Born: March 7, 1956
Plays: Walter White
Other Notable Credits: Malcolm in the Middle, Drive, Argo,
Cranston was born in Canoga Park, California, to Peggy Sell, a radio actress, and Joseph L. "Joe" Cranston, an actor and Hollywood producer. His ancestry includes German and Irish (one of his great-grandmothers was from County Clare, Ireland). He was raised partly by his grandparents, living on their farm and working with poultry. Cranston grew up in the Los Angeles area, graduated from Canoga Park High School, and earned an associate degree in police science from Los Angeles Valley College.
He began his acting career after college in local and regional theatres, getting his start at the Granada Theatre in the San Fernando Valley. He had previously performed as a youth, but his show business parents had mixed feelings about their son being involved in the profession, so he did not continue until years later. Cranston has worked regularly since the late 1980s, mostly in minor roles. His advertising work includes commercials for Lay's potato chips, Excedrin, Honda Accord, and Coffee-Mate. His voice acting includes English dubbing of Japanese anime, under the name "Lee Stone." He was an original cast member of the ABC soap opera Loving, where he played Douglas (Doug) Donovan from 1983 to 1985. Cranston also starred in the short-lived series Raising Miranda in 1988. His largest role prior to Malcolm in the Middle was as astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon. Cranston has also played astronaut Gus Grissom in the film That Thing You Do!. In 1998, he appeared in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan as the colonel who insists that Private Ryan be saved.
From 1994 through 1997, Cranston appeared in the recurring role of Dr. Tim Whatley, Jerry's dentist, on Seinfeld. Several episodes focused upon his relationship with Jerry and his paranoia about the dentist, in bizarre situations such as when he becomes obsessed with the notion that Tim and his female assistant were molesting him while he was unconscious during dental surgery, or when Whatley converts to Judaism and starts telling Jewish jokes while retaining the right to tell Catholic jokes as well (according to Jerry, Tim needs only Polish citizenship for "total joke-telling immunity"). 1999 marked his second appearance for a recurring role, on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens as Doug Heffernan's annoying neighbor, Tim Sacksky. He works in marketing then in a later episode as a water purifier salesman and recruits Doug to sell them as well.
In 1999, Cranston wrote and directed the film Last Chance.
Cranston’s theatrical credits include starring roles in The God of Hell, Chapter Two, The Taming of the Shrew, A Dolls House, Eastern Standard, Wrestlers, Barefoot in the Park, and The Steven Weed Show, for which he won a Drama-Logue Award.
In 2000, Cranston landed a leading role on the series Malcolm in the Middle. He would eventually direct several episodes of the series, and received three Emmy nominations for his performance on the show. Cranston reprised his role in a cutaway gag in the Family Guy episode "I Take Thee Quagmire", killing his former Malcolm in the Middle wife with a refrigerator door because of her incessant babbling, thus "freeing" himself and the kids.
Cranston has guest-starred in many television series, including The Flash where he plays a white-collar criminal searching for his estranged wife and daughter; Sabrina the Teenage Witch in which he was a lawyer attempting to free Sabrina from a contract; the sixth season episode of The X-Files, "Drive," playing a bigoted man who is being driven insane by extremely low frequency sonar waves; and Babylon 5 as Ericsson, the captain of a White Star vessel ordered into a suicide mission to plant misinformation within the enemy ranks. He also had a guest role in late 2006 on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, playing main character Ted Mosby's obnoxious co-worker and former boss Hammond Druthers. He more recently had a role as Lucifer in the ABC Family miniseries, Fallen.
He appeared as Nick Wrigley, the irresponsible uncle who steals Santa's sleigh to have a crazy ride to practically destroy Christmas in 'Twas the Night, a Disney Channel Original Movie that was released in the winter of 2001. He appeared in 2007 Academy Award Best Picture nominee Little Miss Sunshine as the more successful business colleague of Greg Kinnear's character. He has done voice acting for English dubbed anime series, including Royal Space Force – The Wings of Honneamise, Macross Plus, and Armitage III Polymatrix. In September 2008, Cranston narrated a pre-teen adventure/fantasy audiobook called Adventures with Kazmir the Flying Camel. More recent voice work includes the voice of Jim Gordon in the animated Batman: Year One.
Since 2008, Cranston has appeared in the starring role on AMC's original series Breaking Bad in which he plays Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. His character teams up with former student Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, to manufacture methamphetamine. For his work on the series, Cranston won the Emmy Award for lead actor in a drama series in each of the first three seasons of the show, becoming just the second person to win the award three consecutive times. For the fourth season Cranston also became a producer for the series, and was Emmy-nominated once again.
Cranston's 2010s work includes a supporting role in the drama The Lincoln Lawyer, and supporting roles in successful thrillers such as Drive and the Steven Soderbergh film Contagion. He has supporting roles in John Carter, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, and Rock of Ages, and major roles in the Ben Affleck Iranian hostage drama Argo. He also participated in several episodes of the animated series Robot Chicken. In 2012, he starred in the remake of the 1990 movie Total Recall, playing the villain, Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen, the corrupted president of a fictional war-ravaged United Federation of Britain. In the same year, Cranston made a guest appearance as Kenneth Parcell's step father, Ron, on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.
Cranston is married to Robin Dearden, whom he met on the set of the show Airwolf (1984). He was playing the villain of the week, and she played his hostage (held at gunpoint). They have a daughter who was born in 1993. Cranston was previously married to Mickey Middleton, a writer. Cranston played baseball when he was a student. He is a collector of baseball memorabilia and an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In accepting his third Emmy as best lead actor in a drama series, Cranston thanked his wife and daughter and told them that he loves them "more than baseball". He resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico when filming Breaking Bad. Cranston is a part-owner of the independent theater Cinemas Palme d'Or in Palm Desert, CA. He is a strong supporter of LGBT rights and supports same sex marriage in the United States.
Plays: Skyler White
Other notable Credits: Deadwood
Gunn was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She graduated from Northwestern University in 1990.
Gunn is best known for the role as Skyler White in the critically acclaimed AMC drama series Breaking Bad with Bryan Cranston. In 2012, she was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in Breaking Bad.
Gunn played a recurring role as Assistant District Attorney Jean Ward on ABC series The Practice from 1997 to 2002, and was regular as Martha Bullock on HBO's Deadwood from 2005 to 2006. She appeared on Seinfeld in the episode "The Glasses", in the Six Feet Under episode "Parallel Play", and on the first season of Murder One.
Gunn provided the voice for Ariel in the Legacy of Kain series of video games. She also appeared on Quantum Leap in the episode "The Play's The Thing". In 2011, she played a lead role in the Lifetime movie Secrets of Eden, opposite John Stamos. Her other film credits include Without Evidence, Enemy of the State, Treading Water, Twelve Mile Road, and Red State.
Gunn is married to Alastair Duncan and they have two daughters.
Born: August 27, 1979
Plays: Jesse Pinkman
Other Notable Credits: Big Love
Paul was born in Emmett, Idaho, the son of Robert, a Baptist minister, and Darla Sturtevant. He is the youngest of five children. Paul attended Centennial High School in Boise, and graduated one year early.
In 1996, Paul went to Los Angeles for the International Modeling and Talent Association competition. He won runner-up in the competition and signed with a manager. Prior to gaining fame, Paul appeared on an episode of The Price is Right on January 3, 2000 and worked as a movie theater usher at Universal Studios in Hollywood. He starred in music videos for Korn's song "Thoughtless" and Everlast's song "White Trash Beautiful". He was also featured in television commercials for Juicy Fruit, Corn Pops, and Vanilla Coke.
Paul has appeared in the films Whatever It Takes (2000), Help! I'm a Fish (2001) (voice only), K-PAX (2001), MTV's TV Movie Wasted (2002), National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), Perfect Opposites (2004), Bad Girls From Valley High (2005), Choking Man (2006), Mission: Impossible III (2006), and The Last House on the Left (2009), among others. He also starred in the 2010 web-released Funny or Die short Weird: The Al Yankovic Story as "Weird Al" Yankovic.Smashed, a film in which Paul starred, was one of the official selections for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
Paul has also made guest appearances on television shows such as The Guardian, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, ER, Sleeper Cell, Veronica Mars, The X-Files, Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, Bones and 3rd Rock from the Sun (season 4, episode 24). His recurring character Scott Quittman on HBO's Big Love appeared 14 times over the show's five seasons.
In 2008, Paul began playing Jesse Pinkman on AMC's Breaking Bad. His character was originally slated to die during the first season, but after seeing the chemistry between Paul and series star Bryan Cranston series creator Vince Gilligan changed his mind, modified the original plans, and saved the character. Paul had an opportunity to work with Cranston prior to Breaking Bad, having auditioned for the role of Francis, the eldest son of Cranston's Malcolm in the Middle character. Paul was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2009, 2010, and 2012 for his role in Breaking Bad. He won the award in 2010 and 2012. Paul is rumored to be in talks for the lead in the HBO pilot The Missionary, a spy drama set during the Cold War.
Paul became engaged to Lauren Parsekian on December 31, 2011.
Born: 1961
Plays: Hank Schrader
Other Notable Credits: Tremors (The Series), Without Limits
Norris was born in South Bend, Indiana to Jack (a furniture store owner) and Rosie Norris. He has four sisters. Dean graduated from Clay High School and attended Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1985, after which he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Prior to Breaking Bad, Norris starred in Tremors: The Series as W.D. Twitchell, and in the movie "Without Limits". He has also had guest spots on shows such as NYPD Blue, The X-Files, The West Wing,"Nip/Tuck", Married With Children, Las Vegas, 24, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Eagleheart, True Blood, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Nash Bridges, NCIS, Six Feet Under, Medium and Charmed and appeared in movies such as Gattaca, The Negotiator, The Lawnmower Man, Little Miss Sunshine (along with Bryan Cranston), Evan Almighty, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Lethal Weapon 2, Total Recall, Lakota Woman, The Cell, Hard to Kill, Playmaker, 3 Strikes, American Gun, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco. He also played the commanding officer at the military training camp in the film Starship Troopers.
Dean is married to wife Bridget, a lawyer, and lives near Los Angeles. He has five children.
Plays: Marie Schrader
Other Notable Roles: Breaking Bad (her first major television acting role)
Brandt is a native of Bay City, Michigan. She graduated from Western High School in 1991.
Brandt received her BFA in acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also studied theatre at Harvard University (at the Moscow Art Theatre Institute), as well as at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.
In theatre, Brandt has acted in performances of Much Ado About Nothing with the Arizona Theatre Company, Control+Alt+Delete with the San Jose Repertory Theatre, Beth Henley's Ridiculous Fraud, Julia Cho's The Language Archive with South Coast Repertory and Next Fall with Geffen Playhouse.
Brandt had guest roles on the television programs Without a Trace (in the recurring role of Libby), Judging Amy, ER, Boston Legal, The Practice and NCIS. She is currently featured in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad as Marie Schrader. Brandt read for three different roles before being offered the part of Marie.
Brandt's film credits include Shelf Life, Confidence and Memphis Bound and Gagged.
Brandt is married and has two children. She gave birth to her second child in 2008 while the second season of Breaking Bad was in production. She and her family reside in Los Angeles.
On June 6, 2010, Brandt was honored as the 2010 Distinguished Alumnus at the Western High School commencement, and was a featured speaker.
Born: October 22, 1962
Plays: Saul Goodman
Other Notable Credits: The Larry Sanders Show, How I Met Your Mother, Mr. Show with Bob and David.
Odenkirk was born in Berwyn, Illinois, and was raised in nearby Naperville. He is one of seven children of Barbara and Walter Odenkirk, who was employed in the printing business. His brother is comedy writer Bill Odenkirk. Odenkirk is of half Irish descent. His parents later divorced, and Walter eventually died from cancer and was "pretty down on his luck" towards the end of his life. His father's battle with alcoholism would later influence Bob's decision to avoid alcohol almost completely. Odenkirk would later say that he grew up "hating" Naperville because "it felt like a dead end, like Nowheresville. I couldn’t wait to move into a city and be around people who were doing exciting things."
Odenkirk has said his strongest comedic influence was Monty Python's Flying Circus, primarily due to its combination of cerebral and simple humor. His other influences included SCTV, Steve Martin's Let's Get Small, Woody Allen, The Credibility Gap, and Bob and Ray. He also visited Chicago's Second City Theater at the age of 14.
He began his foray into comedy writing as a radio DJ for WIDB, his local college station at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He worked at WIDB with newsman Greg Weindorf and traffic man Matt "The Agitator" Helser now of Dirty Laundry Podcast fame. After 3 years of college, Odenkirk decided to try writing and improv in the Chicago comedy scene. First studying with the famous improv-guru Del Close (who had mentored the likes of Bill Murray and John Belushi) Odenkirk also attended "The Players Workshop of the Second City" where he met Robert Smigel and they began a collaboration that would last for years and take Bob to Saturday Night Live.
Odenkirk was hired as a writer at Saturday Night Live in 1987 and worked there through 1991. Working alongside Robert Smigel and Conan O'Brien, he contributed to many sketches they created, but felt uncertain of his own writing and not very effective at the show. He acted in several small roles on the show, most visibly during a 1991 parody commercial for Bad Idea Jeans.
In Odenkirk's final year at SNL, he worked alongside Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock, and Chris Farley, but his desire to perform caused him to leave the show. Odenkirk has credited SNL with teaching him many lessons about sketch writing, from senior writers like James Downey and Al Franken, as well as his friends Smigel and O'Brien.
When Saturday Night Live took its 1988 summer break, Odenkirk returned to Chicago to perform a stage show with Smigel and O'Brien, titled Happy Happy Good Show. The following summer he did a one-man show, Show-Acting Guy, directed by Tom Gianas. During his final summer hiatus, he wrote and acted in the Second City Mainstage show, Flag Burning Permitted in Lobby Only. In that particular show, he wrote the character "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker", for Chris Farley, which would later be reprised on SNL.
In 1991, Odenkirk was hired to write for the TV show Get a Life, which starred Late Night with David Letterman alumnus Chris Elliott. Other notable writers on the show included Adam Resnick and Charlie Kaufman. The show was short-lived, and in 1992, Odenkirk briefly wrote for The Dennis Miller Show.
Odenkirk's friendship with Ben Stiller, whom he shared an office with briefly at SNL, would lead to him being hired for the cast of The Ben Stiller Show in 1992. Working as both a writer and actor on the show, he created and starred in the memorable sketch "Manson Lassie", and helped the show win an Emmy Award for writing. However, the show had already been canceled by the time it won the award. Odenkirk also met David Cross at Ben Stiller; shortly afterward, the pair began performing live sketch shows, which eventually evolved into Mr. Show with Bob and David.
In 1993, Odenkirk began a recurring role on The Larry Sanders Show as Larry Sanders' agent, Steve Grant. He would sporadically continue the character through 1998. Also in 1993, Odenkirk had brief acting roles on Roseanne and Tom Arnold's The Jackie Thomas Show.
Created by Odenkirk and David Cross, Mr. Show ran on HBO for 4 seasons, over 33 episodes. The show featured a number of comedians in the early stages of their careers, including Sarah Silverman, Paul F. Tompkins, Jack Black, Tom Kenny, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Brian Posehn and Scott Aukerman.
While nominated for multiple Emmy awards in writing and generally well liked by critics, it never broke out of a "cult" audience into larger mainstream acceptance. After Mr. Show, Bob and David and the writers from the staff wrote the movie Run, Ronnie, Run. The film was an extension of a sketch from the first season of the show. However, the studio took production control away from Cross and Odenkirk during the editing stages, and the pair has disowned the final product.
Since Mr. Show, Bob has acted in numerous television shows and some films. He has written and produced many TV pilots, including The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke and David's Situation, but none have made it to air or been picked up as a series.
In 2004, Bob received an unsolicited package including the work of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. Inspired by their unique voice, he connected with them and helped them develop a semi-animated show for Adult Swim called Tom Goes to the Mayor. Bob also assisted Tim and Eric with the development of their second series, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job.
Odenkirk has had a number of small featuring roles on TV shows, including Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Seinfeld, NewsRadio, Just Shoot Me!, Joey, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, Entourage, Weeds, and How I Met Your Mother. He also appeared in Everybody Loves Raymond as Scott Preeman.
In 2009, Odenkirk joined the cast of AMC's Breaking Bad as the corrupt lawyer Saul Goodman. He appeared as a guest star in three episodes of the second season, and has since become a series regular for the seasons after.
In 2011, Odenkirk wrote and developed "Let's Do This!" for Adult Swim. Odenkirk stars as "Cal Mackenzie-Goldberg, two-bit movie mogul and head of Cal-Gold Pictures as he leads a collection of crazy, fame-hungry strivers chasing Hollywood dreams." The pilot can be seen on Adult Swim's website.
In 2003, Odenkirk directed Melvin Goes to Dinner, which won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film and Music Festival. It was later self-released in five cities, then distributed on DVD by Sundance. Odenkirk directed Let's Go to Prison in 2006, written by Tom Lennon and Ben Garant of The State and Reno 911 fame. Let's Go To Prison starred Will Arnett of Arrested Development, as well as Dax Shepard and Chi McBride. In 2007, Odenkirk directed The Brothers Solomon, written by Will Forte. The film starred Forte, Will Arnett and Lee Majors.
Odenkirk is married to Naomi Yomtov, and the couple have two children.
Born: August 21, 1982
Plays: Walter White JR.
Other Notable Credits: None (Breaking Bad was his first acting job)
Mitte was born in August 1992 in Lafayette, Louisiana and moved with his family in 2006 to Los Angeles, where his younger sister Lacianne Carriere had received an offer for a role in a film project. After receiving several smaller extras roles, including in the Disney series Hannah Montana, he became interested in movies and decided to take acting lessons. Shortly after, he was offered the role of Walter White, Jr., who also has cerebral palsy, in the AMC series Breaking Bad.
In 2011, he played a leading role in the horror short film "Stump." That same year, he acted as executive producer of the documentary Vanished: The Tara Calico Story, that deals with the disappearance of American Tara Calico, missing in New Mexico since 1988.
Mitte is the campaign's spokesman of "Inclusion in the Arts and Media of Performers With Disabilities (I AM PWD)," which employs artists with disabilities.
Born: January 31, 1947
Plays: Mike Ehrmantraut
Other Notable Credits: Wiseguy, The Gangster Chronicles, Modern Family
Banks was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947. His mother worked for the CIA. Banks attended Indiana University Bloomington where he was a classmate of Kevin Kline. During that time, they participated together in a production of The Threepenny Opera. Banks dropped out of Indiana University to join a touring company as a stage manager. He went to Australia with the company and stayed on working in theatre there.
In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles and performed on stage before picking up bit parts on television. Probably his best-known movie roles are in two films starring Eddie Murphy: 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. In 48 Hrs. he plays a character who is a friend of the lead and is killed by the villain, beginning the lead characters' story. In Beverly Hills Cop, he plays a villain who kills the lead characters' friend and begins his story. Other movie roles include appearances in Armed and Dangerous, Buckaroo Banzai. Freejack, Flipper, Airplane!, Gremlins, Murder Me, Murder You, and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. His most recent film to date is the 2007 film Reign Over Me.
His biggest break on television came with the series Wiseguy, in which he played Frank McPike for four years, a role which led to an Emmy award nomination.[4] Although his character was primarily the hero's mentor, stories occasionally featured McPike as hero. In 1981 he appeared as Dutch Schultz on the NBC series the Gangster Chronicles.
He also starred on the short-lived science fiction TV series Otherworld, as Kommander Nuveen Kroll and in the sitcom Fired Up.
Banks has also made guest appearances on TV shows including Alias, CSI, Castle, Day Break, Highlander: The Series, Matlock, SeaQuest DSV, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Women of the House, Walker Texas Ranger, Dexter, ER, Cold Case, Shark, Modern Family, CSI:Miami, Lie to me,Two and a Half Men, and Vegas.
In the second season finale of Breaking Bad, Banks appeared as "fixer" Mike Ehrmantraut. His character became a beloved series regular for the third, fourth, and fifth seasons. Where he would be nominated for an Emmy award for the previous season.
Banks will guest star in Parks and Recreation as Ben Wyatt's father in the fifth season.
Born: April 26, 1958
Played: Gustavo Fring
Other Notable Roles: Revolution, Do the Right Thing, The Usual Suspects, King of New York
Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to a White Italian father and a Black American mother. His mother was an opera and nightclub singer from Alabama, who once appeared on the same bill as Josephine Baker. His father was from Naples, and worked as a stagehand and carpenter. Because Italian citizenship is based upon the principle of jus sanguinis, Esposito is an Italian citizen. Esposito lived in Europe until the family settled in Manhattan when he was six.
Esposito made his Broadway debut (1966) at age eight playing a slave child opposite Shirley Jones in the short-lived Maggie Flynn. He did not take offense at the play's racial politics then; he was thrilled. "I had a solo and everything." During the 1980s Esposito appeared in films such as Maximum Overdrive, King of New York, and Trading Places and TV shows such as Miami Vice and Spenser: For Hire. He played J.C. Pierce, a cadet in the 1981 movie Taps. In 1988 he landed his breakout role as the leader ('Dean Big Brother Almighty') of the black fraternity "Gamma Phi Gamma" in director Spike Lee's film School Daze. Over the next four years, Esposito and Lee collaborated on three other movies: Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, and Malcolm X.
During the 1990s Esposito appeared in the acclaimed indie films Night on Earth, Fresh and Smoke, as well as its sequel Blue in the Face. He also appeared in the mainstream film Reckless with Mia Farrow and Waiting to Exhale starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett.
Esposito is known for his portrayal of FBI agent Mike Giardello on the TV crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street. That role reflected both his black and Italian heritage. He played this role from 1998 until the series' cancellation. The character's father Al is portrayed as subject to colorism, something Esposito's character practiced in School Daze. Another biracial role was Sergeant Paul Gigante in the television comedy series, Bakersfield P.D. (Fox Broadcasting Company, 1993–1994).
In 1997 Esposito played the role of Darryl in Trouble on the Corner and Charlie Dunt in Nothing to Lose.
Other TV credits include NYPD Blue, Law & Order, The Practice, New York Undercover, and Fallen Angels: Fearless.
Esposito has portrayed drug dealers (Fresh, Breaking Bad, King of New York), cops (The Usual Suspects, Derailed), political radicals (Bob Roberts) and even a demonic version of the Greek God of Sleep Hypnos from another dimension (Monkeybone). He played Cassius Clay, Sr., in Ali and Nuyorican poet Miguel Piñero's friend and collaborator Miguel Algarín in Piñero, both released in 2001.
In 2006 Esposito starred in Last Holiday as Senator Dillings, alongside Queen Latifah and Timothy Hutton. Also in 2006, he played an unsympathetic Detective named Esposito in the 2006 film, Hate Crime, written and directed by first-time director/writer Tommy Stovall and starring Seth Peterson, Bruce Davison, Chad Donella, Cindy Pickett, and Brian J. Smith. The film explores homophobia.
Esposito played Robert Fuentes, a Miami businessman with shady connections, on the UPN television series South Beach. He has appeared in New Amsterdam and CSI: Miami. He recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's hip hop literacy campaign to encourage reading about Muhammad Ali.
In Feel the Noise (2007) he played ex-musician Roberto, the Puerto Rican father of Omarion Grandberry's character, aspiring rap star "Rob". Gospel Hill (2008) was Esposito's directorial debut; he also produced the film and starred in it. He is currently producing his next film Diamond District, set in New York, with Matt Damon rumored to be starring.New York theatre credits for Esposito include The Me Nobody Knows, Lost in the Stars, Seesaw, and Merrily We Roll Along. In 2008 he appeared on Broadway as Gooper in an African American production of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and starring James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, and Terrence Howard.
Between 2009 and 2011, Esposito appeared in seasons 2 through 4 of the AMC drama Breaking Bad, as Gus Fring, the head of a New Mexico-based methamphetamine drug ring and the show's primary antagonist in the third and fourth seasons. Esposito received critical acclaim for this role. As noted above, he won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama award at the 2012 Critics' Choice Television Awards and was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award at the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards.
Esposito appears in Rabbit Hole (2010), with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.
Esposito appears in the ABC program Once Upon a Time that debuted in the Fall of 2011. He portrays the split role of Sidney, a reporter for The Daily Mirror in the town of Storybrooke, Maine, who in actuality is the Magic Mirror, possessed by The Evil Queen in a parallel fairy tale world. Esposito has also appeared in Community as a guest star for an episode entitled "Digital Estate Planning". He is set to reappear in the delayed fourth season. He currently stars on NBC's Revolution as Captain Tom Neville.
© 2012 Taylor Hatfield
For any questions or comments, contact the webmaster:
Anna Gunn
Aaron Paul
Betsy Brandt
Bob Odenkirk
Jonathan Banks
Giancarlo Esposito