Plana became a regular face in TV and films, often typecast as low-level thugs, Latino drug lords or cops. But his range is reflected in his choice of roles and directors; he has appeared in character parts in some 30 films since his 1980 debut in "Love & Money". Plana was the mohawked flight trainee in Taylor Hackford's "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1981), a gung-ho green beret in Haskell Wexler's "Latino" (1985), and El Jefe, a long-haired Mexican bandit in John Landis' "Three Amigos" (1986). He has worked for some of today's best-known directors: Oliver Stone ("Salvador" 1986, "JFK" 1991, "Nixon" 1995); Martha Coolidge ("Valley Girl" 1983); Clint Eastwood ("The Rookie" 1990); and John Sayles ("Lone Star" 1996). Plana made his producing debut with the comedy "A Million to Juan" (1994), a good-natured rags to riches tale starring Paul Rodriguez.
Plana's most visible TV role has been as Luke Ramirez, the 'mother hen' partner on the sharp and critically hailed cop comedy, "Bakersfield P.D." (Fox, 1993-1994). But he has appeared in numerous longforms and guested on many series. His TV-movie debut was in "The Streets of L.A." (CBS, 1979), and among his many subsequent vehicles were "Madame X" (NBC, 1981), "Sadat" (syndicated, 1983), "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story" (NBC, 1990), "The Burning Season" (HBO, 1994), and as one of the narrators of "The West" (PBS, 1996).