David Zayas (born August 15, 1962) is a Puerto Rican actor. He is best known for his roles as

Angel Batista Angelo "Angel" Juan Marcos Batista (; Spanish ) is a fictional character in the Showtime television series ''Dexter'' and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. He is portrayed in the television series by David Zayas. Batista spe ...

on Showtime's series ''

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

'' and Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama series '' Oz''.

Early life

Zayas was born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, and raised in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

Career

Zayas joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

at age 19 and was a police officer with the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

for almost 15 years. His experience as a police officer allowed him to develop as a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, 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''. Zayas was a main cast member of ''

'' for all of its eight seasons. Zayas has been a member of the

LAByrinth Theater Company LAByrinth Theater Company is a non-profit, Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City. Led by Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz for many years, its artistic director is Ortiz. The New York Times described it in 2014 as "an ethnica ...

since 1992, 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 ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'', ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no le ...

'', FBI , ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensembl ...

''. At LAByrinth, he met his future wife, actress Liza Colón. Zayas played a corrupt police officer in ''

16 Blocks ''16 Blocks'' is a 2006 American crime-thriller film directed by Richard Donner and starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and David Morse. The film unfolds in the real time narration method. It marked the final directed film for Donner in addition to ...

'' (2006) and an NYPD officer in ''

Michael Clayton ''Michael Clayton'' is a 2007 American legal thriller film written and directed by Tony Gilroy in his feature directorial debut and starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack. Clooney plays lawyer Michael Clayton, w ...

'' (2007). He is featured in the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

'' Shadowboxing'' (2010), which appeared on the

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

circuit. He appears in

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

's feature film '' The Expendables'' (2010) and The Brothers Strause's film ''

Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylin ...

'' (2010). In 2012, Zayas played Ernie Trask, a hotel super, in the twelfth episode of season 1 of ''

''. In the 2013 he portrayed Detective Esteban Flores in ''Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret'' a television movie about the murder of Travis Alexander. Zayas portrays mob boss Don Salvatore MaroniProfile
screenrant.com; accessed November 9, 2014. in the

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

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 Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for fo ...

's Hannigan learn to love herself.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zayas, David 1962 births Living people Male actors from New York City New York City Police Department officers People from the Bronx Male actors from Ponce, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male stage actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican United States Air Force personnel United States Air Force airmen 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors