Mexican-American Olmos, now 71 years old, started out in music, playing in a band called Pacific Ocean before shifting into stage acting. He got his first big break in the 1979 play Zoot Suit, snagging a Tony nomination (and a role in the 1981 film version) as the narrator, "El Pachuco." Subsequently, he tackled a pretty wide variety of roles in films like Wolfen and even the original Blade Runner in 1982, playing Eduardo Gaff, a role he reprised later in Blade Runner 2049.
In 1984, Olmos landed arguably his biggest role yet as reclusive CIA-agent-turned-cop Lieutenant Marty Castillo in Miami Vice. He stayed with the show for its entire five-season run and even got a Golden Globe and an Emmy along the way. These wouldn't be his last major award nominations, either. In 1988, he became the first American-born Latino actor to be nominated for best actor at the Oscars for his role as maths teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver. This marked a crucial point in Olmos's career, as he focussed on breaking down Hispanic and, specifically, Chicano (Mexican-American) stereotypes in film and TV.