In 1999, Smits received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). Smits was scheduled to host the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11, 2001. It was canceled due to continuous news coverage and out of respect for the victims of the terrorist attacks earlier that day. He did host a non-televised press conference to announce the winners. Smits appeared as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan in "" (2002) and "" (2005), in which the character becomes Princess Leia's adoptive father. He reappeared as Bail Organa in the game "" (2008) and the spinoff movie "Rogue One" (2016). Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas, in the final two seasons of the NBC television drama "The West Wing", joining fellow "L.A. Law" alumnus John Spencer. His character eventually ran for and won the U.S. presidency. In "Dexter" season 3, Smits played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who befriends the title character. Smits was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role. Additionally, Smits portrayed the character Alex Vega in the CBS TV series "Cane", which aired from September 25, 2007, to December 18, 2007, and was subsequently canceled by the network due to the 2007 Screen Writer's Guild strike. Smits joined the "Sons of Anarchy" cast in season 5 as Nero Padilla, a high-level pimp who refers to himself as a "companionator". He builds a relationship with Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) and forms an alliance and mentorship with Gemma's son, the central character Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam). Smits starred in "The Get Down", a musical drama television series which debuted in 2016 on Netflix. In 2016, Smits returned to his role as Senator Bail Organa in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". On February 25, 2019, news outlets reported that Smits was cast as Elijah Strait in NBC drama series "Bluff City Law" and it was ordered straight to series on May 6, 2019. "Bluff City Law" brings Smits back to TV courtrooms on a steady basis for the first time in over a quarter century since his role in "L.A. Law." In the mid-1980s, Smits acted in numerous performances at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York, Cornell's summer repertory program.