John Ortiz (American Fiction) has been cast in ABC’s Will Trent in a recurring role in Season 2.

He will play Will’s (Ramon Rodriguez) maternal uncle Antonio Miranda. He is described as warm and charismatic, with connections to Atlanta and Puerto Rico. Antonio is eager to catch up on lost time with the nephew he never knew he had. 

Antonio was first mentioned in a recent episode by James Ulster (Greg Germann), Will’s biggest connection to his birth mother who was murdered. Ortiz will make his debut in episode 206 airing Tuesday, April 9 at 8 p.m.

Based on Karin Slaughter’s New York Times bestselling Will Trent series, the series follows the titular special agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Now, Will uses his unique point of view to pursue justice and has the highest clearance rate in the GBI.

In addition to Rodriguez, the police procedural stars Sonja Sohn as Amanda Wagner, Erika Christensen as Angie Polaski, Iantha Richardson as Faith Mitchell and Jake McLaughlin as Michael Ormewood.

Executive producers are Liz Heldens, Daniel Thomsen, Karin Slaughter and Oly Obst. Ramón Rodríguez is a co-executive producer. The series is produced by 20th Television.

Most recently, Ortiz starred in Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction opposite Jeffrey Wright, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice and Film Independent Spirit Awards. Additionally, Ortiz was nominated for a SAG Award as part of the film’s ensemble. Next, he will be seen in Chris Pine’s feature The Poolman; Bill Lawrence’s upcoming Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey and Netflix’s The Madness opposite Colman Domingo.

Ortiz is also well known for his work on-stage – as an actor and director, and is the co-founder of the LAByrinth Theater Company. He is repped by Gersh, Principal Entertainment LA and Schreck Rose Dapello, et al.