In 1984, Olmos starred as the authoritative police lieutenant in the television series Miami Vice. The role made him well-known. Returning to film, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver, portraying a real-life mathematics teacher who turned his students into math whizzes, despite their disadvantaged backgrounds. He directed American Me in 1992, and starred in the multigeneratinal story of a Chicano family in Mi Famila (My Family) in 1995.
Olmos has often become involved in political activism. He makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to teenagers at risk. He has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in prison for taking part in demonstrations against United States Navy bombings of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Olmos is married to actress Lorraine Bracco. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.