Jimmy talks about Latin Music and what makes a good actor

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jimmy Smits is a very familiar personality on TV.

He is six-time Emmy® nominated, four-time Golden Globe® nominated, and four-time SAG®-Award nominated actor.

Jimmy is best known for his roles on L.A. Law as Victor Sifuentes (1986 to 1991) and NYPD Blue as Det. Bobby Simone (1994 to 1998). He also played congressman and presidential candidate Matt Santos on The West Wing, Alex Vega on the short-lived Cane, and Miguel Prado on Dexter.

Some of his feature film work include “Star Wars: Episode I I- Attack of the Clones,” “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith,” “The Jane Austen Book Club,” “The Believers,” “Old Gringo,” “Switch,” “Bless the Child,” “Price of Glory,” “Lackawanna Blues,” “My Family/Mi Familia,” “Mother and Child,” and “El Traspatio.”

Jimmy has appeared in Broadway’s “Anna in the Tropics” and the New York Public Theatre’s “Shakespeare in the Park’s” “Much ado about Nothing” and “Twelfth Night."

Recognizing the need for a Los Angeles destination for Latin music, Jimmy became a co-owner, along with Jennifer Lopez, Sheila E. Brad Gluckstein, and Paul Rodriguez, of The Conga Room~a popular music and dance venue.

In 1997, Jimmy co-founded the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA), along with actors Esai Morales and Sonia Braga and Washington attorney Felix Sanchez, to promote Hispanic talent in the performing arts. The organization offers graduate scholarships and cash grants at prominent colleges and universities in order to expand career opportunities and increase access for Hispanic artists and professionals while fostering the emergence of new Hispanic talent.

In this 2009 interview with SIDEWALKS host Rafael Siegel, Jimmy talks about pursuing an acting career. As part of the promotion, Jimmy tells us about Latin Music USA, a multi-part PBS documentary on the influence that Latin music has had on the United States.