David Zayas
Puerto Rican actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Zayas (born August 15, 1962[2]) is a Puerto Rican actor. He is best known for his roles as Angel Batista on the Showtime series Dexter and Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama series Oz.[3]
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David Zayas | |
|---|---|
Zayas in 2025 | |
| Born | August 15, 1962 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Notable work | Angel Batista on Dexter Enrique Morales on Oz Sal Maroni on Gotham |
| Spouse | |
Early life
Zayas was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico,[4] and raised in The Bronx, New York.[3]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Zayas joined the United States Air Force at age 19[3] and was a police officer with the New York City Police Department for almost 15 years.[3] His experience as a police officer allowed him to develop as a character actor, leading to a series of acting jobs on television and film, mainly playing law enforcement officers, but playing characters on the other side of the law, as well, such as Enrique Morales on HBO's long-running prison-drama Oz.[citation needed] Zayas was a main cast member of Dexter for all of its eight seasons.[5]
Zayas has been a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company since 1992,[citation needed] a New York City-based traveling actors group. He branched out into television and film projects, and has diversified with guest roles in such popular television series such as New York Undercover, Person of Interest, FBI (playing Mexican drug lord Antonio Vargas), and NYPD Blue.[citation needed] At LAByrinth, he met his future wife, actress Liza Colón.[citation needed]
Zayas played a corrupt police officer in 16 Blocks (2006) and an NYPD officer in Michael Clayton (2007).[citation needed] He is featured in the independent film Shadowboxing (2010), which appeared on the film festival circuit. He appears in Sylvester Stallone's feature film The Expendables (2010) and The Brothers Strause's film Skyline (2010). In 2012, Zayas played Ernie Trask, a hotel super, in the twelfth episode of season 1 of Person of Interest. In 2013 he portrayed Detective Esteban Flores in Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret, a television movie about the murder of Travis Alexander.[6]
Zayas portrays mob boss Don Salvatore Maroni[7] in the Batman prequel, Gotham, which premiered on Fox on September 22, 2014. Shortly thereafter, he appeared in Annie (2014) as Lou, a gregarious bodega owner who helps Cameron Diaz's Hannigan learn to love herself.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Lena's Dreams | Jorge | |
| 1998 | OK Garage | Omar | |
| Scar City | Cop #1 | ||
| Return to Paradise | Construction Foreman | ||
| Rounders | Trooper Osborne | ||
| Bleach | Lieutenant Ballard | Short film | |
| 1999 | Bringing Out the Dead | Cop In Elevator | |
| Kingdom Come | Unknown | ||
| 2000 | The Yards | Officer Jerry Rifkin | |
| 2001 | Sam the Man | Officer Billy | |
| 2002 | Washington Heights | David | |
| A Gentleman's Game | Alfred D'Angelo | ||
| 2003 | Anne B. Real | Cynthia's Dad | |
| 2004 | Mimmo & Paulie | Paulie | Short film |
| Jailbait | Guard | ||
| Brooklyn Bound | Popo | ||
| 2005 | The Interpreter | Secret Service Agent Charlie Russell | |
| Sangre/Blood | Nestor | Short film | |
| The Feast of the Goat | Antonio De La Maza | ||
| 2006 | 16 Blocks | Detective Bobby Torres | |
| The Path to 9/11 | Lou Napoli | ||
| Bristol Boys | Detective Benson | ||
| 2007 | Michael Clayton | Detective Dalberto | |
| The Savages | Eduardo | ||
| 2009 | Burning Mussolini | Hector | |
| Wake | Detective Grayson | ||
| Flying By | Tony | ||
| 2010 | 13 | Detective Larry Mullane | |
| Shadowboxing | Bill | ||
| The Expendables | General Garza | ||
| Skyline | Oliver | ||
| 2013 | Samuel Bleak | Ruben Ramirez | |
| 2014 | Ride | Ramon | |
| Annie | Lou | ||
| 2015 | The Wannabe | Pablo Guzman | |
| 2016 | Tallulah | Detective Richards | |
| 2017 | Teen Titans: The Judas Contract | Alberto Reyes (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| Shine | Ramon | ||
| 2020 | Body Cam | Sergeant Kesper | |
| Force of Nature | John The Baptist | ||
| 2021 | R#J | Fernando Capulet | |
| 2025 | The Running Man | Richard Manuel | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Law & Order | McGinty | Episode: "Savages" |
| 1996 | New York Undercover | Paco Martinez | Episode: "The Enforcers" |
| Law & Order | Raoul Cervantes | Episode: "Causa Mortis" | |
| 1997 | Feds | Unknown | Episode: "Somebody's Lyin'" |
| 1998 | Trinity | Uniform Cop #1 | Episode: "...To Forgive, Divine" |
| Law & Order | Carlos | Episode: "Flight" | |
| 1999 | Third Watch | Motorman | Episode: "Welcome to Camelot" |
| 2000 | NYPD Blue | Joaquin Enriquez | Episode: "These Shoots Are Made for Joaquin" |
| The Beat | Rei Morales | 12 episodes | |
| All My Children | Unknown | Episode: "13 December 2000" | |
| 2000–2003 | Oz | Enrique Morales | 26 episodes |
| 2001 | Wit | Code Team Blue Head | Television movie |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Detective Milton | Episode: "Protection" |
| UC: Undercover | Jorge Gonzales | Episode: "Manhunt" | |
| Guiding Light | Prison Guard | Episode: "22 October 2002" | |
| 2003 | Law & Order | John Mireles | Episode: "Smoke" |
| Angels in America | Super | 3 episodes | |
| Undefeated | Paulie | Television movie | |
| 2005 | Angel | Angel's Father | Television movie |
| 2006–2013 | Dexter | Angel Batista | 96 episodes Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2009–12) |
| 2006 | Numb3rs | Carlos Costavo | Episode: "Brutus" |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Fire Marshall | Episode: "On Fire" |
| 2007 | Without a Trace | Gabriel Molina | Episode: "Crash and Burn" |
| Shark | Alvarez | Episode: "Strange Bedfellows" | |
| The Closer | Brian | Episode: "Grave Doubts" | |
| Burn Notice | Javier | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Detective Justin Cabrera | Episode: "Submission" |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Ben Porterson | Episode: "Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing" |
| In Plain Sight | Harrison Locke | Episode: "Rubble with a Cause" | |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Lt. Stanley Maas | Season 9: 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | Ernie Trask | Episode: "Super" |
| Grimm | Salvadore Butrell | Episode: "Leave It to Beavers" | |
| 2013 | The Following | Tyson Hernandez | Episode: "Guilt" |
| Deception | Frank | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret | Detective Esteban Flores | Television movie | |
| 2013–2023 | The Blacklist | Manny Soto | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Saint George | Junior | 6 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Gotham | Sal Maroni | 8 episodes |
| 2015 | Elementary | Juan 'El Gato' Murillo | Episode: "The Past Is Parent" |
| 2016 | Bloodline | Sheriff Aguirre | 7 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Shut Eye | Eduardo Bernal | 20 episodes |
| 2017–2024 | Blue Bloods | Governor of New York Martin Mendez | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | Seven Seconds | Captain Carlos Medina | Episodes: "Of Gods and Men", "Until It Do" |
| Chicago P.D. | Carlos Mendoza | Episode: "Endings" | |
| Quantico | Charlie | Episode: "Hell's Gate" | |
| 2019 | Deadly Class | El Alma del Diablo | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | Next | Ignacio | 3 episodes |
| 2020–2021 | FBI | Antonio Vargas | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Pose | Carlos | Episode: "Something Old, Something New" |
| 2021–2022 | Dexter: New Blood | Angel Batista | Episodes: "Runaway" & "Sins of the Father" |
| 2024 | Diarra from Detroit | Marshall | Recurring role |
| Bob's Burgers | Bubble Master (voice) | Episode: "Jade in the Shade" | |
| The Bear | David Marrero | 2 episodes | |
| 2025 | Dexter: Resurrection | Angel Batista | [8] |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train | Valdez | East 13th Street Theatre |
| 2003 | Our Lady of 121st Street | Edwin | Union Square Theatre |
| Anna in the Tropics | Cheché | Royale Theatre | |
| 2008 | The Little Flower of East Orange | Espinosa / Surgeon 2 | Joseph Papp Public Theater/Martinson Hall |
| 2022 | Cost of Living | Eddie | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Nominated—Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play |
| 2024 | Brooklyn Laundry | Owen | New York City Center Stage I |
References
External links
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