Character on Jericho: Major Edward Beck

Born: October 1, 1962; Brooklyn, NY

Job Titles: Actor, Director

Biography: A talented, intense and strikingly handsome actor of Puerto Rican heritage, Esai Morales displayed promise as a teenager in NYC stage productions before gaining attention as Sean Penn's reform school rival in "Bad Boys" (1983). Effective in hot-tempered roles, he shone in "La Bamba" (1987) as the troubled older brother of Richie Valens. Morales fared less well in the bland Damon Runyon tale "Bloodhounds of Broadway" (1989) and the sci-fi misfire "Freejack" (1992). He has continually fought against ethnic stereotyping by playing a variety of ethnicities including an Iranian in the TV miniseries "On Wings of Eagles" (NBC, 1986), an Irish bootlegger in "Bloodhounds of Broadway" and a ruthless Polish-Jewish-Argentine gangster in "Naked Tango" (1991). Morales co-starred with Jason Scott Lee in the Kevin Costner-produced period adventure "Rapa Nui" (1994) playing a 15th century Easter Island native and had a brilliant, silent, anguished moment when he nears the finish line in the contest to determine which class will rule the island and breaks the egg he must carry whole.
In 1995, he was Chucho, the street-thugish brother of "My Family/Mi Familia" and won praise as the husband of a bulimic runner in "Dying to Be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story" (ABC, 1996). In 1997 he starred as a journalist investigating the mystery surrounding "The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca" (1997). While he continued to appear steadily in feature films, it was on television that Morales made his strongest mark, beginning in 2000 with his role as Juan Miguel Gonzalez, the father of the young real-life Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez who was caught in a battle between both his parents and the U.S. and Cuban governments in the Fox Family Channel miniseries "The Elian Gonzalez Story."


Morales next big break came with his regular role in the Showtime cable series "Resurrection Blvd," in which he played the recurring role of Paco Corrales in the series centering around a Latino family. That role led to his breakout part on ABC's venerable crime series "NYPD Blue" as Lt. Tony Rodriguez in 2001, replacing James McDaniel as the head of the 15th Precinct's detective squad. As part of "Blue's" large ensemble, Morales was also able to join the cast of another dramatic series, PBS' "American Family," in 2002, playing Esteban Gonzalez, the son of a Mexican American family, a parolee and ex-gang member, struggling to raise his son and put his life back together. His strong performances on both series filled ABC executives with enough confidence to sign him to a development deal that would build a new series around the actor.




Television:

• "Burn Notice" (1 episode, 2007) as Ernie Paseo
• "Vanished" (11 episodes, 2006) as Agent Michael Tyner
• "Jericho" (6 episodes) as Major Edward Beck
• "Freddie" (1 episode, 2005) as Carlos
• "Dora the Explorer" (4 episodes, 2002-2003) (voice) as Papi
• "George Lopez" (1 episode, 2002) as Manny Lopez
• "NYPD Blue" (47 episodes, 2001-2004) as Lt. Tony Rodriguez
• "Resurrection Blvd." (7 episodes, 2000-2002) as Paco Corrales
• "American Family" (8 episodes, 2002) as Esteban Gonzalez
• "Family Law" (1 episode, 2000) as Mr. Santiago
• "L.A. Doctors" (1 episode, 1999) as Vince Duralde
• "The Outer Limits" (1 episode, 1997) as Frank Kelton
• "The Hunger" (1 episode, 1997) as Tony
• "Tales from the Crypt" (1 episode, 1989) as Puck
• "The Twilight Zone" as Jesse Cardiff
• "Miami Vice" (2 episodes, 1985-1987) as Felipe Cruz
• "On Wings of Eagles" (1986) (Mini Series)as Rashid
• "Fame" (1 episode, 1985) as George
• "The Equalizer" (1 episode, 1985) as Officer Miguel Canterra
• "ABC Afterschool Specials" (1 episode, 1983) as Miguel Rados

Film:

• Kill Kill Faster Faster (2007) (completed) as Markie
• The Tehuacan Project (2007)
• The Cure (2007) (TV Movie) as Jorge
• How to Go Out on a Date in Queens (2006) as Frankie
• Fast Food Nation (2006) asTony
• The Virgin of Juarez (2006) as Father Herrera
• Company Town (2006) (TV) as Ray Dupre
• True Crime: New York City (2005) (VG) (voice) as Capt. Victor Navarro
• American Fusion (2005) as Jose
• Heartless (2005/I) (TV Movie) as Rick Benes/David Lopez

• Once Upon a Wedding (2005) as Pineda
• Return to Babylon (2004)
• Sudbury (2004) (TV)
• Paid in Full (2002) as Lulu
• The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina (2002) (voice) as Vergas Mouse
• A Family in Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story (2000) (TV Movie) as Juan Miguel Gonzalez
• American Virgin (2000) as Jim the Director
• Spin Cycle (2000) as Nickens
• Atomic Train (1999) (TV) as Noris 'Mac' MacKenzie
• Doomsday Man (1999) as Mike
• Southern Cross (1999) as Philip Solano
• Circle of Deceit (1998) (TV Movie) as Jeff Silva
• The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998) as Dominguez
• Livers Ain't Cheap (1997) as Collin
• The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (1997) as Ricardo
• Dying to Be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story (1996) (TV Movie) asFederico Pena
• Scorpion Spring (1996) as Astor
• Dog Watch (1996) as Murrow
• Deadlocked: Escape from Zone 14 (1995) (TV Movie) .... Tony Archer
• My Family (1995) as Chucho
• Don't Do It (1994) as Charles
• The Burning Season (1994) (TV Movie) as Jair
• In the Army Now (1994) as Sgt. Stern
• Rapa Nui (1994) as Make
• Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun (1993) as Kenny
• The Waiter (1993) as Julius
• Freejack (1992) as Ripper
• Bay City Story (1992) (TVMovie) as Jim Duran
• Ultraviolet (1992) as Nicholas Walker
• Naked Tango (1991) as Zico Borenstein
• Amazon (1990)
• Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989) as Handsome Jack
• The Principal (1987) as Raymi Rojas
• La Bamba (1987) as Bob Morales
• L.A. Bad (1986) as Neekos Valdez
• Bad Boys (1983)

Production:

• Behind the Mask of Zorro (2005) (TV Movie) (co-producer)
• Beisbol (2005) (executive producer)
  

Director:

• "America's Most Wanted" (1 episode, 1994)

Quote:
” I allow myself to be used to draw attention (to good causes). I think that as an actor there’s too much focus paid on ‘what we’re wearing and who we’re doing’, It’s just so superficial. It’s so empty. It’s so fluff entertainment. So I try to take some of that attention and refocus it where it belongs, which is, you know, issue-oriented things.”

Trivia:
Spoke only Spanish until age 5.