Born on June 28, 1971 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Benito Martinez is an actor best known for his role as captain and later city councilman David Aceveda in the FX police drama The Shield. His role as the ambitious and intelligent David made his way up the ranks all the way to the mayoralty until being elected to the Los Angeles City Council.
Martinez’ work on the long-running and Golden Globe-winning series has earned Martinez recognition both in the states and abroad. He was recognized by the National Council of La Raza and won the 2007 ALMA Award for best supporting actor. He also bested other contenders for the National Hispanic Media Coalition for outstanding performance in a dramatic series.
Benito Martinez was trained at the Hollywood high Performing Arts Magnet and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He previously attended Hollywood High Performing Arts Magnet in Los Angeles. He started out on stage playing in the Mariachi Del Norte de Bennie Martinez when he was 8. He then joined a bilingual theater company co-founded by his mother called La Compania de Teatro de Albuquerque, where he started participating in theatrical productions.
Martinez’ theatrical skills enabled him to perform and travel around the world. His notable small screen projects include NYPD Blue, Bones, Numb3rs, Monk, and The X-Files. Martinez also had the chance to work with Clint Eastwood in the Academy-award winning film Million Dollar Baby. His other movie credits include Saw, New Suit, Kill your Darlings, and Mi Familia.
Martinez also lent his voice to the character of Coyote Smith in the video game Killer 7 and various characters in Age of Empires 3.