What to know about Will Trent's Uncle Antonio: Actor, character backstory, and more!

Will Trent had a great turn of Will meeting his long-lost uncle! Who played him, and what was the character like? Find out here!

Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for Will Trent season 2 Episode 6

For years, Will Trent has felt himself an orphan and alone in the world. His mother, Lucy, was murdered right after giving birth to him, with then-police officer Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) finding him. Unable to adopt Will herself, Amanda at least gave him a name and then placed him in the foster system, wrongly believing Will would be given to a good home. 

A recurring theme in season 2 has been Will slowly uncovering more about his mother and his past. That included discovering Lucy had a brother. After being wary, Will finally reached out to him and it led to an emotional meeting in the properly titled “We Are Family.”

Will met Antonio at a park, where the pair each had their pet dogs with them. Their conversation was clearly tense, and at first, they found little in common…until Antonio revealed he was dyslexic just like Will. The realization he wasn’t alone warmed Will up, and the two soon bonded. Antonio even helped Will learn more Spanish. 

Antonio talked about how much he loved Lucy and how she’s gone to Atlanta with a boyfriend. He’d been heartbroken by her death and moved to Puerto Rico, returning to the U.S. after Hurricane Maria.

There was a tense bit when two of Antonio’s buddies stopped by and were disdainful of Will being a cop. Antonio dropped by Will’s place later to apologize and give him one of Lucy’s favorite records. As it happened, Will was hosting a dinner and introduced his uncle to the gang, who instantly welcomed him. 

Who plays Antonio on Will Trent and will he be in more episodes?

Playing Antonio is John Ortiz, whose first role was in Carlito’s Way. He founded LAByrinth Theater Company, an award-winning acting troupe designed to give people of differing cultural backgrounds a start in the industry. Ortiz’s credits include playing villain Arturo Braga in the Fast & Furious movies as well as starring in Bumblebee, and most recently, American Fiction. 

Ortiz will be sticking around as showrunner Liz Heldens discussed with TV Line how using him changes up Will’s world. 

"It’s very exciting because Will is [typically] surrounded by women. 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?"

Already, Will and Antonio are getting along great even if Antonio’s friends don’t like cops. However, the pair are wonderful on screen and seeing Will finally connecting to family is terrific so Ortiz should be making Will Trent season 2 even better.

Will Trent airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.