Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (Italian pronunciation: [dʒaŋˈkarlo dʒuˈzɛppe alesˈsandro eˈspɔːzito]; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2009–2011) and the prequel series Better Call Saul (2017–present). For his performance he 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 (1998–1999), Sidney Glass / Magic Mirror in the ABC supernatural drama series Once Upon a Time (2011–2017), Tom Neville in the NBC science fiction series Revolution (2012–2014), Dr. Edward Ruskins in the Netflix comedy-drama series Dear White People (2017–present), Stan Edgar in the Amazon Prime Video superhero drama series The Boys (2019–present), and Moff Gideon in the Disney+ space western drama series The Mandalorian (2019–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 (2019-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 films include 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).
Early life
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito was born in Copenhagen, the son of Giovanni “John” C. Esposito (1931–2002), an Italian stagehand and carpenter from Naples, and Elizabeth “Leesa” Foster (1926–2017), an African-American opera and nightclub singer from Alabama.
When Esposito was six, his family moved from Copenhagen to Manhattan. He attended Elizabeth Seton College in New York and earned a two-year degree in radio and television communications.
Career
Esposito made his Broadway debut in 1968, playing an enslaved child opposite Shirley Jones in the short-lived musical Maggie Flynn (1968), set during the New York Draft Riots of 1863. He was also a member of the youthful cast of the Stephen Sondheim-Harold Prince collaboration Merrily We Roll Along, which closed with 16 performances and 56 previews in 1981.
During the 1980s, Esposito appeared in films such as Maximum Overdrive, King of New York, and Trading Places. He also performed in 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, exploring color relations at black colleges. 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 films Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man with Mickey Rourke, Reckless with Mia Farrow, and Waiting to Exhale starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. In 1995 Esposito was featured in a music video “California” by French superstar Mylene Farmer, directed by Abel Ferrara.
Esposito played FBI agent Mike Giardello on the TV crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street. That role drew from both his African American and Italian ancestry. He played this character during the show’s seventh and final season, and reprised the role for its 2000 made-for-TV movie. Mike’s estranged father, shift lieutenant Al Giardello, is portrayed as subject to racism, something Esposito’s character practiced in School Daze. Another multiracial role was as Sergeant Paul Gigante in the television comedy, Bakersfield P.D.
In 1997 Esposito played the film roles 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, Better Call Saul), policemen (The Usual Suspects, Derailed), political radicals (Bob Roberts, Do the Right Thing), and a demonic version of the Greek God of Sleep Hypnos from another dimension (Monkeybone). In 2001, he played Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. in Ali, and Miguel Algarín, friend and collaborator of Nuyorican poet Miguel Piñero, in Piñero.
In 2002 Esposito was cast as a legal eagle in the David E. Kelley television drama Girls Club. Although the series only lasted one season, and did not garner generally positive reviews, it represented a personal turning point for Esposito, who related to The Washington Post, “I started to play bosses. And I realized, ‘Oh, okay, this is an opportunity.’ It was really a great opening for me to show who I really was. And it’s kept going like that.”
In 2005 Esposito played an unsympathetic detective named Esposito in the film Hate Crime, which centers upon homophobia as a theme.
In 2006 Esposito starred in Last Holiday as Senator Dillings, alongside Queen Latifah and Timothy Hutton. Esposito played Robert Fuentes, a Miami businessman with shady connections, on the UPN television series South Beach. He appeared in New Amsterdam and CSI: Miami. In Feel the Noise (2007), he played ex-musician Roberto, the Puerto Rican father of Omarion Grandberry’s character, aspiring rap star “Rob”.
In 2008 he made his directorial debut with Gospel Hill, serving also as producer and star of the film.
New York theater 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.[citation needed]
From 2009 to 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. In the fourth season, he was the show’s primary antagonist, and won critical acclaim for this role. 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, but lost to co-star Aaron Paul.
He appeared in the film Rabbit Hole (2010).
Esposito appeared in the first season of the ABC program Once Upon a Time, which debuted in October 2011. He portrayed the split role of Sidney, a reporter for The Daily Mirror in the town of Storybrooke, Maine, who is the Magic Mirror, possessed by The Evil Queen in a parallel fairy tale world.
Esposito appeared in Revolution as Major Tom Neville, a central character who kills Ben Matheson in the pilot. He escorts a captured Danny to the capital Philadelphia of the Monroe Republic.
Esposito also appeared in Community as a guest star for the episode entitled “Digital Estate Planning”. He performed again in the fourth season, in the episode titled “Paranormal Parentage”. Esposito has additionally appeared in a video of the action role-playing sci-fi first-person shooter game Destiny, as well as plays The Dentist, a non-playable story character, in the game Payday 2.
He has joined the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series. He played Ra’s al Ghul in Son of Batman and Black Spider in Batman: Assault on Arkham. He had a recurring role in the first season of The Get Down on Netflix. In 2017, Esposito reprised his role as Gus Fring in the Breaking Bad prequel series, Better Call Saul. In 2019, he appeared in the first season finale of The Boys as Stan Edgar, and reprised the role in the second season.
In 2016, Esposito voiced Akela in the film The Jungle Book, 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. He plays the role of New York congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the 2019 Epix series Godfather of Harlem.
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.
Personal life
Esposito married Joy McManigal in 1995; they divorced in 2015. They have four daughters.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Running | Puerto Rican Teenager | |
| 1980 | The Changeling | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1981 | Taps | Cadet Captain JC Pierce | |
| 1983 | Trading Places | Cellmate #2 | |
| Enormous Changes at the Last Minute | Julio | ||
| 1984 | The Brother from Another Planet | Man Getting Arrested | Uncredited |
| Go Tell It on the Mountain | Elisha | ||
| The Cotton Club | Bumpy Hood | ||
| 1985 | Desperately Seeking Susan | Street Vendor | |
| 1986 | Maximum Overdrive | Videoplayer | |
| 1987 | Sweet Lorraine | Howie | |
| 1988 | School Daze | Julian | |
| 1989 | Do the Right Thing | Buggin’ Out | |
| 1990 | Mo’ Better Blues | Left Hand Lacey | |
| King of New York | Lance | ||
| 1991 | Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man | Jimmy Jiles | |
| Night on Earth | YoYo | ||
| 1992 | Bob Roberts | John Alijah “Bugs” Raplin | |
| Malcolm X | Thomas Hagan | ||
| 1994 | Fresh | Esteban | |
| 1995 | The Usual Suspects | Jack Baer | |
| Klash | Stoney | ||
| Blue in the Face | Tommy | ||
| The Keeper | Paul Lamont | Also co-producer | |
| Waiting to Exhale | David Matthews | Uncredited | |
| Smoke | OTB Man #1, Tommy Finelli | ||
| 1997 | Nothing to Lose | Charlie Dunt | |
| Big City Blues | Georgie | ||
| 1998 | Twilight | Reuben Escobar | |
| Phoenix | Louie | ||
| 2001 | Josephine | Spike | |
| Monkeybone | Hypnos | ||
| Ali | Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. | ||
| Piñero | Miguel Algarín | ||
| 2003 | Ash Tuesday | Karl | |
| Blind Horizon | JC Reynolds | ||
| 2004 | Noise | Hank | |
| Doing Hard Time | Captain Pierce | Direct-to-DVD | |
| A Killer Within | Vargas | ||
| 2005 | Hate Crime | Det. Esposito | |
| Chupacabra: Dark Seas | Dr. Peña | Direct-to-DVD | |
| I Will Avenge You, Iago! | Director | ||
| Back in the Day | Benson Copper | ||
| Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power | Little Jeff | Direct-to-DVD | |
| Derailed | Detective Franklin Church | ||
| 2006 | Last Holiday | Senator Dillings | |
| Sherrybaby | Parole Officer Hernandez | ||
| Rain | Ken Arnold | ||
| 2007 | Racing Daylight | Fred / Drifter | |
| The Box | Detective Dwayne Burkhalter | ||
| Mano | Nino | Short film | |
| Feel the Noise | Roberto | ||
| 2008 | Gospel Hill | Dr. Palmer | Also director and producer |
| 2010 | Rabbit Hole | Auggie | |
| 2011 | S.W.A.T.: Firefight | Inspector Hollander | Direct-to-DVD |
| Certainty | Father Heery | ||
| 2012 | Alex Cross | Daramus Holiday | |
| Dreaming American | Daytona LeMans | Short film | |
| 2014 | Requiem for the Big East | Narrator | |
| Son of Batman | Ra’s al Ghul (voice) | Direct-to-DVD | |
| Batman: Assault on Arkham | Black Spider (voice) | Direct-to-DVD | |
| Poker Night | Bernard | ||
| 2015 | Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials | Jorge | |
| 2016 | The Pills – Sempre meglio che lavorare | Bangla Boss | |
| The Jungle Book | Akela (voice) | ||
| Money Monster | Captain Marcus Powell | ||
| Brother Nature | Congressman Frank McClaren | ||
| 2017 | The Show | Mason Washington | Also director and producer |
| Stuck | Lloyd | ||
| Okja | Frank Dawson | ||
| Unacknowledged | Narrator | ||
| 2018 | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Jorge | |
| MFKZ | Mr. K (voice) | English dub | |
| 2019 | Line of Duty | Volk | |
| Coda | Paul | ||
| 2020 | Stargirl | Archie | |
| Unpregnant | Bob | ||
| TBA | The Long Home | William Tell Oliver | Post-production |
Television films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Gentleman Bandit | Jamie | |
| 1985 | Finnegan Begin Again | Intruder | |
| 1986 | Rockabye | Marcus | |
| 1998 | Stardust | Mr. Peavy | |
| Creature | Lt. Thomas Peniston | ||
| Thirst | Dr. Lawrence Carver | ||
| Naked City: Justice with a Bullet | Chaz Villanueva | ||
| 2008 | Xenophobia | Young | |
| 2013 | Over / Under | Oliver Ohrt |
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Sesame Street | Mickey | 5 episodes |
| Another World | Willie Armstrong | Episode: “4498” | |
| 1982–1983 | Guiding Light | Clay Tynan | Unknown episodes |
| 1984–1985 | Miami Vice | Luther / Ricky / Adonis Jackson | 3 episodes |
| 1985 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Kyle | Episode: “The Exchange Student” |
| 1985–1986 | American Playhouse | Elisha / Simon Fernandes | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Jumpin’ Jack | Episode: “The Line” |
| 1987 | Spenser: For Hire | Ramos | Episode: “On the Night He Was Betrayed” |
| Leg Work | Tyson | Episode: “Blind Trust” | |
| 1990 | Lifestories | Julio | Episode: “Jerry Forchette” |
| 1993 | The American Experience | Dr. Kenneth Clark | Episode: “Simple Justice” |
| 1993–1994 | Bakersfield P.D. | Detective Paul Gigante | Main role |
| 1995 | New York Undercover | Adolfo Guzman | 3 episodes |
| Fallen Angels | Paris Minton | Episode: “Fearless” | |
| 1996 | Chicago Hope | Cherchez LaFemme | Episode: “Right to Life” |
| Swift Justice | Andrew Coffin | 3 episodes | |
| 1996–1998 | NYPD Blue | Ferdinand Hollie / Jamaal | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Living Single | Jackson Turner | Episode: “Kiss of the Spider Man” |
| The Tomorrow Man | Jonathan Driscoll | Unsold TV pilot | |
| Law & Order | Mr. Baylor | Episode: “Good Girl” | |
| 1998 | The Hunger | Vampire | Episode: “Fly-By-Night” |
| 1998–1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Federal Agent Mike Giardello | Main role |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Antonio | Episode: “Here I Am” |
| Homicide: The Movie | Officer Mike Giardello | Television film | |
| 2000–2001 | The $treet | Tom Divack | Main role |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | James Bell | Episode: “Mortality” |
| 100 Centre Street | Jacob Lenz | Episode: “Andromeda and the Monster” | |
| 2002 | A Nero Wolfe Mystery | Ambassador Theodore Kelefy | Episode: “Immune to Murder” |
| The Practice | Ray McMurphy | Episode: “Pro Se” | |
| Third Watch | Father Romero | Episode: “The Unforgiven” | |
| Girls Club | Nicholas Hahn | Main role | |
| 2004–2005 | Law & Order | Rodney Fallon | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | 5ive Days to Midnight | Tim Sanders | 4 episodes |
| NYPD 2069 | Lt. Garner | Unsold TV pilot | |
| Soul Food | Jules | 2 episodes | |
| Half & Half | Darrell Washington | Episode: “The Big Employee Benefits Episode” | |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Orlando Ramirez | Episode: “Boys Will Be Boys” |
| 2006 | South Beach | Robert Fuentes | Main role |
| Ghost Whisperer | Ely Fisher | Episode: “Fury” | |
| Bones | Richard Benoit | Episode: “The Man in the Morgue” | |
| Las Vegas | Reggie Archibald | Episode: “White Christmas” | |
| 2006–2008 | CSI: Miami | Chief Braga | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Kidnapped | Vance | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | New Amsterdam | Special Agent James Lawson | Episode: “Legacy” |
| 2009–2011 | Breaking Bad | Gus Fring | Recurring (season 2) Main role (seasons 3–4) |
| 2010 | Leverage | Alexander Moto | Episode: “The Scheherazade Job” |
| Lie to Me | Beau Hackman | Episode: “Black and White” | |
| Detroit 1-8-7 | Eddie Henderson | Episode: “Shelter” | |
| 2011 | Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | Gordon Ramirez | Episode: “The Time is Now” |
| 2011–2017 | Once Upon a Time | Sidney Glass / Magic Mirror | 14 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | Community | Gilbert Lawson | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | NYC 22 | Harvey Williams | 2 episodes |
| 2012–2014 | Revolution | Tom Neville | Main role |
| 2013 | Timms Valley | Pruit Normings (voice) | Unsold TV pilot |
| Axe Cop | Army Chihuahua (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 2015 | Allegiance | Oscar Christoph | 7 episodes |
| Drunk History | Andrés Pico | Episode: “Los Angeles” | |
| 2016–2017 | The Get Down | Pastor Ramon Cruz | 10 episodes |
| 2017 | Rebel | Charles Gold | 4 episodes |
| 2017–present | Better Call Saul | Gus Fring | Main role (season 3–present) |
| Dear White People | Narrator (voice) / Dr. Edward Ruskins | Main role | |
| 2018 | Westworld | El Lazo / Robert Ford | Episode: “Reunion” |
| Dallas & Robo | Victor Goldsmith (voice) | 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | Jett | Charlie Baudelaire | Main role |
| 2019–present | The Boys | Stan Edgar | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Creepshow | Doc | Episode: “Gray Matter” |
| Godfather of Harlem | Adam Clayton Powell Jr. | Main role | |
| 2019–2020 | Harley Quinn | Lex Luthor (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2019–present | The Mandalorian | Moff Gideon | 7 episodes |
| 2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride | The Grandfather | Episode: “Life Is Pain” |
| DuckTales | Phantom Blot (voice) | 3 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Payday 2 | The Dentist / Dr. Helmann | Also likeness |
| 2021 | Far Cry 6 | “El Presidente” Anton Castillo | Also likeness |
Other work
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Law of The Jungle | Father | Trailer for the video game Destiny |
| 2020 | Game Changer | Himself | Episode: “Ham It Up” |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Male | Fresh | Nominated |
| National Board of Review | Best Cast | The Usual Suspects | Won | |
| 1999 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Homicide: Life on the Street | Nominated |
| 2011 | Breaking Bad | Nominated | ||
| Saturn Awards | Best Guest Starring Role on Television | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | Critics’ Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Won | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Revolution | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Better Call Saul | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | The Mandalorian | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Better Call Saul | Nominated |
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Villain | The Mandalorian | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Guest Starring Role on Television | Pending | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Pending |
