Danny Pino

Having emerged from the New York theater world, actor Danny Pino established his screen presence with a number of guest starring roles before becoming a star as homicide detective Scotty Valdes on the long-running procedural "Cold Case" (CBS, 2003-2010). Previously, Pino had made a name for himself as the brutal drug kingpin, Armando Quintero, on the gritty cop drama, "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08), and was perfectly cast to play Desi Arnaz in the made-for-television biopic, "Lucy" (CBS, 2003). During his run on "Cold Case," Pino had roles in a number of independent features like "Between" (2005) and "Rx"(2005), while appearing as a guest star with a crossover turn on "CSI: New York" (CBS, 2004-2013) and "Burn Notice" (USA Network, 2007-2013). After "Cold Case" went off the air in 2010, the actor kept a low profile until the following year when he took over for a departing Christopher Meloni on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999-). Clearly, Pino's pedigree as a trained stage actor and the diversity of his screen performances had positioned him for a lengthy career as both leading man and effective character actor. Born in Hialeah Gardens, FL, Pino fell in love with acting at an early age, following his portrayal of an elderly teacher in a sixth grade musical. Following his attendance at Miami Coral Park High School, his passion earned him a theater scholarship to Florida International University, where he played leading roles in a score of dramatic and musical productions. After graduation from FIU in 1996, Pino received a second scholarship to attend the graduate theater program at New York University. Pino followed this with appearances in New York productions at Lincoln Center, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the New York Shakespeare Festival. His first foray into television came with a leading role in the ill-fated sitcom "Men, Women and Dogs" (The WB, 2001), which was cancelled after one season. In 2002, Pino returned to the stage in London's West End in a summer production of "Up for Grabs," appearing opposite Madonna, who personally selected Pino to be her co-star. Pino did an about-face for his next turn, playing the brutal drug lord and serial rapist Armando Quintero in four second season episodes of "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08). Quintero remained one of the cop show's most loathsome villains, a genius-level sadist who intimidated rival gangs through raping, branding his victims, and burning his enemies at the stake. From there, Pino switched things up again by playing pioneering entertainer Desi Arnaz to Rachel York's Lucille Ball in the television movie "Lucy" (CBS, 2003). That same year, Pino was cast as detective Scotty Valdes, who partners with star Kathryn Morris' Lilly Rush on the CBS police drama "Cold Case" (2003-2010). Valdes was introduced during the show's sixth episode, "Love Conquers Al," and quickly developed into something of a flashpoint amidst the Philadelphia homicide squad that investigated murder cases where the trail has gone cold. While starring on "Cold Case," Pino found time for small roles in the indie mystery-thriller "Between" (2005) and the gritty road trip flick, "Rx" (2005). Following a brief appearance in the period drama, "The Lost City" (2006), starring Andy Garcia, Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman, Pino had a more substantial role in the coming-of-age drama about a young woman (Alison Lohman) and her unbridled horse, "Flicka" (2006). His "Cold Case" character, Scotty Valens, crossed over for an episode of "CSI: New York" (CBS, 2004-2013), before landing a two-episode arc during season four of "Burn Notice" (USA Network, 2007-2013), playing a criminal defense attorney who seeks the help of Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) after accruing a large number of enemies. Meanwhile, Pino appeared in the foreign drama "The Burning Plain" (2009) and the low-budget thriller "Across the Hall" (2009) before "Cold Case" ended its run in May 2010. The following year, Pino joined the cast of the long-running procedural "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999-), taking over for Christopher Meloni after his departure from the show. Pino left the series in 2015, joining the cast of thriller series "BrainDead" (CBS 2016) opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Tveit.