Esai Morales was born on October 1, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an American actor.

Esai made his stage debut in El Hermano at the Ensemble Studio Theater and appeared in Joe Papp's production of The Tempest for New York's Shakespeare in the Park festival. His theater experience also includes sharing the stage with Al Pacino in Salome, and he earned a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in Tamer of Horses for the Los Angeles Theater Center. In 2002, Morales made his musical theater debut starring in the San Francisco run of The Mambo Kings.

This fall, Esai can be seen on the CBS ressurrected series, "Jericho", as Colonel Hoffman for a six-episode arc. In addition, Esai stars in the recently released independent film, "American Fusion." In the film, Esai stars as Jose, a Mexican denist, who falls in love with Yvonne, an Asian divorcee. What develops in the film is a passionate love between Jose and Yvonne that transcends race and culture.

Esai recently shot an exciting pilot for Fox called "The Cure," and is also working on "The Perfect Game," a feature about the 1957 Little League World Champions from Monterrey, Mexico. He starred last fall as FBI agent Michael Tyner on Fox's Vanished. His best-known television role is his portrayal of Lt. Tony Rodriguez in the Emmy Award-winning drama series NYPD Blue. In 2002, he received an Alma Award for Best Actor in a Television Series. He also received accolades for his performances in the drama series American Family and Resurrection Blvd.

In 1983, Morales made his film debut in Bad Boys opposite Sean Penn and went on to star in La Bamba, which remains the most commercially successful Latino-themed motion picture to date. Other film credits include The Burning Season and The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca. He can be seen in Fast Food Nation, The Virgin of Juarez, American Fusion, and Kill Kill Faster Faster (soon to be released).

In 1997, Morales co-founded the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA), created to advance the presence and quality of Latinos in media, telecommunications and entertainment. He is a board member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and serves on the advisory board of Women in Film (WIF), and has contributed his time and face to countless other worthy causes and organizations.

Esai currently lives in Los Angeles with his dog Frankie.

Filmography

• Linea, La (2008)
• Kill Kill Faster Faster (2007)
• "Burn Notice" (1 episode, 2007)
• The Tehuacan Project (2007)
• The Cure (2007)
• "Vanished" (11 episodes, 2006)
• How to Go Out on a Date in Queens (2006)
• Fast Food Nation (2006)
• The Virgin of Juarez (2006)
• Company Town (2006)
• "Jericho" (6 episodes)
• "Freddie" (1 episode, 2005)
• True Crime: New York City (2005)
• American Fusion (2005)
• Heartless (2005) (TV)
• Once Upon a Wedding (2005)
• "NYPD Blue" (47 episodes, 2001-2004)
• Sudbury (2004)
• Return to Babylon (2004)
• "Dora the Explorer" (4 episodes, 2002-2003)
• "George Lopez" (1 episode, 2002)
• "Resurrection Blvd." (7 episodes, 2000-2002)
• Paid in Full (2002)
• The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina (2002)
• "American Family" (8 episodes, 2002)
• "Family Law" (1 episode, 2000)
• A Family in Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story (2000)
• American Virgin (2000)
• Spin Cycle (2000)
• Atomic Train (1999)
• "L.A. Doctors" (1 episode, 1999)
• Doomsday Man (1999)
• Southern Cross (1999)
• Circle of Deceit (1998)
• The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998)
• "The Hunger" (1 episode, 1997)
• Livers Ain't Cheap (1997)
• The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (1997)
• "The Outer Limits" (1 episode, 1997)
• Dying to Be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story (1996)
• Scorpion Spring (1996)
• Dog Watch (1996)
• Deadlocked: Escape from Zone 14 (1995)
• My Family (1995)
• "Tales from the Crypt" (1 episode, 1994)
• Don't Do It (1994)
• The Burning Season (1994)
• In the Army Now (1994)
• Rapa Nui (1994)
• Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun (1993)
• The Waiter (1993)
• Freejack (1992)
• Bay City Story (1992)
• Ultraviolet (1992)
• Naked Tango (1991)
• Amazon (1990)
• Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
• "The Twilight Zone" (1 episode, 1989)
• "Miami Vice" (2 episodes, 1985-1987)
• The Principal (1987)
• La Bamba (1987)
• L.A. Bad (1986)
• "On Wings of Eagles" (1986)
• "Fame" (1 episode, 1985)
• "The Equalizer" (1 episode, 1985)
• "ABC Afterschool Specials" (1 episode, 1983)
• Bad Boys (1983)
• Forty Deuce (1982)

Awards

• Alma Award Outstanding Actor in a Television Series 2002
• Imagen Awards Entertainer of the Year 2002