Why Trey Delgado From Blue Bloods Looks So Familiar

Like most people, you likely spend a fair amount of time watching TV or movies. Because you have a lifetime of content in your head, some actors will keep showing up in different movies or shows. Some are big names and are easy to place, while others are lesser-known character actors whose names are more elusive. That can apply to Esai Morales, the actor who plays NYPD Captain Trey Delgado on "Blue Bloods." Delgado appeared first in Season 6, Episode 5, "Backstabbers." In the episode, Lt. Sid Gormley (Robert Clohessy) throws a wrench in passing a proposal because he suspects Delgado, who pitched the proposal, is sleeping with his wife. Morales appears a second time in one episode of the next season.

Esai Morales is likely one of those people you see everywhere but can't place him. Morales has been active since the early '80s, having appeared in numerous TV shows like "Miami Vice" and movies such as "La Bamba." Since then, Morales has been everywhere. He has been to so many places in the last two decades that you have probably had dinner with him a few times. But if you had trouble figuring out where you saw him before, you may have most likely seen him in these projects.

Esai Morales played one of his more notable 1990s roles in the Pauly Shore film "In The Army Now," where he was cast as the antagonist-turned-supporter Sgt. Stern. Alongside fellow reservists Christine Jones (Lori Petty), Jack Kaufman (Andy Dick), and Fred Ostroff (David Alan Grier), Bones Conway (Shore) runs afoul of the Special Forces team led by Stern. From pranks escalating from petty to embarrassing, Bones and Stern are at each other's throats before receiving a mission.

When a convoy carrying both Stern's Special Forces team and Bones' water purification team is hit, the "water boys" are forced to step up and save the day, rescuing Stern from a POW camp in Chad and taking the doped-up sergeant out on a dune buggy.

"You better call 9-1-1, get an ambulance, find a doctor, order a toe tag, cuz I'm gonna tear off your head and spit down your neck, you understand me boy?" This statement created a memorable first impression of Morales in the movie. 

"NYPD Blue" had a 12-season run on ABC, redefining the "cop drama" for the '90s when it debuted in 1993. Esai Morales showed up in Season 8, Episode 13, "Flight of the Fancy." He played Lieutenant Tony Rodriguez, the replacement for the highly unpopular Lieutenant Susan Dalto (Denise Crosby). Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) initially bumped heads with Rodriguez due to his drastic management style difference from his predecessor. He proved to be much more hands-on, even pushing other detectives out of the way to investigate the people who attacked his mother in retribution. 

Morales served two seasons as Rodriguez before he quit the police force and moved on. His last appearance was Season 11, Episode 13, "Take My Wife, Please." When he announced his retirement after being passed over for Captain, Detective Sipowicz showed his respect (in his own way) when he admonished him for giving up, calling it a "punk move" on Rodriguez's part.

With 323 episodes spanning over 15 seasons, CBS hit "Criminal Minds" thrilled viewers for a decade and a half, and it's set to return for a 16th season on Paramount+. Throughout its first 15 seasons, the FBI sent many agents to join the Behavioral Analysis Unit that is at the center of the series, and one of those agents was Esai Morales' Section Chief Mateo Cruz.

When The Replicator murdered Section Chief Erin Strauss (Jayne Atkinson) in the Season 8 finale "And in the End...," the FBI replaced her with Cruz. Initially, he and JJ Jareau (A. J. Cook) kept their relationship secret due to a classified operation they ran in Afghanistan.

Morales served as the Section Chief for the BAU for all of Season 9 before moving on. He eventually showed up in one episode of the spinoff "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders." While Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) mentions that Cruz was overseas on "on assignment" in the Season 10 premiere, he is never seen again.

"Ozark" follows Martin "Marty" Byrde (Jason Bateman), a money launderer for a Mexican drug cartel who moves to Osage Beach, Missouri, to fulfill a promise to return $8 million stolen from his benefactor. Esai Morales appears in the first episode as Camino Del Rio, the leader of the Navarro Drug Cartel. Referred to as Del, he travels to Chicago to question the five people working for him in one of the most dynamic debut scenes in recent memories. He calls a meeting with Marty, Marty's financial partner, Bruce Liddell (Josh Randall), his fiancée, and a father-son team. 

Morales made a solid, lasting impression as Del, becoming the believable cartel leader by murdering each one of them. He has a conversation with each one before coldly putting a bullet in them. Del was the antagonist throughout the first season, appearing in four of the 10 episodes before being killed in the Season 1 finale after calling Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery) a redneck.

When Warner Brothers announced the live-action adaptation of beloved comic and animated series "Teen Titans" was coming to HBO Max, fans felt their dreams were coming true. Morales brought the beloved anti-hero, Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, to the screen as the primary antagonist of Season 2. He wasn't the first to bring him to live-action; Manu Bennett portrayed the deadly assassin in 39 episodes on the CW's "Arrow" between 2013 and 2017. Joe Manganiello also appeared as the one-eyed villain in a mid-credit scene of "Justice League" in 2017.

In Morales' portrayal, he is an older version of the character, already an enemy of the Titans due to killing Aqualad (Drew Van Acker) in a flashback. He comes into conflict with the group again when they make contact with both of his children, Rose (Chelsea Zhang) and Jericho (Chella Man). By the end of Season 2, in a fight against Nightwing (Brenton Thwaites), Rose kills Wilson when she stabs him with a sword while Nightwing distracts him. Despite the fanbase being divided regarding the darker and grittier tone of the characters, Morales' portrayal of Deathstroke was a bright spot amid the controversy.