Esai Morales is well-known for portraying versatile roles in the industry. Starting off his career with television and theatre, Morales starred in the 1983 film Bad Boys and moved on to play the real-life ex-convict Bob Morale in La Bamba (1987). Not limiting his career to films, he also explored the world of television and starred in L.A. Doctors, The Hunger, Family Law (2000) and NYPD Blue (2004). He was also a part of popular shows like Criminal Minds, Adam Ruins Everything as well as Chicago P.D, before being cast in Superfly (2018). Morales is the recipient of the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors and also the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arpa Foundation for his contribution to the industry.