Edward James Olmos is going urban…

The 68-year-old Mexican American actor has landed a series regular role in Fox’s drama pilot Urban Cowboy, a modern reimagining of the 1980 Paramount Pictures film starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.

Olmos will play Alfonso “Al” Robles, a former hitman for a Mexican cartel who came to Texas 20 years ago to reinvent himself. Now married with a daughter and an upper-level management job, Al seemingly is living the American dream. But he’s forced to confront old demons when he helps his niece and nephew flee a bad situation in Mexico.

The television adaptation, written and directed by Craig Brewer, follows star-crossed young lovers Kyle (Alfonso Herrera) and Gaby as they pursue their dreams and passions through the sweat of line dancing in honky tonks, the grime of the oil refineries and the glamour of modern Texas.

Olmos, a Battlestar Galactica alum, recently appeared in Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Dexter.

Urban Cowboy comes from Paramount Studios Television and 20th Century Fox Television.