Will Trent Casts Will's Long-Lost Uncle: See Who's Playing Antonio Miranda (And When He'll Make His Debut)
Will Trent is hosting a family reunion.
TVLine can confirm that the ABC crime drama has cast TV vet John Ortiz (Promised Land, Messiah, Togetherness) in the recurring role of Will's uncle, Antonio Miranda. He'll make his debut in Season 2's sixth episode, titled "We Are Family," which airs Tuesday, April 9 (at 8/7c).
Per ABC, the hour sees Will reunite with a "long-lost relative, uncovering unexpected and profound similarities. Meanwhile, the GBI and APB investigate a judge's murder while Faith's connection with Luke deepens."
Antonio is described as "warm and charismatic, with connections to both Atlanta and Puerto Rico." He is "eager to catch up on lost time when he's reunited with Will Trent, the nephew he never knew he had."
Will Trent executive producer Liz Heldens previously teed up Uncle Antonio's debut in a February interview with TVLine. "By around Episode 4, [Will is] kind of like, 'Enough, I think I just have to reach out,'" she revealed at the time. "It's something that he's very nervous about, in a way that we find very endearing.
"He needs to reach out to this man, and it's very exciting because Will is [typically] surrounded by women," the EP pointed out. "That's what [Will Trent novelist] Karin Slaughter created. That was her intention, and it has made this character so interesting. I think a lot of women connect to Will because he is surrounded by women, he listens to women, and he really respects women. But it's fun, as we're writing toward the end of the season, to ask ourselves what it looks like when Will has a really charismatic, male role model. What does that feel like with someone who is different from him?"
Ortiz most recently appeared in Best Picture nominee American Fiction. On the small screen, he previously starred on ABC's Promised Land (as Joe Sandoval) and Netflix's Messiah (as Felix Iguero). Additional credits include HBO's Togetherness and Luck, and Fox's Rake.
Will Trent's 10-episode Season 2 resumes with Episode 4 on Tuesday, March 26 at 8/7c on ABC (and streaming next day on Hulu).