José Zúñiga

A familiar face to film and television audiences for over two decades, José Zúñiga landed small but memorable roles in features like "Con Air" (1997), "Mission: Impossible III" (2006) and "Twilight" (2008) while maintaining a host of guest and recurring turns on such primetime series as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000- ) and "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010). Like many character actors, he was frequently cast as a "type" - in his case, as intense, ethnic authority figures on both sides of the law - though on occasion, his compact frame and soulful visage led to assignments outside of his niche, including a hapless romantic in "Next Stop Wonderland" (1998) and a kindly biology teacher in "Twilight." Zúñiga's ability to imbue even the most stock character with nuance granted him the ideal career for a character actor: immediate identification, and more importantly, appreciation by audiences.