What Benjamin Bratt From Law & Order Is Doing Now
At the conclusion of Benjamin Bratt's time as a regular on NBC's legendary primetime procedural "Law & Order" in 1999, the actor had notched 94 appearances as Detective Rey Curtis. The character also crossed over to "Homicide: Life on the Street" three times (per IMDb). That's long enough to become a memorable face on any show, and Curtis was beloved to the audience of "Law & Order," even though he was incredibly flawed as a human being and police officer. Curtis had a propensity for blowing up at suspects, and his commitment to his family could often be complicated by his devotion to his career.
Bratt was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series during his final year on the program, and the series is arguably what made Bratt a household name. But with so many years gone by and "Law & Order" now canceled — though set for a revival — fans might be curious about what Bratt has been up to in the years since.
Benjamin Bratt's career has had its ups and downs
Benjamin Bratt experienced an immediate career boost after leaving "Law & Order." First, he appeared as part of the ensemble in Steven Soderbergh's Oscar-winning 2000 film "Traffic." That was followed by an iconic appearance in the Sandra Bullock vehicle "Miss Congeniality." The actor then popped up in the critically acclaimed drama "The Woodsman" opposite Kevin Bacon. But his role in the notorious 2004 flop "Catwoman" seemingly slowed down the moment of Bratt's big-screen ambitions.
After appearing in the independent film "Thumbsucker" and the war epic "The Great Raid," Bratt pivoted back to television work and began taking on voice-acting roles for a period of time. On the small screen, he became Major Jim Tisnewski on the NBC military drama "E-Ring," and was in the A&E Network miniseries remake of "The Andromeda Strain." He also worked for A&E on the hourlong drama "The Cleaner," which lasted for two seasons. The actor then joined the cast of the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off "Private Practice," where he portrayed Dr. Jake Reilly for 36 episodes.
Next, Bratt was Steve Navarro in "24: Live Another Day" and recurred as Javier Delgado, father of Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and ex-husband of Gloria Pritchett (Sofía Vergara), on the ultra-popular ABC sitcom "Modern Family." Bratt also portrayed Jahil Rivera on the Fox musical soap opera "Star." More recently, the actor was cast in the Ava Duvernay program "DMZ" (per Deadline), which was recently ordered to series by HBO Max (per The Hollywood Reporter).
Benjamin Bratt has made a name for himself as a voice actor
Although many of his career highlights post-"Catwoman" came from the world of TV, Bratt continued appearing in films. He made a notable return to big-budget big screen action as Antonio Pope, the main villain in 2016's "Ride Along 2." He followed that appearance up with a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he played Jonathan Pangborn in "Doctor Strange."
When it comes to voiceover work, the actor provided narration for several portions of PBS' "American Experience" docuseries. He voiced Manny in "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and its sequel, and was El Macho in "Despicable Me 2." Most notably, Bratt voiced Ernesto de la Cruz in Disney's Oscar-winning animated film "Coco." The actor even appeared onstage with his fellow "Coco" cast members and the movie's producer, writer, and director when it won the Oscar for best animated feature in 2018.
As you can tell, Bratt has definitely stayed busy since his time on "Law & Order," and he's definitely not ashamed of his roots. He even appeared on the show in 2009 for a guest spot.