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When you're with another actor and doing something very intense, often you pull them over to your side, or they pull you over to theirs. But if you stay in your own truth, you can play that perfect tennis match. I always want to bring my power, but not in a way that eliminates the whole game!
― Giancarlo Esposito[src]

Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Gustavo Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2009ā€“2011) and the prequel series Better Call Saul (2017ā€“2022). For his role as Gus, Esposito won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and earned three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Esposito's other television roles include Federal Agent Mike Giardello in the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street (1998ā€“1999), Sidney Glass / Magic Mirror in the ABC supernatural drama series Once Upon a Time (2011ā€“2017), Tom Neville in the NBC science fiction series Revolution (2012ā€“2014), Dr. Edward Ruskins in the Netflix comedy-drama series Dear White People (2017ā€“present), Stan Edgar in the Amazon Prime Video superhero drama series The Boys (2019ā€“present), and Moff Gideon in the Disney+ space western drama series The Mandalorian (2019ā€“present), the lattermost of which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He also portrayed American Baptist pastor and politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the TV series Godfather of Harlem (2019ā€“present).

He is also known for his appearances in several Spike Lee films, such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), and Malcolm X (1992). Esposito's other major film appearances include roles in Taps (1981), King of New York (1990), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Fresh (1994), The Usual Suspects (1995), Ali (2001), Last Holiday (2006), Gospel Hill (2008), Rabbit Hole (2010), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Money Monster (2016), Okja (2017), Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018), and Stargirl (2020). He also portrays The Dentist in Payday 2 (2013) and Anton Castillo in Far Cry 6 (2021).

Bio[]

Giancarlo Esposito was born in Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. He lived in Europe until he was six years old when his family settled in Manhattan. At age 8 he made his Broadway premier on the musical Maggie Flynn. Since then, Esposito has been acting for the stage and screen. In 1979 he began acting in movies and has appeared in over 130 TV shows and films. He appeared in a handful of Sesame Street episodes and other TV shows until his first break, landing the role of Detective Paul Gigante on Bakersfield P.D. in 1993. In 1998 he appeared in 22 episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street as Agent Mike Giardello.

He continued with recurring and guest TV roles until 2009 when he was cast as Gustavo Fring in Breaking Bad, a role for which he won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Award at the 2012 Critics' Choice Television Awards and was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards and again at the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards. Giancarlo reprised his role as Gus for the series Better Call Saul].

Esposito has also appeared in dozens of notable films, including The Usual Suspects. Smoke, Bob Roberts, and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. He was cast in the TV series Once Upon a Time and Revolution. He directed the films Gospel and This is Your Death, also appearing as a character in the latter.

Giancarlo Esposito & Bob Odenkirk

Giancarlo Esposito with Bob Odenkirk.

In 2017, Esposito was brought back by Vince Gilligan to reprise his role as Gustavo Fring from Season 3 to Season 6 of the Breaking Bad spin off prequel series, 'Better Call Saul.

In 2016, Esposito voiced Akela in the film The Jungle Book (a live-action version of the original 1967 animated film), which was directed by Jon Favreau. Esposito and Favreau would work together once again in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian in which Esposito appears in a starring role, while Favreau acts as an executive producer for the series and as its writer.

In June 2020, Esposito hosted the series The Broken and the Bad, which was directed by his daughter Ruby.

In July 2020, Esposito began teasing his role in "a huge video game". His role was later revealed as the main antagonist of Ubisoft's Far Cry 6, in which he would portray and voice Anton Castillo, the dictatorial ruler of Yara, who was modeled after Esposito's appearance.

Appearances[]

Breaking Bad[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5A
Season 5B

Better Call Saul[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

Better Call Saul credits[]

Director[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

Video[]

Giancarlo_Esposito_-_Breaking_Bad_Interview

Giancarlo Esposito - Breaking Bad Interview

Interview with Giancarlo Esposito


Trivia[]

  • Giancarlo Esposito and Aaron Paul worked together previously on the Ghost Whisperer episode "Fury" in 2006.
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