‘Law & Order: SVU’ to ‘Mayans M.C.’: Retracing Danny Pino’s Career

Danny Pino has been a beloved TV actor for many years, and his turns on Law & Order: SVU and Mayans M.C. are just two examples of his top-notch talent.

With his first TV and film roles coming in the early 2000s, Pino has spent close to two decades building his career and portraying some of the most likable characters on some of the darkest series.

In honor of his incredible talent and versatility, we look back back and retrace the 44-year-old’s career by spotlighting some of his more notable roles and performances.

Scroll down to check them out and let us know in the comments which of Pino’s roles has been your favorite!

The Shield

One of Danny Pino’s first roles was on The Shield. In 2003, Pino appeared in the gritty cop drama as Mexican drug kingpin and serial rapist, Armadillo Quintero.

This role was maybe the most intense one that Pino has ever taken on and it paid off as his performance was widely praised by critics. Coincidentally, this would have been the first time Pino worked with Mayans M.C. co-creator Kurt Sutter as he was a staff writer on the show at that time.

Cold Case

Cold Case was a police procedural series that ran on CBS from 2003 until 2010. Pino played Detective Scotty Valens during all seven seasons of the show.

Pino was so well-liked as Valens that producers even worked out a deal that had him portray the character in a 2007 crossover episode of CSI: NY.

Lucy (TV Movie)

Many fans don’t realize that the same year that Pino started on Cold Case, he also appeared in a made-for-TV movie called Lucy, about the life of actress/comedian Lucille Ball.

Pino played Ball’s famous husband Desi Arnaz who co-starred with her in I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

The year after Cold Case ended, Pino made the leap to another police procedural: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

From 2001 until 2015 Pino played Detective Nick Amaro on the Dick Wolf-created series. He even appeared as Amaro in two episodes of Chicago P.D., another Dick Wolf series.

BrainDead

In 2016, Pino starred in BrainDead, a series that has been described as being a political satire sci-fi dramedy.

Pino starred as U.S. Sen. Luke Healy in the series, which was about how alien bugs infect members of Congress in Washington, D.C. The show was cancelled by CBS after one season.

Gone

The same year he starred in BrainDead, Pino was also cast in Gone, a police procedural series produced by TV networks in France and Germany.

The series co-stars Chris Noth, Leven Rambin, Andy Mientus, and Pino’s former Cold Case co-star Tracie Thoms.

Interestingly enough, Gone first aired in Australia, but will finally be making its way stateside in 2019 as WGN has reportedly picked it up for U.S. watchers.

Mayans MC

Most recently, Pino has reunited with Kurt Sutter on Mayans M.C., somewhat bringing his career full-circle. In Mayans, Pino plays Miguel Galindo, the son of Galindo Cartel founder Jose Galindo.

Awards and Accolades

In addition to his many roles, Pino has also earned his fair share of accolades over the years.

He has been nominated for four Imagen Awards, and has won two: in 2010 for Best Actor — Television (Cold Case), and in 2015 for Best Supporting Actor-Television (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).

Pino has also been nominated three times for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Television Series at the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Television Series (twice for Cold Case, and once for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).