Miguel Sandoval

Miguel Sandoval Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: November 16, 1951

Age: 72 years old

Birth Place: Washington, District of Columbia

A prolific character actor in features and on television for decades, Miguel Sandoval was best known for turns as steely lawmen - or those that broke the law - on "Medium" (NBC/CBS, 2005-2011) and in films like "Do the Right Thing" (1989) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994). Born November 16, 1951 in Washington, D.C, Sandoval came to acting in 1975 through the study of pantomime at a school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While training with the group, he was asked to join a local theater company that performed in parks and schools throughout the state. When the company closed in 1979, Sandoval launched his own theater troupe, which trained inmates at the New Mexico State Penitentiary, while also performing with theater companies in Houston, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico; while appearing with the latter troupe, he was cast in a science fiction Western called "Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann" (1982). That film's producer, former Monkee and audio-visual pioneer Michael Nesmith, recommended Sandoval to British director Alex Cox, who was helming his next production, "Repo Man" (1982), in Los Angeles. Sandoval would subsequently appear in and collaborate with Cox on five subsequent projects, including "Sid and Nancy" (1986), "Straight to Hell" (1987) and "Walker" (1987), while also serving as casting director and second unit director on "Walker" and penning songs for "Sid" and "Straight to Hell." During this period, he was also a prolific guest player on television, and forged another rewarding collaboration with director Spike Lee, who cast him as hot-tempered New York police officer Ponte in "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever" (1991). Sandoval soon settled into regular work in character roles, often playing imposing men of authority on either side of the moral fence - federal agents and judges in "White Sands" (1992) and the Steven Bochco-produced "Civil Wars" (ABC, 1991-1993), drug lords in "Clear and Present Danger" and on Bochco's "Murder One" (ABC, 1995-1997) and an array of lawmen on episodic television. Between these efforts, Sandoval also played an amber mine overseer in "Jurassic Park" (1993), convinced Kramer (Michael Richards) to put his pet rooster in a cock fight on "Seinfeld" (NBC, 1989-1998), and was in near-constant demand for guest roles on series like "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009), "The X-Files" (Fox, 1993- ) and "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006). In 2005, Sandoval was cast as sympathetic district attorney Manuel Devalos, who employed Patricia Arquette's psychic abilities to solve crime cases on "Medium." Sandoval remained with the series for its entire network run while also directing five episodes between its third and seventh season. When "Medium" ran its course, Sandoval returned to steady guest work on television and in features, most notably as a tequila manufacturing president on "Entourage" (HBO, 2004-2011) and as a government agent on "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" (BBC America, 2016-17). In 2017, he was cast in two high-profile projects - the limited series crime drama "Sharp Objects" (HBO 2018) with Amy Adams, and a drama about Seattle firefighters spun off from "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ) and produced by Shonda Rimes' Shondaland shingle.

Credits

Social DistanceStream

Actor
Series
2020
58%

Station 19: Extras

Actor
Show
2018

Sharp ObjectsStream

Actor
Curry
Miniseries
2018
92%

BarryStream

Guest Star
Fernando
Series
2018
98%

Station 19Stream

Actor
Captain Pruitt Herrera
Series
2018

Station 19Stream

Guest Star
Pruitt Herrera
Series
2018

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective AgencyStream

Actor
Scott Riggins
Series
2016
85%

Atomic Shark

Executive Producer
Movie
2016

Bad Judge

Actor
Judge Hernandez
Series
2014
20%

Sun Belt Express

Actor
Ramon Velazquez
Movie
2014

OculusStream

Actor
Dr. Graham
Movie
2013
75%

Tales of Masked Men

Actor
Show
2012

Metro

Actor
Movie
2011

Hawaii Five-0Stream

Guest Star
Series
2010

Spoken Word

Actor
Emilio
Movie
2009

Repo Chick

Actor
Arizona Gray
Movie
2009

Bottle Shock

Actor
Mr. Garcia
Movie
2008

Tortilla Heaven

Actor
Gil Garcia
Movie
2007

The CloserStream

Guest Star
Mario Gomez
Series
2005
83%

Grey's AnatomyStream

Guest Star
Series
2005
84%

MediumStream

Actor
D.A. Mauel Devalos
Series
2005

MediumStream

Director
Series
2005

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School

Actor
Matthew Smith
Movie
2005

Committed

Actor
Movie
2005

Nine Lives

Actor
Ron/Male Guard
Movie
2005

EntourageStream

Guest Star
Carlos
Series
2004
65%

10-8: Officers on Duty

Actor
Capt. Otis Briggs
Show
2003

Kingpin

Guest Star
Show
2003

The Court

Actor
Justice Roberto Martinez
Show
2002

Collateral Damage

Actor
Joe Phipps
Movie
2002

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

Actor
Julio Martin
Movie
2002

Gotta Kick It Up

Actor
Principal Zavala
Movie
2002

AliasStream

Guest Star
Anthony Russek
Series
2001
86%

Szaleństwa Iris

Actor
Movie
2001

Wild Iris

Actor
Ramando Galvez
Movie
2001

Human NatureStream

Actor
Wendall the Therapist
Movie
2001
48%

Black Point

Actor
Malcolm
Movie
2001

Level 9

Guest Star
Show
2000

The District

Guest Star
Series
2000

Jackie Chan Adventures

Guest Voice
El Toro Fuerte
Show
2000

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her

Actor
Sam
Movie
2000

Panic

Actor
Larson
Movie
2000

The Elián González Story

Actor
Movie
2000

Thin Air: A Spenser Mystery

Actor
Santiago
Movie
2000

The Crew

Actor
Raul Ventana, Drug Lord
Movie
2000

For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story

Actor
Movie
2000

Air Bud: World Pup

Actor
Coach Montoya
Movie
2000

The West WingStream

Guest Star
Victor Campos
Series
1999
81%

The Apartment Complex

Actor
Detective Duarte
Movie
1999

Flight of Fancy

Actor
Frank
Movie
1999

Vengeance Unlimited

Guest Star
Series
1998
19%

Maximum Bob

Guest Star
Show
1998

The Fixer

Actor
Mayor Melendez
Movie
1998

Route 9

Actor
Jesse Segundo
Movie
1998

Three Businessmen

Actor
Bennie Reyes
Movie
1998

House of Frankenstein

Actor
Miniseries
1997

Players

Guest Star
Show
1997

The Bureau

Actor
Show
1996

Fire Co. 132

Actor
Show
1996

Up Close & Personal

Actor
Dan Duarte
Movie
1996

Mrs. WinterbourneStream

Actor
Paco
Movie
1996
15%

Breach of Trust

Actor
Carlo Sanchez
Movie
1996

Death and the Compass

Actor
Treviranus
Movie
1996

Murder OneStream

Guest Star
Series
1995
91%

The Marshal

Guest Star
Series
1995

Get ShortyStream

Actor
Mr. Escobar
Movie
1995
88%

Fair Game

Actor
Emilio Juantorena
Movie
1995

ERStream

Guest Star
Mr. Perez
Series
1994

Confessions: Two Faces of Evil

Actor
Movie
1994

Dancing With Danger

Actor
Movie
1994

Girls in Prison

Actor
Lucky
Movie
1994

Clear and Present DangerStream

Actor
Ernesto Escobedo
Movie
1994
81%

NYPD BlueStream

Guest Star
Mr. Beltran
Series
1993
83%

FrasierStream

Guest Star
Mr. Martin
Series
1993
95%

The X-FilesStream

Guest Star
Martin Ortega
Series
1993
74%

Fallen Angels

Actor
Detective Ybarra
Series
1993

It's Nothing Personal

Actor
Movie
1993

RenegadeStream

Guest Star
Hector Ortega
Series
1992

Civil Wars

Guest Star
Judge Felix Silva-Pures
Show
1991

Dedicated to the One I Love

Actor
Mr. Acosta
Show
1991

Home ImprovementStream

Guest Star
Series
1991

La Pastorela

Actor
Movie
1991

El Diablo

Actor
Zamudio
Movie
1990

SeinfeldStream

Guest Star
Marcelino
Series
1989
89%

Beauty and the Beast

Guest Star
Jerry
Series
1987

HunterStream

Guest Star
Augustine Rojas
Series
1984