, American Me, The Burning Season, My Family/Mi Familia, Caught, 12 Angry Men, The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca, Walkout, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, American Family, and Dexter. Description above from the Wikipedia article Edward James Olmos, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
145 credits
Blade Runner
Movie • 1982
Gaff
In the Time of the Butterflies
Movie • 2001
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
I'm Still Here
Movie • 2010
Edward James Olmos
Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard
Movie • 2007
Self
Fashion Forward: Wardrobe and Styling
Movie • 2007
Self
12 Angry Men
Movie • 1997
Juror 11
American Me
Movie • 1992
Montoya Santana
Evening in Byzantium
Movie • 1978
Angelo
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Movie • 1994
Musician at Barbecue (uncredited)
The Green Hornet
Movie • 2011
Michael Axford
Talent for the Game
Movie • 1991
Virgil Sweet
Stand and Deliver
Movie • 1988
Jaime A. Escalante
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Movie • 2008
Diablo (voice)
Virus
Movie • 1980
Captain Lopez
Blue Collar & Buddha
Movie
Selena
Movie • 1997
Abraham Quintanilla
Splinter
Movie • 2006
Captain garcia
My Family
Movie • 1995
Paco
Caught
Movie • 1996
Joe
Gossip
Movie • 2000
Detective Curtis
Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Movie • 2007
Admiral William Adama
Filly Brown
Movie • 2013
Leandro
Selena Remembered
Movie • 1997
Narrator (voice)
Zoot Suit
Movie • 1981
El Pachuco
Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner
Movie • 2007
Self
Recycled Life
Movie • 2006
Self - Narrator (voice)
Hollywood Confidential
Movie • 1997
Stan Navarro, Sr.
Alambrista!
Movie • 1977
1st Drunk
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
Movie • 1998
Vamanos
Outlaw Posse
Movie • 2024
Ossie
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
Movie • 2009
Commander William Adama
Blue Collar & Buddha
Movie • 1986
Narrator
Zapatista
Movie • 1999
Narrator (voice)
Exile Nation: The Plastic People
Movie • 2014
Narrator (voice)
2 Guns
Movie • 2013
Papi Greco
The Judge
Movie • 2001
Judge Armando Acosta
Go for Sisters
Movie • 2013
Freddy Suárez
Mirage
Movie • 1995
Matteo Juarez
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
Movie • 1983
Gregorio Cortez
Slave of Dreams
Movie • 1995
The Journey of a Female Comic
Movie • 2014
Americano
Movie • 2016
Gayo (voice)
Dead Angle
Movie • 1979
Bonanno: A Godfather's Story
Movie • 1999
Salvatore Maranzano
A Million to Juan
Movie • 1994
The Angel
Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills
Movie • 1994
Jose Menendez
Roosters
Movie • 1993
Gallo Morales
La Cerca
Movie • 2005
Narrator / Old Niño
Seguin
Movie • 1982
Gen. Santa Anna
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Movie • 1998
Det. Anthony Piscotti
Triumph of the Spirit
Movie • 1989
Gypsy
The Wall
Movie • 1998
Col. Holst (segment "The Pencil Holder")
Lives in Hazard
Movie • 1994
self
Unity
Movie • 2015
Narrator (voice)
America
Movie • 2011
Mr. Irving
The Limbic Region
Movie • 1996
Lucca
One Fast Move
Movie • 2024
Abel
Maria's Story
Movie • 1991
José Serrano (voice)
Aloha Bobby and Rose
Movie • 1975
Chicano #1
The Earth Day Special
Movie • 1990
Hospital Director
Death in Granada
Movie • 1996
Roberto Lozano
Walkout
Movie • 2006
Julian Nava
A Bridge Apart
Movie • 2013
(Voice)
The Road to El Dorado
Movie • 2000
Chief (voice)
The Nightingale
Movie • 1983
Prime Minister
The Princess and the Barrio Boy
Movie • 2000
Nestor Garcia
Blade Runner 2049
Movie • 2017
Gaff
LA 92
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)
Coco
Movie • 2017
Chicharrón (voice)
Saving Grace
Movie • 1986
Ciolino
L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later
Movie • 2017
Himself
Blade Runner: Black Out 2022
Movie • 2017
Gaff (voice)
The Devil Has a Name
Movie • 2019
Santiago
A Dog's Way Home
Movie • 2019
Axel
A Class Apart: A Mexican American Civil Rights Story
Movie • 2009
Narrator
The Eyes of Martin Castillo
Movie • 2018
Martin Castillo (archive footage)
Windows on the World
Movie • 2019
Balthazar
300 Miles for Stephanie
Movie • 1981
Art Vela
The Burning Season
Movie • 1994
Wilson Pinheiro
Every Night's a Saturday Night
Movie • 2018
Self
Chasing Wonders
Movie • 2021
Luis
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
Movie • 2019
Self
Imprisoned
Movie • 2019
Hospicio
Wolfen
Movie • 1981
Eddie Holt
Agave is Life
Movie • 2014
Narrator (voice)
Space Songs: Through the Distance
Movie • 2020
Self
The Disney Family Singalong - Volume II
Movie • 2020
Self
Monday Nights at Seven
Movie • 2016
Charlie
Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire
Movie • 2019
Self
The Unfinished Journey
Movie • 1999
Narrator (voice)
Walking with Herb
Movie • 2021
Joe Amable-Amo
The Blade Runner Phenomenon
Movie • 2021
Self - Actor (Gaff)
Sunset Boulevard - 27 Meilen Amerika
Movie • 1997
Self - Actor, Director, Latino-Activist
Office Romance
Movie
Captain Jack Cruz
Prophecies of the Millennium
Movie • 1997
Host
Learning Not To Hurt
Movie • 1993
Self
The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema
Movie • 2002
Manu: Peru's Hidden Rain Forest
Movie • 1997
Narrator
American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez
Movie • 2026
Narrator (voice)
CHiPs
TV • 1977
The West Wing
TV • 1999
Roberto Mendoza
Starsky & Hutch
TV • 1975
Julio Gutierez
Hawaii Five-O
TV • 1968
Dancer
The Batman
TV • 2004
Chief Rojas (voice)
E! True Hollywood Story
TV • 1996
George Lopez
TV • 2002
Mr. Vega
Hill Street Blues
TV • 1981
Kojak
TV • 1973
Paco
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV • 1982
Prime Minister
Cannon
TV • 1971
500 Nations
TV • 1995
Gun
TV • 1997
Father Santos
Police Woman
TV • 1974
Police Story
TV • 1973
American Family
TV • 2002
Jess Gonzalez
Dave Navarro's Spread
TV • 2007
The Fitzpatricks
TV • 1977
Don Vasquez
Dexter
TV • 2006
James Gellar
The Blue Knight
TV • 1975
Clemente (as Ed Olmos)
Miami Vice
TV • 1984
Martin Castillo
Dead Man's Walk
TV • 1996
Captain Salazar
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
TV • 2013
Robert Gonzales
Eureka
TV • 2006
First sled dog
Greetings from Tucson
TV • 2002
Priest
100 Years of Warner Bros.
TV • 2023
Self
The Magic School Bus
TV • 1994
Mr. Ramon (voice)
La Californie !
TV • 2023
Self - Actor
Battlestar Galactica
TV • 2003
Commander Adama
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV • 1995
Rey Emiliano (voice)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV • 1995
El Murcielago (voice)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV • 1995
Jimenez (voice)
Mayans M.C.
TV • 2018
Felipe Reyes
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
TV • 1996
Self
Portlandia
TV • 2011
Edward James Olmos
Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
TV • 2023
Molecule Man (voice)
The Simpsons
TV • 1989
Pit Master (voice)
The Real History of Science Fiction
TV • 2014
Himself
Dexter
TV • 2006
Prof. James Gellar
Bless This Mess
TV • 2019
Randy
Touched by an Angel
TV • 1994
Col. Victor Walls
The Fortunate Pilgrim
TV • 1988
Frank Corbo
The Judge
TV • 2001
Judge Armando Acosti
Battlestar Galactica
TV • 2004
Admiral William Adama
Battlestar Galactica
TV • 2004
Commander William Adama
Blue Bloods
TV • 2010
Lorenzo Batista