Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated American actor, of Mexican descent, best known for his roles of Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver and Admiral William Adama in the Battlestar Galactica re-imagined series.
He was born in East Los Angeles, California to a Southern Baptist Mexican immigrant with 1/4 Hungarian Jewish ancestry (the family name was originally Olmosh) and a Mexican American Catholic mother. Olmos 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 Olmos 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.
In 1971, Olmos married Kaija Keel, the daughter of actor Howard Keel. They had two children, Bodie Olmos and Mico Olmos, before divorcing in 1992. Olmos 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. Olmos also has three adopted children: Michael D. Olmos, Brandon Olmos, and Tamiko.
In the late 1960s, 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 Southern California brought about by the tensions between Mexican-Americans and local police. (See Zoot Suit Riots.) The play moved to Broadway, and Edward received a Tony nomination for his portrayal as El Pachuco. He took the role to the filmed version in 1981. Other film appearances followed, including Wolfen, Blade Runner and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.
In 1984, Olmos starred in his biggest role up to that date as the authoritative police Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the television series Miami Vice, for which he was awarded a Golden Globe and an Emmy. Returning to film, he received an Academy Award 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.
Olmos has often become involved in social issues, especially those affecting the Hispanic-American community in the United States. In 1998 Olmos 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. Also, in 1998, Olmos starred in the uplifting and Latino movie The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, that breaks stereotypes and transcends the normal stigmas of most Latino oriented movies.[citation needed]Olmos 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.
Olmos played Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the 2001 movie In the Time of the Butterflies. He also appeared as a recurring character, Justice Mendoza, in the TV series The West Wing.
In the early 2000s he starred as the recently widowed father in a Latin L.A.-family, in the PBS drama American Family: Journey of Dreams.
In 2003, he starred as Commander Adama in the Sci Fi Channel's reimagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and in the TV series that followed. 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, Olmos produced and played the bit part of Julian Nava in the HBO movie Walkout about the 1968 Chicano Blowouts.
On January 5, 2007, Olmos 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.[citation needed]
