JIMMY SMITS

WALTER SCOTT ASKS...

The Star Wars and West Wing star, 61, plays Sen. John Donovan in 24:

Legacy, a reboot of the original 24 series, premiering tonight on Fox. Like in the original 24, each episode of the new series also takes place within a framework of 24 hours. Yes. When it originally aired, it became a game changer in the way television was perceived: the multiple screen boxes, multiple storylines, everything happening in the one day. It changed the way we view TV. We hadn’t seen television like that before. Tell us about John Donovan. On this particular day, the country gets altered [and] his aspirations to higher office get altered, all because of circumstances that take place during those 24 hours. Your character on L.A. Law, Victor Sifuentes, started it all for you. That was a pioneering role—a successful Latino who wasn’t a gang member or a comedian. I thank the powers that be, because you don’t do anything alone in this business. The support that I had with the creative people around me and the man upstairs and all that, the stars aligned in a certain way that I was able to do a role, to start out in a way, in this medium, that made an impact. It warms a person’s heart when somebody comes up to you [who’s] very successful in their own right and says, “I became a lawyer because of that character that you played.” How have you created such a diverse career?

I keep following the artistic compass that says, “Keep mixing it up, keep doing different things. Don’t worry so much about whether it’s the lead. Rather, what does the project say? What will it do?” What’s the best advice his mother ever gave him? Go to Parade.com/smits to find out.