Battlestar Returns

 
SciFi’s Battlestar Galactica returns November 24 at 9PM … So say we all!

Some (like me) will remember Edward James Olmos in another life, as Lt. Martin Castillo on Miami Vice. In that role, he was the calm, cool, collected and calculating officer in charge of Miami’s vice squad, which included Don Johnson’s “Sonny” Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas’ “Rico” Tubbs.

Olmos’ performance career started in rock-n-roll, as a singer in the LA area band Pacific Ocean, before moving on to stage acting. He eventually received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of El Pachuco in the play Zoot Suit. In 1981, he took the same role in the film version of the play. He also appeared in Wolfen, Blade Runner and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

After Miami Vice, Olmos returned to movies, receiving and Academy Award for his performance in Stand and Deliver. In 1992, he directed American Me, and starred in My Family/Mi Familia. In 1997, he played alongside Jennifer Lopez in the film Selina.

His last film role prior to taking the part of Commander Adama in 2003, was that of Rafael Leonidas Trulillo in the 2001 movie In The Time of the Butterflies. He also appeared as a recurring character, Justice Mendoza, in the TV series The West Wing, and as a recently-widowed father in a Latin-LA family in the PBS drama American Family: Journey of Dreams.