# Esai Morales

Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films Bad Boys with Sean Penn and La Bamba with Lou Diamond Phillips. His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series American Family, the Showtime series Resurrection Blvd. (2000–2002), portraying Lt. Tony Rodriguez on NYPD Blue (2001–2003), Joseph Adama in the science fiction series Caprica (2009–2010), Camino del Rio in the Netflix original series Ozark (2017), and the DC Comics supervillain Slade Wilson / Deathstroke in the superhero series Titans (2019).
Morales appeared as Gabriel, the main antagonist in the 2023 spy action film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One opposite Tom Cruise, a role which he will reprise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in 2025.

## Early life

Of Puerto Rican descent, Morales was born in Brooklyn to Esai Morales Sr., a welder, and Iris Margarita (née Declet), a union activist involved with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Morales began his pursuit of an acting career by attending the School of Performing Arts in Manhattan.

## Career

His first professional performances were in theater and television in New York. His first major film was Bad Boys (1983), about rival teenagers sentenced to a juvenile correction facility. Morales appeared in a 1985 episode of the TV series Fame. He co-starred with Burt Lancaster in the 1986 NBC miniseries On Wings of Eagles, playing the Iranian Rashid, the hero of a true story about Ross Perot. Morales also appeared in Miami Vice, The Equalizer, and 24.
He played Bob Morales, the real-life ex-convict and biker half-brother of 1950s rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens, in La Bamba (1987). He also played Nicholas Walker in Ultraviolet (1992). Some of his other roles have reflected his socio-political interests, such as The Burning Season in 1994, My Family/Mi Familia in 1995, The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (1997), and Southern Cross (1999). In the latter three films, as well as in others such as Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989) and Rapa-Nui (1994), Morales saw increased amounts of screen time, starting with a role in the Pauly Shore film In The Army Now (1994). He portrayed a police officer in the film Dogwatch (1996) and Father Herrera in The Virgin of Juarez (2006).
In the 1990s, he guest-starred on episodes of The Outer Limits, Tales from the Crypt, and two shorter-lived series, L.A. Doctors and The Hunger. He appeared in a two-part episode of Family Law in 2000. He was part of the main cast of the long-running series NYPD Blue for three and a half seasons, from 2001 to 2004, as the head of the 15th precinct detective squad.
He played a drug dealer named Lulu in the 2002 film Paid in Full. In 2005, he was a voice actor in the video game True Crime: New York City.
Morales was cast in the film American Fusion (2005), and in 2006, he joined the cast of the Fox series Vanished, as FBI agent Michael Tyner; the series ran for one season. In 2007, Morales appeared in an episode of the USA Network drama series Burn Notice, as a Cuban shopkeeper being shaken down for "protection" money by local criminals. In 2008, Morales had a role in the CBS drama Jericho, as Major Edward Beck. He appeared in all seven episodes of the shortened second season. That same year, he appeared in Kill Kill Faster Faster, a film noir based on the novel of the same name by Joel Rose.
Morales played the role of Joseph Adama in the science fiction television series Caprica – Syfy's prequel to the series Battlestar Galactica. The series, though highly anticipated, only ran for one season in 2010. In 2009, he served as an official festival judge for the Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles.
In 2011, Morales starred in the drama film Gun Hill Road as Enrique, and in the web drama Los Americans airing on PIC.tv. Morales worked with Tony Plana, Yvonne DeLaRosa, Lupe Ontiveros, and JC Gonzalez in Los Americans, an Internet program launched in 2011.
In 2015, Robert Rodriguez cast him as Lord Amancio Malvado for the second season of horror series From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, which was followed in 2017 by a main role in the first season of the Netflix original series Ozark, and then in 2019 in an antagonist role for the second season of the DC Universe superhero series Titans as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke.
Morales appeared in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One as Gabriel, the film's main villain, a role which he is reprising in its sequel Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
In 2023, Morales starred in the western thriller Cottonmouth, which is set for release in 2024.

## Awards and honors

In 2005, Morales (along with Mercedes Ruehl) received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).
He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art, for his impact as an actor and role model.

## Activism

Morales has described himself as an "actorvist", primarily as one of the founders of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, taking inspiration from his mother, who was an organizer for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. He is also interested in environmental issues and was a founding board member of E.C.O. (Earth Communications Office).
In a February 28, 2007, all-star benefit reading of The Gift of Peace at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, he portrayed a hopeful member of a struggling immigrant family. The play was an open appeal and fundraiser for passage of U.S. House Resolution 808, which sought to establish a Cabinet-level "Department of Peace" in the U.S. government, to be funded by a two percent diversion of the Pentagon's annual budget.

## Personal life

Morales is a vegetarian. He has a daughter, born in 2010.
Morales' first name is frequently used in crossword puzzles, because its rare construction makes it a prize for crossword constructors (it is a four-letter word in English that is 75 percent vowels, including the first and last letters). One crossword clue website estimated that between 1994 and 2016, "ESAI" had been used as a crossword answer over 100 times in American papers such as Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Forty Deuce | Mitchell | |
| 1983 | Bad Boys | Paco Moreno | |
| 1985 | Rainy Day Friends | Neekos Valdez | |
| 1987 | La Bamba | Roberto 'Bob' Morales | |
| 1987 | The Principal | Raymundo 'Raymi' Rojas | |
| 1989 | Bloodhounds of Broadway | Jack 'Handsome Jack' | |
| 1990 | Naked Tango | Zico Borenstein | |
| 1992 | Freejack | 'Ripper' | |
| 1992 | Ultraviolet | Nicholas Walker | |
| 1993 | The Waiter | Julius | Short |
| 1993 | Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun | Kenny | Video |
| 1994 | Rapa-Nui | Make | |
| 1994 | In the Army Now | Sergeant Stern | |
| 1994 | Don't Do It | Charles | |
| 1995 | My Family | 'Chucho' | |
| 1995 | Scorpion Spring | Astor | |
| 1996 | Livers Ain't Cheap | Collin | |
| 1996 | The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca | Ricardo | |
| 1996 | Dogwatch | Murrow | Video |
| 1998 | The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit | Dominguez | |
| 1999 | Southern Cross | Philip Solano | |
| 1999 | American Virgin | Jim The Director | |
| 2000 | Doomsday Man | Mike | |
| 2000 | Spin Cycle | Nickens | |
| 2002 | The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina | Vergas Mouse (voice) | Video |
| 2002 | Paid in Full | Luis "Lulu" Lujano | |
| 2005 | Once Upon a Wedding | Pineda | |
| 2006 | The Virgin of Juarez | Father Herrera | |
| 2006 | Fast Food Nation | Tony | |
| 2006 | How to Go Out on a Date in Queens | Frankie | |
| 2008 | Kill Kill Faster Faster | Markie | |
| 2009 | The Line | Pelon | |
| 2010 | Cherry | Wes | |
| 2010 | King of the Avenue | Natas | |
| 2011 | Gun Hill Road | Enrique | |
| 2012 | Atlas Shrugged: Part II | Francisco D'Anconia | |
| 2013 | Playin' for Love | Principle Jose Martin | |
| 2014 | Jarhead 2: Field of Fire | Captain Jones | Video |
| 2015 | Spare Parts | Mr. Santillan | |
| 2016 | Never Back Down: No Surrender | Hugo Vega | Video |
| 2018 | Superfly | Adalberto Gonzalez | |
| 2018 | Imprisoned | Governor Mandera | |
| 2019 | The Wall of Mexico | Henry Arista | |
| 2021 | Senior Moment | Diego Lozana | |
| 2022 | Art of Love | Professor/Writer | |
| 2022 | Queen of Manhattan | Papi | |
| 2022 | Master Gardener | Oscar Neruda | |
| 2023 | Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | Gabriel | |
| 2024 | Crescent City | Luke | |
| 2025 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning † | Gabriel | Post-production |
| TBD | The Latin from Manhattan † | Papi | Post-production |
| TBD | War Machine † | TBA | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | ABC Afterschool Special | Miguel Rados | Episode: "The Great Love Experiment" |
| 1985 | The Equalizer | Officer Miguel Canterra | Episode: "Lady Cop" |
| 1985 | Fame | George | Episode: "Savage Streets" |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | Pete Romano | Episode: "The Home Invaders" |
| 1986 | On Wings of Eagles | Rashid | Episode: "Part I & II" |
| 1987 | Miami Vice | Felipe Cruz | Episode: "God's Work" |
| 1989 | The Twilight Zone | Jesse Cardiff | Episode: "A Game of Pool" |
| 1991–92 | The Legend of Prince Valiant | Various Roles (voice) | Recurring cast (season 1) |
| 1992 | Bay City Story | Jim Duran | TV movie |
| 1994 | Tales from the Crypt | 'Puck' | Episode: "The Bribe" |
| 1994 | The Burning Season | Jair | TV movie |
| 1995 | Deadlocked: Escape from Zone 14 | Tony Archer | TV movie |
| 1996 | Dying to Be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story | Federico Peña | TV movie |
| 1997 | The Outer Limits | Frank Kelton | Episode: "Heart's Desire" |
| 1997 | The Hunger | Tony | Episode: "I'm Dangerous Tonight" |
| 1998 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Guillermo (voice) | Episode: "Charity" |
| 1998 | Circle of Deceit | Jeff Silva | TV movie |
| 1999 | L.A. Doctors | Vince Duralde | Episode: "The Life Lost in Living" |
| 1999 | Atomic Train | Noris MacKenzie | Episode: "Part I & II" |
| 2000 | A Family in Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story | Juan Miguel Gonzalez | TV movie |
| 2000 | Family Law | Mr. Santiago | Episode: "Telling Lies, Conclusion" |
| 2000–02 | Resurrection Blvd. | Paco Corrales | Recurring cast (season 1-2), guest (season 3) |
| 2001–04 | NYPD Blue | Lieutenant Tony Rodriguez | Main cast (season 8-11) |
| 2002 | American Family | Esteban Gonzalez | Recurring cast (season 1) |
| 2002 | George Lopez | Manny Lopez | Episode: "Who's Your Daddy?" |
| 2002–03 | Dora the Explorer | Papi (voice) | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2005 | Heartless | Rick Benes/David Lopez | TV movie |
| 2005 | Freddie | Carlos | Episode: "The Courtship of Freddie's Father" |
| 2006 | Vanished | Michael Tyner | Recurring cast |
| 2007 | 24: Day 6 Debrief | Agent Jorge Ramirez | Recurring cast (season 6) |
| 2007 | Burn Notice | Ernie Paseo | Episode: "Broken Rules" |
| 2008 | Jericho | Major Edward Beck | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2009–10 | Caprica | Joseph Adama | Main cast |
| 2010 | CSI: Miami | Stephen Madsen | Episode: "All Fall Down" |
| 2011 | Los Americans | Leandro 'Lee' Valenzuela | Main cast |
| 2011 | We Have Your Husband | Eduardo Valseca | TV movie |
| 2011–12 | Fairly Legal | District Attorney Aaron Davidson | Guest (season 1), recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2012 | Seattle Superstorm | Tom | TV movie |
| 2012 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Jimmy Vasquez | Episode: "Home Invasions" |
| 2013 | Magic City | Carlos "El Tiburon" Ruiz | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2013 | Major Crimes | Deputy Diaz | Episode: "Jailbait" |
| 2013 | Teachers | Manny | TV movie |
| 2013–15 | Criminal Minds | Section Chief Mateo 'Matt' Cruz | Guest (season 9), recurring cast (season 10) |
| 2014 | Cleaners | Father Brooks | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2015 | The Brink | President Julian Navarro | Main cast |
| 2015 | From Dusk till Dawn: The Series | Lord Amancio Malvado | Main cast (season 2) |
| 2015 | Mozart in the Jungle | Juan Delgado | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2015–16 | Blue Bloods | Sergeant Trey Delgado | Guest cast (season 6-7) |
| 2016 | Casa Vita | Rodrigo Vita | TV movie |
| 2016 | Hit the Floor | Joe Desario | Episode: "Til Death Do Us Part" |
| 2016 | Adam Ruins Everything | Alfonso | Episode: "Adam Ruins Immigration" |
| 2016–20 | How to Get Away with Murder | Jorge Castillo | Recurring cast (season 3-4 & 6) |
| 2017 | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Section Chief Mateo 'Matt' Cruz | Episode: "La Huesuda" |
| 2017 | Ozark | Camino Del Rio | Main cast (season 1) |
| 2017 | Chicago P.D. | Police Chief Lugo | Recurring cast (season 4), guest (season 5) |
| 2018 | Mars | Roland St. John | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2018–19 | NCIS: Los Angeles | NCIS Deputy Director Louis Ochoa | Recurring cast (season 10) |
| 2019 | Titans | Slade Wilson/Deathstroke | Main cast (season 2) |
| 2020 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Francisco | Episode: "Artificial Fruit" |

### Video game

| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
| 2005 | True Crime: New York City | Chief Victor Navarro | |