Jimmy Smits

When I sit down and sign up for something, I vet where the people are coming from.

My central strength as an actor is the fact that I'm 6 foot 3. A certain power emanates from my size, juxtaposed with the fact that I try to find an element of sensitivity in every character I play. People enjoy seeing that because it goes against what we're led to expect as far as the way men are supposed to be - macho and all that.

You have to find what makes you stable in the storm. Then, no matter what's happening round you, no matter what the hype or the publicity, you can still manage to make leaps in your work as an artist.

I'm happy that just about on every other show there's a Latino somewhere present, and we're not all the cooks anymore.

Just give me a good role that allows me to hone my craft, and I am a pretty happy camper.

I have been in rooms with people arguing over a character that's not really fleshed out: that, just because the surname is Latino, that automatically means you have an accent.

As an actor, it's hard to approach any character with negatives.

Nurturing a project from the ground floor is something I've been wanting to do.

I do want to be involved in quality projects that say something positive about the Latino community.

It's a lot of pressure. Some of the cast wants a StairMaster on the set so you can work out like crazy before your naked scene.

People become actors because they want to hide, and it's not easy to talk about myself. I accept that a certain responsibility goes with being an actor in the public eye, but I haven't found a comfortable way to deal with it.

When I grew up, we went to Coney Island and Central Park. We'd find our way to the water and watch the fireworks.

What happens to George Clooney and Bruce Willis is great, but I can't gauge my career by anyone else's.

I had opportunities to stay on shows for long periods of time, and maybe financially that would have been good, but I feel good about trying to keep doing things that are a little bit different than what I've done.

I've been in California for about 15 years now. You're always in your car and insulated. I miss New York so much.

Theres something so familial and intimate between a boxer and his trainer.

Women think the people that I play are smoldering and dangerous. I look in the mirror, and I go, 'I don't get it.'

If you're afraid to live your life in a glass bubble, how can you do what we do in this industry?

Celebrity hits like a bomb.

I can't get into talking about why another actor left. It has nothing to do with me.

I left 'L.A. Law' after five years when my contract was up because I felt I had done all I could do with the character. I didn't walk off the show with a three-picture deal to pursue this wonderful film career.

When you have celebrity, it's a whole different thing than being an artist.

I've been told that I wasn't Latino enough, which was code for 'street' enough.

An actor tries to be versatile, to immerse himself in a different culture.

California has been very good to me in terms of the professional arena.

The Fourth of July concert is invigorating in so many ways, in terms of what it feels like to be an American.

It's great to be able to play the 'bad guy' role, because you always get a lot to do, but I'm always looking at the why - how does a person get to that particular point.

In my college years, I worked as a union labor organizer. I was just one of the many workers trying to do my part to help the community.

For me, the bottom line is what's on the page.

There are some things you have to give up to the higher power.

Of course you draw from yourself, but the artistic nourishment you want to get is be versatile, do something different, and I think I got a chance to do that in a lot of different ways.

There's something so familial and intimate between a boxer and his trainer.

I'm an actor. I love to act. That's my job. I'll leave the politicking to others.

'West Wing' was a show about politics.

I save the rage for the stage.

I get my jolt of energy in New York. I get mi familia vibe in New York.

What we need to focus on is not that we're not nominated, but that we have many more Latinos that are in prominent positions on shows all across the dial than ever before.

It's less about the physical training, in the end, than it is about the mental preparation: boxing is a chess game. You have to be skilled enough and have trained hard enough to know how many different ways you can counterattack in any situation, at any moment.

I've been lucky because I've had wonderful teachers along the way who have nurtured and pushed me to the next level.

As an actor, I just want to keep mixing it up.

I worked on a show called 'West Wing' before. I didn't work with Aaron Sorkin, but he created the show and set the tenor of the show, which was you follow the words of the script perfectly because there's a dramaturgical thing behind it.

I don't feel I have to acknowledge how I'm doing by an award.

Growing up in New York, we lived all around the city depending on our economic circumstance. I also lived in Puerto Rico for a number of years.

Media images are so important to young people feeling positive about themselves.

That 'who's the sexiest' business is a crock that the media cooked up to sell magazines, so while I say thank you very much, I don't put much stock in it.

I have and will continue to vigorously pursue opportunities in all mediums.

There are no right and wrong ways to work in this business, but there are some basic common-sense practices. Work very, very hard and always be prepared; never give up; and once you get the job, give them more than they ever expected: - Shine!

There's a lot of successful procedural shows that are out there. A lot of them are very successful. I just know there's an audience out there that wants character also.

I don't want to have the bounds put on me in terms of mediums.

At first, I took theater courses on the side. Then, theater became my minor; then it was my major.

If you're given gifts or blessings in your life, it's up to you to help the guy coming up behind you.

Latino people have come up to me and said they were motivated to become a lawyer because they saw me play one on TV - and you can't discount how great it is when they tell me I was the first.

It's a lot of a workload doing an hour dramatic show. It's just incredible what little time off you get.

As an actor and as a performer, I've felt that the education system has really helped me in a lot of ways... there was always a teacher or a professor along the way that kept pushing me to the next stage.

The great thing about working in cable is that, since the season is truncated - we only do 12 shows - the writers are more at ease in terms of mapping out the trajectory of the story and the characters.

How come actors feel like they have to give some kind of personal revelation attached to the project?

I am a firm believer in education and have worked very hard to tell young Latinos that they must go to college and that, if possible, they should pursue an advanced degree. I am convinced that education is the great equalizer.

My life hasn't changed that much. Sure, people recognize me, and airports can get tough, but the people who stop me tend to be real nice.

I have carried the burden of being a role model for some time. And that's great. The body of work I've done has afforded me that opportunity.

We tend to think of World War II and all the atrocities that happened, and people say, 'Never again.' But these things are still happening. The Amnesty International files are big.

It just makes you feel proud, more than anything else, that the work has in some way transcended itself.

I started out in the theater, and my background is classical. I'd love to be in a film version of a Shakespeare play.

I'm socially awkward in life, and that's one of the reasons why I do what I do. I'm more about interpreting other people's words.

I almost feel like sometimes when I'm on location, you miss your home and your family and all that stuff, but it keeps you focused on the work.

I grew up in New York City, and I've got wonderful memories of the Fourth of July fireworks.

What's on the page dictates a lot of what I do. When the words are there, it's easy.

I used to wear sneakers with those nice suits because I wanted Victor Sifuentes to have a bounce in the courtroom.

I like the gypsy aspect of this business.

Variety is the thing for me to be able to work in theater and be involved in more films and TV movies that say something.

There just aren't enough positive portrayals of Latino life in film.

I feel a responsibility to try and give back. I see young people out there who are trained, and any way I can help them and give them an opportunity is gratifying.

I'm not going to leave one of the best shows to do another TV show.

When we are out there selling a new picture, when did it become part of the deal that you have to sell the family? To use the juicy part of your life to get attention? I'm not blaming the reporters. It's the system.

Michael C. Hall is an incredibly detailed actor who can convey so much with just an eyebrow.

I'm usually very analytical when I'm prepping stuff: real into the head thing.

For minority actors, developing our own projects has to be the eventual path. We have a lot of stories to tell and a really unique voice. But none of that is going to be heard as long as we're just the hired hands, acting.

When you're doing 22 shows on network television, the writers are going on vapors towards the end and, as an actor, you're just trashed by the end.

Education is the key in so many ways.

I think education was the key for me, and that's what I tell kids. That base in the classics gave me something to springboard from, which I wouldn't have had if I'd come out to Los Angeles early and been guest punk of the week on 'Hill Street Blues.'

Nude scenes aren't fun.

I am very Latino in everything I am and I do, but there's a part of me that's also something else. I'm reflective of the way this country's gonna be in the next 40 years. More multicultural is what we'll see.

The Latino population has become such a presence. We are part of the American tapestry in a very profound way, in every area you can think of, and are very significant in popular culture.

There's show business, and the business is sometimes in capital letters. You just have to give it your best shot when up at bat.

Doing a truncated series is like doing a long movie, which allows for a certain artistic freedom. After just 12 episodes, you can take a breather and do other things for your career.

I've always strived to keep mixing it up, keep doing different things, and work in all different parts of our business.

I went to Brooklyn College as an education major. It was a big deal in the family, but really, I was living for Mom and Dad.

I've been very lucky to work on a wide variety of projects, including two long-run and top-10 dramatic television shows. That is why it is so important to offer a helping hand to the next generation of young Latinos coming up behind me.

When you're 27 million strong, no one can tell you that you don't belong or expect you to just move along.

Unfortunately, considering that we Latinos are really big for movie companies when they have blockbuster releases or new cable shows, when it comes to the dynamic of supporting our own product, it leaves much to be desired.

We're at a point right now in our development in this country - setting the immigration issue aside - that you can't ignore the sheer population of us in metropolitan areas all across the country, of how significant Latino-ness is in the United States.

I'm happy David Caruso is out there working.

My career aspirations as an actor have always been driven foremost by the creative desire to be versatile.

Every actor has to deal with what's on his plate, and I try to deal with doing the best work possible with the most challenging scripts. I don't base it on whether it's a feature film or a TV-movie or cable.

I never thought television would or could be a long-term commitment.

Everything in moderation, like calories.

My comfort zone has always been in an ensemble-type atmosphere.

The hits and the misses. I just want to keep the at-bats solid.

I have no tattoos at all - it was a huge undertaking for me in the '80s to let my parents know I was piercing my ear when I did 'L.A. Law.'

With the advent of cable and such, you guys are calling it the golden age of TV in terms of the writing and stuff. But it's like different branches of a big tree that TV has become.

You can't get so serious as to not realize that what we do is entertainment, but when you have the chance to provoke thought or advance discussion on a topic, it's just the icing on the cake.