In the spotlight: David Zayas

My first introduction to David Zayas' acting was Oz. David is a Puerto Rican actor. Before he became an actor, he actually was a police officer with the New York City Police Department for almost 15 years. I liked the way he played in Oz from the start. And that was just the beginning: I would see him in many movies and series afterwards. 

In the prison drama series Oz, David Zayas plays the role of Enrique Morales:  A very powerful guy in the prison, part of the Latinos. He's incarcerated for murder in the second degree.  Morales wants as much power and influence s possible. He often works together with other gangs to accomplish that. Under Morales, the Latinos do very well in the drug trade. I love the way David plays Morales: He's presents himself as a businessman, wants the Latinos to flourish. But you don't want to mess with him.. And he makes that very clear. He takes control and don't let anyone stop him. 

I've also seen David Zayas in Dexter as Angel Battista, as Sal Maroni in Gotham, in the Expendables as General Garza and recently also again as Detective Mullane in the movie 13. I liked David the best as Morales (Oz) and Sal Maroni (Gotham). Even though he's been with the police department before acting: He's just awesome at playing the bad guy. Those are the roles I like the best for him. 

I really enjoyed the scenes he played together with Robin Lord Taylor (Oswald Cobblepot) in Gotham. They both play they roles so damn convincing, it was brilliant to watch! Besides that I think Gotham is a great series so I always like watching it. But David Zayas and Robin Lord Taylor really set an unforgettable performance. I'm sure that the whole series would have looked different if they weren't cast for these roles. 

Now I'm just waiting for David to come to Europe and attend a con.. :)!