He’s an ’80s science-fiction icon whose intense screen presence once defined an entire genre – but these days, he’s trading dystopian futures for everyday errands in Southern California.
The silver-haired star was spotted stepping out in Los Angeles on Saturday, looking worlds away from the brooding characters that made him famous decades ago.
Dressed casually in a baseball cap, jacket and jeans, the veteran actor was photographed dropping off packages at a local postal shop in Encino before later changing into a different outfit to meet friends for dinner.
Once known for commanding the screen opposite Hollywood heavyweights, he built a career playing complex, often uncompromising figures, from law enforcement officers to controversial antiheroes.
His resume spans cult sci-fi, gritty crime dramas and socially charged films that left a lasting mark on pop culture and sparked conversation well beyond the movie theater.
So can you guess who he is?Â
He’s an ’80s science-fiction icon whose intense screen presence once defined an entire genre – but these days, he’s trading dystopian futures for everyday errands in Southern California
If you said, Edward James Olmos, you would be correct!Â
Olmos, 78, starred opposite Harrison Ford and Daryl Hannah in the sci-fi cult classic Blade Runner in 1982, later headlined the controversial gang film American Me in 1992 as Montoya Santana, and earned Emmy wins for his role as Lieutenant Martin ‘Marty’ Castillo on Miami Vice from 1984 to 1989.
He also received an Academy Award nomination for his powerful turn in Stand and Deliver in 1988.Â
Olmos also portrayed Jennifer Lopez’s onscreen father, Abraham Quintanilla, in the 1997 biopic Selena as she portrayed the late Tejano music star.Â
Olmos was married to Goodfellas and The Sopranos actress Lorraine Bracco in 1994, with the pair divorcing in 2002 after five years of separation.
In 2022, the Mexican-American star was diagnosed with throat cancer and immediately began chemotherapy treatment.Â
By the end of that year, the cancer had gone into remission – a battle that was not made public until May 2023.Â
Olmos said that in 2022 he was uncertain whether he would wake up each morning, feeling his body giving up after being ravaged by cancer and harsh radiation and chemotherapy treatments.Â
It’s Edward Hames Olmos! Olmos famously portrayed Jennifer Lopez’s onscreen father, Abraham Quintanilla, in the 1997 biopic Selena as she portrayed the late Tejano music star; seen above
The silver-haired star was spotted stepping out in Los Angeles on Saturday, looking worlds away from the brooding characters that made him famous decades ago
Olmos, 78, starred opposite Harrison Ford and Daryl Hannah in the sci-fi cult classic Blade Runner in 1982, later headlined the controversial gang film American Me in 1992
‘That entered my mind many, many times throughout the process, because you can’t swallow, you can’t talk, you can’t eat, you can’t drink, you can’t do anything,’ he told The Daily Mail in 2024.Â
The Blade Runner star, who appeared in TV hits like Miami Vice, Battlestar Galactica and The Mayans M.C, said he went through a cancer treatment so severe it ‘usually kills you.’
But the actor managed to pull through, and now has a ‘new lease on life’ and is ‘very grateful’ to be able to enjoy his five decade-long acting career again.
The Emmy and Golden Globe winner said his work in films and TV is ‘the essence of living’ for him now.
Olmos, 78, starred opposite Harrison Ford and Daryl Hannah in the sci-fi cult classic Blade Runner in 1982 (seen above next to Harrison Ford)
He also received an Academy Award nomination for his powerful turn in Stand and Deliver in 1988; seen in 1985
Olmos said the toughest time for him came at the end of his treatment.
‘I had my last treatment on December 20, 2022, and the next two, three months were the hardest of the entire journey,’ he said. ‘Once they stopped all of the chemo, all the radiation and all the treatment, was when the body gave up… And that’s when it really became difficult.
He said medical treatments ‘burned out’ his throat and lymph nodes, and he had to be fed through an IV drip.
‘This area was completely annihilated,’Â Angeleno added, pointing to his throat. ‘They told me before I started the treatments, we have no idea what you’re going to sound like.’