Jimmy Smits and Wande De Jesús to Star in ALL MY SONS at Berkeley Rep

The American Dream comes at a price. But who truly pays it? Arthur Miller’s searing indictment of moral compromise erupts with new urgency in this groundbreaking production. Centered on a family whose hard-won success is shaken by a father’s fateful decision, the story’s aftershocks ripple far beyond his own home and community. Berkeley Rep’s Associate Artistic Director David Mendizábal reexamines this American classic through a lens of race, ethnicity, and class, honoring Miller’s original text while sharpening its existing themes of justice and inequity. This powerful revival reveals a tragedy where the pursuit of prosperity collides with the reality of who America was built to serve.
 
“It is a rare and thrilling opportunity to work with artists of this caliber,” says Mendizábal. “Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesús bring an extraordinary depth, history, and authenticity to All My Sons. Their real-life connection infuses every moment with an intimacy that amplifies the play’s emotional stakes. The doors that they have opened for Latino artists in the field have paved the way for me to be able to bring my vision of Miller’s incredible play to the stage, and it’s such an honor to have them leading this production. I can’t wait for audiences to witness the electricity they create together on stage.”
 
Jimmy Smits is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor whose career spans acclaimed work in theatre, film, and television.  He returns to Berkley Rep where he previously appeared alongside his trusted life partner Wanda De Jesús in The Guys, following their earlier collaboration in the West Coast premiere of Death and The Maiden at The Mark Taper Forum.  On Broadway, his credits include Anna in The Tropics and God of Carnage. His longtime association at The Public Theater in NY began when Joe Papp cast him in his first Equity role, and continued through multiple productions downtown, appearances at the Delacorte in Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing, and service as a board member during George C. Wolfe’s tenure.  Smits has also appeared at leading theatres nationwide, including Steppenwolf in The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Center Stage in Baltimore, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and The Hangar Theatre in Ithaca NY.
 
On screen, his film credits include In the Heights, My Family/Mi Familia, Old Gringo, Price of Glory, Mother and Child, The Jane Austen Book Club, and as Bail Organa in the Star Wars franchise.  His groundbreaking television work includes L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, How to Get Away with Murder, and The Get Down, earning multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Awards.  He has also narrated documentaries such as PBS’s Latin Music USA and Roberto Clemente. Beyond his artistic achievements, Smits is a co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts and actively supports numerous philanthropic initiatives, including Stand Up 2 Cancer.
 
Wanda De Jesús is a New York-born actress whose career spans acclaimed work on stage, film, and television. A graduate of Fiorello H. La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts, she earned a BFA at City College of New York’s Aaron Davis Center. She began her professional theatre career at Circle Repertory Theatre and the NYSF/Public Theater, where her early workshop performances helped shape Cuba and His Teddy Bear, ultimately leading to her celebrated Broadway debut opposite Robert De Niro. She went on to earn critical praise in the lead role of the West Coast premiere of Death and The Maiden at the Mark Taper Forum, opposite Jimmy Smits, and again with Smits in The Guys at Berkeley Repertory. Her stage credits also include Summer and Smoke with Christopher Reeve at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and collaborations with noted directors such as George C. Wolfe and Oscar Eustis.
 
Her film work includes Clint Eastwood’s Blood Work; Michael Mann’s The Insider; John Carpenter’s Ghost of Mars; Flawless co-star with De Niro and Phillip Seymour Hoffman; and the cult favorite Illegal Tender. On television, De Jesús has appeared in Fatal Attraction, Gentefied, Sons of Anarchy, CSI: Miami, NYPD Blue, and the Peabody award-winning Almost a Woman, for which she received an Imagen Award. Known for portraying complex, authentic characters, she continues to bring depth and power to her roles across stage and screen.