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 out...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Say a Little Prayer
2024
Executive Producer
Three best friends recite an ancient prayer to the patron saint of “all things lost” to find their true loves, unleashing an unexpected turn of events...

One Fast Move
2024
as Abel
A dishonorably discharged soldier seeks out his estranged father to help him pursue his dream of becoming a professional motorcycle racer. While train...

Outlaw Posse
2024
as Ossie
1908. Chief returns from years of hiding in Mexico to claim stolen reparations gold hidden in the hills of Montana but is chased by Angel, whose ratio...

Chasing Wonders
2021
as Luis
A coming-of-age story set across the lush wine country of both Australia and Spain, a young man explores the nature of father-son relationships and th...

The Blade Runner Phenomenon
2021
as Self - Actor (Gaff)
Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick and released in 1982, is one of the most influential science fiction films e...

Walking with Herb
2021
as Joe Amable-Amo
Joe Amable-Amo is a bank executive and former amateur golfer struggling with his faith after an unexpected tragedy. Faced with growing doubts about hi...

The Disney Family Singalong - Volume II
2020
as Self
Ryan Seacrest hosts the second Disney Family Singalong featuring celebrities and their families as they take on their favorite Disney tunes from their...

Space Songs: Through the Distance
2020
as Self
"Space Songs" is a YouTube concert event, sharing songs about space and isolation to celebrate how extreme situations can bring out the very best in u...

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
2019
as Self
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage is a warm and revealing portrait of the charismatic, groundbreaking actor’s journey from his native Puerto Rico to the...

Imprisoned
2019
as Hospicio
Dylan Burke attempts to move on from his former life as a criminal with his true love Maria. He soon realizes that his past will continue to haunt him...

The Devil Has a Name
2019
as Santiago
An oil baron and a farmer standoff after the water on his farm is poisoned by her company.

The Devil Has a Name
2019
Director, Producer
An oil baron and a farmer standoff after the water on his farm is poisoned by her company.

Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire
2019
as Self
Mixing archival footage with interviews, this film celebrates one of Los Angeles's most influential painters and Chicano art activists from the 1970s.

Windows on the World
2019
as Balthazar
After watching the news on 9/11 with his family, Fernando travels from Mexico to New York City to find his father, an undocumented worker at the World...

A Dog's Way Home
2019
as Axel
The adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human.

The Eyes of Martin Castillo
2018
as Martin Castillo (archive footage)
An exploration of the faces and spaces of Lieutenant Martin Castillo, as portrayed by Edward James Olmos, on the television series Miami Vice.

Every Night's a Saturday Night
2018
as Self
The Life & Times of Bobby Keys ... decades-long Sax player with The Rolling Stones, best friend to Keith Richards, and session player with John Lennon...

Coco
2017
as Chicharrón (voice)
Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desp...

Blade Runner 2049
2017
as Gaff
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge wh...

Blade Runner: Black Out 2022
2017
as Gaff (voice)
This animated short revolves around the events causing an electrical systems failure on the west coast of the US. According to Blade Runner 2049’s off...

LA 92
2017
as Self (archive footage)
Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, LA 92 immerses vie...

L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later
2017
as Himself
Documentary film exploring the lives of the people at the flashpoint of the LA riots, 25 years after the uprising made national headlines and highligh...

Monday Nights at Seven
2016
as Charlie
Monday Nights At Seven is a love story about a single father, Lazo Saroby, who is struggling unsuccessfully to let go of his past. Then he meets Isabe...

Americano
2016
as Gayo (voice)
Cuco, a mexican parrot, goes on an adventure from Mexico to Hollywood in order to get help from El Americano, a famous superhero from TV, against an e...

Unity
2015
as Narrator (voice)
Despite the advent of science, literature, technology, philosophy, religion, and so on -- none of these has assuaged humankind from killing one anothe...

Exile Nation: The Plastic People
2014
as Narrator (voice)
The September 11th attacks began a decade-long period of anti-immigrant policies in the United States. As a consequence, the US began the mass-deporta...

The Journey of a Female Comic
2014
The ups and downs of female comic Kiki Melendez.

Agave is Life
2014
as Narrator (voice)
AGAVE IS LIFE is an exploration of the history of the agave plant in the cultures of Mexico and the American Southwest. Starting thousands of years ag...

Go for Sisters
2013
as Freddy Suárez
Bernice and Fontayne grew up so tight they could ‘go for sisters’. After twenty years apart, they are reunited when Bernice is assigned to be Fontayne...

Go for Sisters
2013
Producer
Bernice and Fontayne grew up so tight they could ‘go for sisters’. After twenty years apart, they are reunited when Bernice is assigned to be Fontayne...

2 Guns
2013
as Papi Greco
A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob -- ...

Filly Brown
2013
as Leandro
“Majo” Tonorio, a.k.a. Filly Brown, is a raw, young Los Angeles hip-hop artist who spits from the heart. When a sleazy record producer offers her a cr...

Filly Brown
2013
Executive Producer
“Majo” Tonorio, a.k.a. Filly Brown, is a raw, young Los Angeles hip-hop artist who spits from the heart. When a sleazy record producer offers her a cr...

A Bridge Apart
2013
as (Voice)
The journey of the thousands of people from Central America and Mexico who leave their homes and families and suffer extraordinary brutality -or loss ...

America
2011
as Mr. Irving
América, a 30-year-old mother who lives in a remote Caribbean village, suffers the hardest hit when her lover takes her daughter from her. Fury and fe...

The Green Hornet
2011
as Michael Axford
Britt Reid, the heir to the largest newspaper fortune in Los Angeles, is a spoiled playboy who has been, thus far, happy to lead an aimless life. Afte...

I'm Still Here
2010
as Edward James Olmos
I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as...

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
2009
as Commander William Adama
When the initial Cylon attack against the Twelve Colonies fails to achieve complete extermination of human life as planned, twin Number Ones (Cavils) ...

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
2009
Director
When the initial Cylon attack against the Twelve Colonies fails to achieve complete extermination of human life as planned, twin Number Ones (Cavils) ...

A Class Apart: A Mexican American Civil Rights Story
2009
as Narrator
Built around the landmark 1954 legal case Hernandez v. Texas, the film interweaves the stories of its central characters with a broader story of the c...

Beverly Hills Chihuahua
2008
as Diablo (voice)
A pampered Beverly Hills chihuahua named Chloe who, while on vacation in Mexico with her owner Viv's niece, Rachel, gets lost and must rely on her fri...

Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner
2007
as Self
The definitive 3½-hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', culled from 80 inter...

Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard
2007
as Self
Fans, filmmakers and people involved with the making of Blade Runner debate if main character Rick Deckard is himself in fact a Replicant or not.
Fashion Forward: Wardrobe and Styling
2007
as Self
A look back to the 2019 fashions, costumes and make-up as seen in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.

Battlestar Galactica: Razor
2007
as Admiral William Adama
The history and adventures of the Battlestar Pegasus, from shortly before the Cylon invasion to shortly after Lee Adama is made commander. The story i...

Splinter
2006
as Captain garcia
A gang member, suffering from severe memory loss, searches for his brother's murderer. He secretly enlists the aid of the investigating Detective, whi...

Walkout
2006
as Julian Nava
Walkout is the true story of a young Mexican American high school teacher, Sal Castro. He mentors a group of students in East Los Angeles, when the st...

Walkout
2006
Director
Walkout is the true story of a young Mexican American high school teacher, Sal Castro. He mentors a group of students in East Los Angeles, when the st...
Recycled Life
2006
as Narrator
The dramatic and touching story of thousands of adults, children, and generations of families who have been living and working in the largest and most...
La Cerca
2005
as Narrator / Old Niño
Edward James Olmos narrates this multi-fest winner about an immigrant who recalls a vivid and momentous memory where he discovered his boundaries.

The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema
2002
Documentary about the presence of Latin American culture and actors in American movies.

In the Time of the Butterflies
2001
as Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
Based on the book by Julia Alvarez. Three sisters become activists during the Dominican Republic's Trujillo regime when members of their family are ki...

The Judge
2001
as Judge Armando Acosta
When a key witness in a case of corruption is killed in courts all suspicion falls on Judge Armando Acosta. Now the judge Madiani will defend his inno...

The Princess and the Barrio Boy
2000
as Nestor Garcia
A teenager who dreams of becoming an Olympic swimmer has a romance with a boy from the wrong side of town.

Gossip
2000
as Detective Curtis
For a class project, three college students decide to invent an unfounded rumor about the most popular girl on campus. But as the rumor spreads, it be...

The Road to El Dorado
2000
as Chief (voice)
Stowing away after a failed con, a pair of swindlers end up on El Dorado, the fabled "city of gold", where they quickly get in over their heads when t...
The Unfinished Journey
1999
as Narrator (voice)
A short about American life and history produced for the millennium New Year's Eve celebration.

Bonanno: A Godfather's Story
1999
as Gaspar DiGregario (Young)
The true life story of mafia boss Joesph Bonanno. The story spans from Bonanno's early beginings in Italy, to his conquests in America.

Zapatista
1999
as Narrator (voice)
"Zapatista" is the definitive look at the uprising in Chiapas. It is the story of a Mayan peasant rebellion armed with sticks and their word against a...

The Wall
1998
as Col. Holst (segment "The Pencil Holder")
The story of three items left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall: a pencil holder, a sheriff's badge, and an electric guitar. Each item connects th...

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1998
as Det. Anthony Piscotti
In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
1998
as Vamanos
Gomez is a middle-aged man who dreams of buying a gorgeous white suit in a nearby store, but doesn't have enough cash. He finds 4 more people of same ...

12 Angry Men
1997
as Juror 11
During the trial of a man accused of his father's murder, a lone juror takes a stand against the guilty verdict handed down by the others as a result ...
Prophecies of the Millennium
1997
as Host
A special regarding the possibility that the world was on the verge of extinction. Many predictions are examined, including some eerie ones regarding ...

Hollywood Confidential
1997
as Stan Navarro, Sr.
A former LA cop runs a top-flight private detective agency that caters to spoiled Hollywood types.
Sunset Boulevard - 27 Meilen Amerika
1997
as Self - Actor, Director, Latino-Activist
Schmidt follows the 27 miles of the “street of life” to Pacific Palisades, where the boulevard ends at the ocean. While interviews with celebrities f...

Gun
1997
as Father Santos
Follows a gun and the different hands it falls into and the different characters that use it.

Selena Remembered
1997
as Narrator (voice)
A collection of moments and triumphs that helped Selena, and her band Selena y Los Dinos, into superstardom in North America.

Selena Remembered
1997
Producer
A collection of moments and triumphs that helped Selena, and her band Selena y Los Dinos, into superstardom in North America.

Selena
1997
as Abraham Quintanilla
In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham, realizes that his young d...

Death in Granada
1996
A journalist starts an investigation into the disappearance of famed poet and political agitator, Garcia Lorca, who disappeared in the early days of t...

The Limbic Region
1996
as Lucca
Original and unpredictable thriller about a seasoned cop determined to bring down San Francisco's most notorious serial killer in the turbulent 1960's...

Caught
1996
as Joe
A middle-aged couple has a drifter enter their lives. The fish-store owners find that the mysterious young man awakens the couple in ways they didn't ...

Mirage
1995
as Matteo Juarez
Matteo Juarez is a retired detective hired by a local businessman to follow his wife Jennifer. She has a split personality and seems to be putting her...

My Family
1995
as Paco
Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los A...

Slave of Dreams
1995
The Egyptian executioner's wife tries to seduce Hebrew slave Joseph to fulfill a dream they are experiencing simultaneously.

The Burning Season
1994
as Wilson Pinheiro
Based on the true story of a Brazilian rubber tapper who leads his people in protest against government and developers, who want to cut down their par...

Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills
1994
as Jose Menendez
About the 1989 murders of Carolco Entertainment chairman, Jose Menendez, and his wife, Kitty, who were killed by their sons, Lyle and Erik, in Beverly...

A Million to Juan
1994
as The Angel
Romantic comedy about an honest Mexican immigrant who struggles without a green card by selling oranges on a street corner. One day a limousine pulls ...

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
1994
as Musician at Barbecue (uncredited)
A girl born with enormous thumbs in the repressive era of the 1950s learns to turn her quirks into assets.

Lives in Hazard
1994
as self
Lives in Hazard is a tough, uncompromising look at kids in gangs and the men they become in prison. Filmed in the barrios of east LA and in the prison...
Learning Not To Hurt
1993
as Self
Roz Abrams hosts a special report on youth violence.

Roosters
1993
as Gallo Morales
Gallo Morales is the proud patriach returning home after a seven-year stint for manslaughter. Seeking to re-establish his legendary status as a champi...

American Me
1992
as Montoya Santana
During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana ...

American Me
1992
Director, Producer
During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana ...

Talent for the Game
1991
as Virgil Sweet
Virgil Sweet is on the verge of losing his job as a talent scout with the California Angels when he discovers Sammy Bodeen, a country boy with no pro ...

Maria's Story
1991
as José Serrano (voice)
It is El Salvador, 1989, three years before the end of a brutal civil war that took 75,000 lives. Maria Serrano, wife, mother, and guerrilla leader is...

The Earth Day Special
1990
as Hospital Director
The Earth Day Special is a television special revolving around Earth Day that aired on ABC on April 22, 1990. Sponsored by Time Warner, the two hour s...

Triumph of the Spirit
1989
as Gypsy
During World War II, Salamo Arouch, a passionate boxer, is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is forced to box against his fellow pri...

Miami Vice: Freefall
1989
as Lieutenant Martin Castillo
Crockett and Tubbs, figuring they're on their way out, are recruited by the government to help a dictator escape from his war-torn country - with doub...

Stand and Deliver
1988
as Jaime A. Escalante
Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional...
Blue Collar & Buddha
1986
as Narrator
Exploration of prejudice and culture clash that a group of Laotian Buddhist refugees must endure in Rockford, Illinois.

Saving Grace
1986
as Ciolino
A newly-elected Pope Leo XIV finds himself accidentally locked out of the Vatican. Unknown to the outside world, he winds up in an impoverished Italia...

Miami Vice: The Prodigal Son
1985
as Lieutenant Martin Castillo
Crockett and Tubbs head to New York to track down a Colombian drug family that is killing Federal agents, but find that they have enemies on both side...

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
1983
as Gregorio Cortez
Forced to run from Texas Rangers after a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez sets off in d...

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
1983
Original Music Composer, Associate Producer
Forced to run from Texas Rangers after a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez sets off in d...

The Nightingale
1983
as Prime Minister
A kitchen maid and a nightingale help save an emperor with the power of song and friendship.

Blade Runner
1982
as Gaff
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have ...

Seguin
1982
as Gen. Santa Anna
A dramatization of the life of Juan Seguin, a heroic Mexican-Texan who became entangled in the struggle between two contrasting cultures in the turbul...

Zoot Suit
1981
as El Pachuco
Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case an...

Wolfen
1981
as Eddie Holt
A New York City cop and an expert criminologist trying to solve a series of grisly deaths in which the victims have seemingly been maimed by feral ani...

300 Miles for Stephanie
1981
as Art Vela
A San Antonio cop, as an act of faith, vows to run more than 300 miles in five days, hoping his critically ill five-year-old daughter will survive to ...

Virus
1980
as Captain Lopez
Scientists in Antarctica desperately try to find a cure to a military virus that was released in a plane crash and has wiped out the rest of the world...

Dead Angle
1979
Elite college graduates commit perfect financial crimes though loopholes in the law during the 1950s.

Evening in Byzantium
1978
as Angelo
While the prestigious Cannes Film Festival goes on around him, American movie producer Jesse Craig struggles to develop a pitch-worthy thriller about ...

Alambrista!
1977
as 1st Drunk
After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man, slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family b...

Aloha, Bobby and Rose
1975
as Chicano #1
Bobby and Rose, two youngsters who are in love, have to run away from home when they are falsely accused to have committed a robbery and an assassinat...
Blue Collar & Buddha
N/A
An exploration of the prejudice and culture clash faced by a small group of Lao Buddhist refugees in Rockford, Illinois.
Office Romance
N/A
as Captain Jack Cruz
Jackie, President and CEO of Air Cruz, runs a tight ship in her business, including a rigid anti-fraternization policy for all her employees. When a n...