What happened to the stars from the 80s' hit Miami Vice?

The original 'Miami Vice' series was one of the greatest police dramas of the 8s. The show inspired a 'new wave' culture throughout many years.

'Miami Vice' was broadcast over five successful seasons between 1984 and 1989 with Michael Mann as executive producer. It was the same man who returned 'Miami Vice' to theaters with an adaptation in 2006.

The series also served as a showcase and springboard for a group of actors and actresses. They went from donning a police uniform to making a career in the world of acting. But what happened to them?

Detective Sergeant with the Metro-Dade Police Department, currently known as the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), and a veteran of the Vietnam War, Sonny is a peculiar guy who lives on a boat with a pet alligator named Elvis.

He was one of the two main stars from 'Miami Vice' and has had a relatively successful career after passing through the series. For his role, he received a Golden Globe and, from there, he never looked back.

During the first years of his career, Johnson led a chaotic life of partying - with an addiction to illegal substances. However, that did not prevent him from continuing to work all his life.

He was hot property in the 90s, appearing in movies like 'The Hot Spot' (1990), 'Born Yesterday' (1993), 'In Pursuit of Honor' (1995), 'Tin Cup' (1996) and the series 'Nash Bridges' (1996-2001).

In the early 2000s he was a little aloof, but returned with films like 'Machete' (2010), by Robert Rodríguez; 'Django: Unchained' (2012), by Tarantino, and the series 'From Dusk till Dawn', again with Robert Rodríguez.

Lately we have seen him in the films 'Book Club' (2018) and 'Knives Out' (2019) and, of course, in the hit series 'Watchmen' (2019) and 'Kenan' (2021).

Personally, he was married twice to Melanie Griffith, with whom he had a daughter, Dakota. He also had other relationships with Patti D'Arvanville (with whom he had his son Jesse), Barbra Streisand, Cybill Shepperd and Uma Thurman.

Another Metro-Dade Police officer who worked undercover in the Organized Crime Department subdivision and who was 'Sonny's' inseparable companion.

Rico Tubbs in 'Miami Vice' was the biggest role of his life. In fact, beyond the series, his career never fully took off. He was unable to forge his success as an actor neither in film nor on television.

In a 1985 Rolling Stone interview, Thomas said, "This is just a stepping stone for me to something much bigger. And it's a great stepping stone." But he was wrong...

Many criticized him for his ego. He went so far as to say in an interview with the Associated Press that "hopefully, in the next five years I will win all those awards", referring to the Emmys, the Oscars and the Tony Awards.

The reality is that after 'Miami Vice,' his career faded and he was relegated to B-series productions, participating in some Italian series and little-known TV movies.

His most notable role since then was in the series 'Nash Bridges', between 1997 and 2001, where, as luck would have it, he coincided with his old patrol partner, Don Johnson.

Now, after standing still for a while, he is involved in a couple of projects, while he continues with his quiet family life. He has 11 children and lives healthily, as a vegan and alcohol-free person.

The first head of the Vice Squad of the Metro-Dade Police Department had a fleeting role. He was killed by a hired killer in the fourth episode of the series.

Gregory Sierra began his acting career in 1969 on television and just a year later, in 1970, he got his first big break playing the role of Verger in 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes'.

The role for which he is best remembered is that of Miguel 'Chano' Amanguale in 'Barney Miller'. He worked on the series for 35 episodes between 1975 and 1976.

That would be the step before a brief but well-remembered stint in 'Miami Vice'. We barely saw him, for four episodes, before he was replaced by Edward James Olmos.

After 'Miami Vice', he starred in the series 'Alien Destroyer', between 1988 and 1989, and in films like 'Honey, I Blew Up the Kid', (1992) and 'John Carpenter's Vampires', (1998).

His last film,'The Other Side of the Wind', 2018 would come 40 years after Orson Welles wrote it, 20 years after 'Miami Vice' and only three years before his death from cancer, on January 4, 2021.

Detective Lieutenant in Metro-Dade, head of the Vice Squad, and former DEA agent specializing in Southeast Asian operations, Marty Castillo was Lou Rodriguez's replacement after his death. He was of Cuban origin.

If Don Johnson can boast about his career after 'Miami Vice', Edward James Olmos is another actor from the series' actors who can do that. And with even more success.

When he came to 'Miami Vice', Edward James Olmos was no rookie. He had already gone through series like 'Starsky & Hutch' (1977) and movies like 'Blade Runner' (1982), but it was definitely this series that saw his rise to fame.

The actor from Mexican descent was working on 'Miami Vice' throughout 106 episodes in the five seasons that the series ran. He was one of the fixed actors on the show and the role earned him a Golden Globe and an Emmy.

After 'Miami Vice', Edward James Olmos has appeared in more than thirty films and as many television series. Some more well-known than others, but he has not stopped working.

Among his best-known films are 'Selena' (1997), 'I'm Still Here' (2010), 'The Green Hornet', (2011), 'Armed and Dangerous', 'Two Lethal Weapons' ( 2013), and 'Blade Runner 2049' (2017).

The most successful film of his career was 'Stand and Deliver' (1988), which he worked on while he was still in 'Miami Vice'. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor.

As for television, he also has a good resume too, with titles as prominent as 'Dexter' (2011), 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' (2015), 'Urban Cowboy' (2016), 'Narcos' (2017) and 'Mayans MC' (2018).

Personally, Olmos is an advocate for the Latino community in the United States, which is why he founded Latino Public Broadcasting in 1998. He has also been a UNICEF ambassador.

An interesting fact: Edward James Olmos has reached such a level of fame that an asteroid, discovered in 1993, bears his name: Olmos.

She's a Police Officer assigned to the Vice Division, working on the arrest of terrorists, traffickers, and drug lords. She also had a relationship with Crocket.

Although she had worked as an actress before, fame really entered her life thanks to 'Miami Vice'. She worked on the series between 1984 and 1989.

After playing Gina Calabrese, Saundra Santiago got some other recognizable roles, such as the villain Carmen Santos in 'Guiding Light' between 1999 and 2002.

They were not her only outstanding works. We have also seen her in 'Law and Order', ‘The Promise’ (2006), ‘Damages’ (2007), and ‘Person of Interest’ (2011).

Without a doubt, another great role in her career was playing Jeannie Cusamano, a recurring character in 'The Sopranos' between 1999 and 2007.

We have seen her in 'Hightown' (2020) and 'Sand Dollar Cove' (2021), as well as 'Rare Objects' (2023). An upcoming project is 'Don Q', where she plays the role of Antonia.

Trudy Joplin was Gina's patrol partner and also close friends with Tubbs. She was a strong-willed agent who was serious about her job. Together with her partner, she usually worked as an infiltrator to hunt down delinquents.

The German-born actress was another star who rose to fame with 'Miami Vice'. She played Trudy Joplin for 111 episodes between 1984 and 1990.

The same year 'Miami Vice' ended, she landed the role of Addie in the urban contemporary western and cult film 'Streets of Fire'.

We have seen her in 'The Love Boat' (1986); 'Family Matters' (1989); 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', (1993) and also the film 'Throw Momma from the Train' (1987).

The actress also appeared in ‘Lois & Clark' (1995) and 'Beverly Hills 90210' (1997). Her CV boasts a long filmography that ran until 2017 and her last film, 'Our Dream Christmas' (2017), where she played Stephanie Carter.

As in all series, there has to be a comical character. Miami Vice had Stan Switek, another expert in surveillance but also addicted to gambling and drinks.

Michael Talbott had already been acting for 10 years when he joined the cast of 'Miami Vice'. He had many movies and series on his resume. Still, the police series gave a new boost to his career.

The actor did not stop working until 2001, with films like 'Manhunter' (1986), 'Little Vegas' (1990), and 'Hero' (1992), and later acted only in films for television. The last of them was 'Three Blind Mice'.

Since then, we have not seen him in movies or series. He only participated in a short film in 2014, 'Sal and the Goon'.

Metro-Dade Vice Squad officer and Stan Switek's partner, Larry Zito found a tragic end in the third season of the series.

After various jobs in the early 80s, John Diehl came to 'Miami Vice' in 1984 playing the role of Larry Zito until 1987.

Diehl has managed to complete a filmography to be proud of. He continues to this day, both on television and in movies.

We have seen John Diehl as G. Gordon Liddy in 'Nixon' (1995), Charles Kawalsky in 'Stargate' (1996), Cooper in 'Jurassic Park III' (2001) and the boss Ben Gilroy in the series 'The Shield' (2002-05).

Apart from the series 'Snowfall' (2019-21), we recently saw him in 'Dark Winds' and 'After the Hurricane' (2022). He also played Fred Trump in the movie 'Armageddon Time'.

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