Jimmy Smits first appeared in the Episode: "Brother's Keeper" of the American crime drama television series ‘Miami Vice’ in 1986. In 1986, he made his big-screen debut in the American buddy cop action comedy film ‘Running Scared’ directed by Peter Hyams. The film received a mixed response from critics and was a moderate box office success. That same year, he joined the main cast of the American legal drama television series ‘L.A. Law.’ He played the role of ‘Victor Sifuentes’ which earned him the ‘Primetime Emmy Award.’ The show aired its final episode in 1992. He also made an appearance in television series and films like ‘Spenser: For Hire’ (1986), ‘The Highwayman’ (1987), ‘Mickey's 60th Birthday’ (1988), ‘Pee-wee's Playhouse’ (1989), ‘Cop Rock’ (1990), ‘The Broken Cord’ (1992), ‘The Tommyknockers’ (1993), and ‘The Cisco Kid’ (1994). In 1994, he starred as ‘Detective Bobby Simone’ in the American police procedural drama television series, ‘NYPD Blue.’ While he remained a part of the show until 1998, he made a brief return to the series in 2004. Smits also won the ‘Screen Actors Guild Award,’ ‘Golden Globe Award,’ and ‘Satellite Award’ for his performance in the show.
In 1995, he starred as ‘Jimmy Sánchez’ in the independent American drama film ‘My Family’ directed by Gregory Nava. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a financial success. He next starred in films like ‘Murder in Mind’ (1997), ‘Adventures in Wild California’ (2000), ‘The Million Dollar Hotel’ (2000), ‘Price of Glory’ (2000), and ‘Bless the Child’ (2000). The year 2002 saw the release of the American epic space opera film ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones’ where Smits was seen playing the role of ‘Senator Bail Organa.’ The film opened to mostly positive reviews and did decent business at the box office, grossing over $653.8 million on a budget of $115 million. He reprised his role as ‘Senator Bail Organa’ in ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (2005) and ‘Rogue One’ (2016). In 2004, he joined the main cast of the American serial political drama television series ‘The West Wing.’ He played the role of ‘Matt Santos’ and remained a part of the series until it went off-air in 2006.
In 2007, he starred as ‘Alex Vega’ in the American drama television series ‘Cane’ and appeared in 12 episodes of the show. The following year, he became a part of the American crime drama television series ’Dexter.’ He played the role of ‘Miguel Prado’ in the series which earned him the ‘Saturn Award.’ In 2012, he joined the cast of the American action crime drama television series ‘Sons of Anarchy’ where he played the role of ‘Neron 'Nero' Padilla.’ The show aired its final episode in 2014. He continued to appear in television series like ‘The Get Down’ (2016-2017), ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (2016-2017), ‘24: Legacy’ (2017), How to Get Away with Murder’ (2017-2018), and ‘Bluff City Law’ (2019). He was last seen in the 2021 American musical drama film ‘In the Heights’ directed by Jon M. Chu. Despite opening to positive reviews, the film tanked at the box office.
