Esai Morales, born October 1, 1962, is an American actor best known for his roles as Lieutenant Tony Rodriguez on the hit show NYPD Blue, Major Edward Beck in the CBS drama Jericho and Bob Morales in the 1987 biopic La Bamba. Morales has also appeared in Miami Vice, The Equalizer, and 24.
On May 7, 2008 Morales was cast as Joseph Adama in Caprica, Syfy's prequel to the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series. The series premiered on January 22, 2010. In the show ,Morales' character, Joseph Adama suffers the loss of his wife and daughter during a terrorist attack committed by a monotheistic terrorist organization. The 9th episode of Caprica's first season, "End of Line," was broadcast on March 26, 2010 and marked a mid-season hiatus of the show's run. During the episode Morales' character is shot by his daughter, kicking him out of New Cap City forever, so that he is forced to come to terms with the fact that she and her mother are gone. It has not yet been confirmed if Morales' character will appear in subsequent seasons, but he has been sighted shooting scenes for the second half of the show's first season in Canada.
In 2007, Morales' ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Mazzocchi brought forth a rape accusation against him, also claiming that he infected her with herpes. In March of 2008, a judge dismissed Mazzocchi's claim because she continued to live with Morales for 15 months after the alleged assault. Morales is also a vegetarian and described himself as an "actorvist."
Fast Facts:
- Born October 1, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York
- Parents are Puerto Rican
- Also starred on Jericho, Vanished and lent his voice to the children's cartoon Dora the Explorer
- Co-Founder of National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts
- July 2007: Sued by former girlfriend Elizabeth Mazzocchi
- March 2008: Cleared of all accusations by Mazzocchi
