Missing in Action

A hot screen debut in “Bad Boys.� Oscar-talk for “La Bamba.� So whatever happened to Esai Morales?

Well, we would have seen him in Robert Towne’s “Tequila Sunrise�--but his scenes were axed.

“That’s moviemaking,� said a philosophical Morales. He told us it was a small role, a couple days’ work playing the drug-dealing son of drug dealer Raul Julia (Gibson portrays a cocaine dealer trying to go straight). “I did it to work with Mel and Robert Towne--two people I really admire.�

He laughed as he added, “I also did it with a Raul Julia-type accent. That was the real kick!�

Morales’ scenes with Gibson underscored the latter’s desire to leave the world of drug dealing--interesting, considering that some critics complained that the motivation for Gibson’s newfound honesty wasn’t terribly clear.

The decision to cut Morales came during filming. It was based on feelings that the scenes just didn’t work: “It was extremely difficult for Robert Towne to tell me they weren’t going to use me. I guess that, classically, so many actors are afraid of losing work.�

Meanwhile, Morales is in the yet-unreleased “Bloodhounds of Broadway,� also starring Madonna and Matt Dillon. And he’s been active as a spokesman, doing spots for El Rescate, which provides legal/social services to Central American refugees in the L.A. area.