Silva was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 20, 1948. He went on to have a career on stage and screen. In “Scarface” (1983), his character is one of the most memorable characters as he is the one who kills Al Pacino’s Tony Montana during the movie’s climax.

He also appeared in David Lynch’s critically acclaimed neo-noir “Mulholland Drive” (2001) starring Naomi Watts. His credits also include many big-banner movies such as Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad<” (1997) and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997) as well as “A Man Apart” (2003) from F. Gary Gray, “1941” (1979) and “Tequila Sunrise” (1988).

His television credits include “Hill Street Blues,” “Days of Our Lives,” “Key West,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Star Trek: Enterprise “and “Alias.” In 1994, he appeared in the Peter Sellars’ stage production of “The Merchant of Venice” with  Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz. He reunited with Ortiz for Jose Rivera’s (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) off-Broadway production of “Sueño.”