Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962 in New York City, New York) is an American actor.
He played Bob Morales in the biopic La Bamba, earning him recognition. He was born in Brooklyn, to Puerto Rican parents, and began his acting career on the stage, first appearing in El Hermano at the Ensemble Theatre Studio and at New York's Shakespeare Festival In The Park in The Tempest with the late Raúl Juliá.
Filmography:
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Film roles
- Bad Boys (1983) as Paco Moreno
- La Bamba (1987) as Roberto "Bob" Morales
- The Principal (1987) as Raymi Rojas
- Freejack (1992) as Ripper
- The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998) as Dominguez
- Atomic Train (1999) as Noris McKenzie
- Paid in Full (2002) as Lulu
- The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina (2002) as Vergas Mouse (voice)
- The Town (2010) as FBI Agent Marcus
- Atlas Shrugged: Part II (2012) as Francisco d'Anconia
- Super Fly (2018) as Adalberto Gonzalez
- Never BackDown: No Surrender (2016) as Hugo Vega
- Mission: Impossible Film Series as Gabriel
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)
- Mission: Impossible 8 (2025)
Television roles
- Afterschool Special (1 episode, 1984) as Miguel Rados
- The Equalizer (1 episode, 1985) as Officer Miguel Canterra
- Fame (1 episode, 1985) as George
- Miami Vice (2 episodes, 1985–87) as Pete Romano and Felipe Cruz, respectively
- The Twilight Zone (1 episode, 1989) as Jesse Cardiff
- The Legend of Prince Valiant (2 episodes, 1991–92) as various (voice)
- Tales from the Crypt (1 episode, 1994) as Puck
- The Outer Limits (1 episode, 1997) as Frank Kelton
- Adventures from the Book of Virtues (1 episode, 1998) as Guillermo (voice)
- Family Law (1 episode, 2000) as Mr. Santiago
- NYPD Blue (2001–04) as Lt. Tony Rodriguez
- Dora the Explorer (2002–03) as Papi (voice)
- The George Lopez Show (1 episode, 2002) as young Manny Lopez
- 24 (5 episodes, 2007) as Agent Jorge Ramirez
- Burn Notice (1 epsiode, 2007) as Ernie Paseo
- Jericho (7 episodes, 2008) as Major Edward Beck
- Caprica (2009–10) as Joseph Adama
- CSI: Miami (1 episode, 2010) as Stephen Madsen
- Fairly Legal (6 episodes, 2011–12) as D.A. Aaron Davidson
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1 episode, 2012) as Jimmy Vasquez
- Criminal Minds (6 episodes, 2012–15) as Section Chief Mateo "Matt" Cruz
- Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (1 episode, 2017)
- Major Crimes (1 episode, 2013) as Deputy Diaz
- The Brink (2015) as President Julian Navarro
- From Dusk Till Dawn (2015) as Lord Amancio Malvado
- Blue Bloods (2015–16) as Sgt. Trey Delgado
- Mozart in the Jungle (2 episodes, 2015) as Juan Delgado
- Adam Ruins Everything (1 episode, 2016) as Alfonso
- How to Get Away with Murder (2016–20) as Jorge Castillo
- Ozark (2017) as Camino Del Rio
- Chicago P.D. (2017) as Police Chief Lugo
- NCIS: Los Angeles (2018–19) as Deputy Director Louis Ochoa
- Titans (2019–) as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (1 episode, 2020) as Francisco
Video game roles
- True Crime: New York City (2005) as Capt. Victor Navarro
