NAMES IN THE NEWS : Smits Wants Non-Latino Roles
- Share via
NEW YORK — Jimmy Smits, who plays Victor Sifuentes on NBC’s “L.A. Law,” says he is looking forward to some non-Latino roles.
Smits played an Italian in the TV movie “Glitz” and last year played Dr. David Redding in a film called “Vital Signs.”
“As I become more successful, I am aware that it affects other Latinos,” he told Parade magazine in Sunday’s issue. “It’s imperative that I don’t forget the homeboys and the old neighborhood. But I’m also an artist and an actor. The one thing I want to do with my career is be versatile--not limit myself.”
Smits, 34, holds a master’s degree in fine arts from Cornell University. His mother is Puerto Rican and his father is from Suriname.
“I don’t recall overt acts of prejudice, but I must have felt them,” said Smits, who grew up in New York City. “I always felt that I had to prove something because I’m Hispanic.
“When I started studying acting, it wasn’t good enough for someone to say, ‘For a Latino, he’s OK,’ so I studied twice as hard as anybody.”
The complete guide to home viewing
Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
