American Me is a 1992 American independent crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos in his directorial debut, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos stars as Montoya Santana, who is loosely based on Mexican Mafia boss Rodolfo Cadena. Executive producers included record producer Lou Adler, screenwriter Mutrux, and Irwin Young. The film is a fictionalized account of the founding and rise to power of the Mexican Mafia in the California prison system from the 1950s into the 1980s.

Edward James Olmos is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in Miami Vice (1984–1989), American Me (1992), William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), Detective Gaff in Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and the voice of Mito in the 2005 English dub of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. For his performance as high school math teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver (1988), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.