Checking in with JIMMY SMITS
Jimmy Smits is seeing, and living, another side of police work in his latest series role.
The “L.A. Law” Emmy winner who spent several seasons on “NYPD Blue” is now playing a department superior in “East New York,” CBS’ new Sunday drama. His Chief John Suarez oversees officers including Regina Haywood (Amanda Warren), just appointed the captain of a precinct where others doubt her ability to be a leader.
“What is the role of law enforcement in the time that we’re in now?,” reflects Brooklyn native Smits. “How can you be representative of the community when at the same time, if there’s a problem, you call the cops? Those questions come into play, and this is a guy who’s been around for a while. He knows the ins and outs of city politics, and he has to maneuver those.”
Smits finds it particularly interesting to be playing Suarez at a time when New York has a relatively new mayor and administration. The actor notes, “When Mayor (Eric) Adams was with the police department, he lived in the building where my mother lived when I was going to college. It always made my mom feel secure that he was downstairs.”
Developing Suarez as he goes, Smits has used what he’s gleaned from early “East New York” scripts to develop a back story for the character, which he believes includes a military background.
“There’s attitude there,” Smits says, “but there also are parameters that we’ve set. This guy has worked his way up the ladder to where he is, so I think about somebody like Gen. Colin Powell, how such a person is and how he moves.”
Birthdate: July 9, 1955
Birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Current residence: Los Angeles Marital status: His longtime partner is actress Wanda Dejesus; he has two children from an earlier marriage
Other television credits include: “Bluff City Law,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “American Experience” (narrator), “Brooklyn Nine-nine,” “24: Legacy,” “The Get Down,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Outlaw,” “Dexter,” “The West Wing,” “Lackawanna Blues,” “NYPD Blue,” “Marshal Law,” “Solomon & Sheba,” “The Cisco Kid,” “The Tommyknockers,” “L.A. Law,” “The Broken Cord,” “Cop Rock,” “Peewee’s Playhouse,” “Glitz,” “Spenser: For Hire,” “Rockabye,” “All My Children,” “Miami Vice,” “Ryan’s Hope”
Movie credits include: “In the Heights,” “Who We Are Now,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Mother and Child,” “The Jane Austen Book Club,” “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” “Bless the Child,” “Price of Glory,” “The Million Dollar Hotel,” “Lesser Prophets,” “Murder in Mind,” “The Last Word,” “My Family,” “Gross Misconduct,” “Fires Within,” “Switch,” “Vital Signs,” “Old Gringo,”
“The Believers,” “Running Scared”